 |  Multiplying your ministry through others.
Fall 1996
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Large Ministry in a Small Package
Patricia Duckworth>
October 1, 1996
Well, it finally happened. It was 6:45
P.M., and still no youth had come. I should have known it
would inevitably happen; attendance had been so low lately. But it was still
terrible to have absolutely no one show up. Looking at the empty room, I
gathered the games, Bibles, and assorted things and trudged to my car, locking
the doors behind me. The hollowness of the door slamming shut is most piercing
when no one has been there at all.
How did this happen? What did I do? What did I not do? Maybe it is me.
Am I too committed? Not committed enough? Maybe I misread God's will. Arrgh!
Now what? What am I going to say to the pastor tomorrow? Maybe I'll just
go and resign tonight! I drove away, hoping none of the congregation
would pass the empty church.
Everyone in ministry has had things go belly up. But when you work in a small
church, the chances of this happening are even greater. However, this does
not mean there is no hope for meaningful ministry in small churches. In fact,
smaller groups have a greater chance of making a significant impact on lives.
The strength in small
I recently went to a workshop designed for youth leaders in Southern California.
I imagined myself to be unique because I had a small group. You can understand
my surprise when, in a room of seventy-five leaders of youth groups, only
about six had groups with twenty or more regularly attending.
Perhaps we feel that being small is a sign of failure. Yet Christ spent the
majority of his time with twelve regulars. In many instances, there were
only three!
In you define success in terms of changing lives, of youth finding purpose
in life and in having a relationship with God in Christ, then you have a
marvelous chance for success in a ...
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