Loading ...Effective Small Town Ministry Outline
I. Still in Mayberry
1. Extreme views of the small town.
a. Peaceful place.
b. Backwoods people.
2. There are no strangers.
a. The minister is instantly recognized.
b. Ministers have not become marginalized but have been glorified.
c. The members know everyone and everyone’s business.
d. This creates problems because certain newcomers are automatically eliminated because of the person’s past performance.
II. Understanding the system behind Mayberry.
1. The power of influential families.
a. Most rural congregations are dominated by only a few families.
b. Sometimes these families jockey for political power.
c. Typically, these families attempt to influence the minister.
d. The minister must navigate between family units without becoming enmeshed with anyone particular family.
e. Never be involved in intra-family fighting.
2. Coalitions.
a. Coalitions are deeply rooted in the culture.
b. Certain families interact with certain families.
c. Look for the parental figure in every family unit.
3. Boundaries.
a. Many times the minister is the minister of everything.
b. Most of the congregations are in the pastoral size category.
c. This size is from 125 to 175. The minister’s timeline is the congregation’s timeline.
d. Be careful to guard against excessive dumping.
III. Functioning in Mayberry.
1. The three laws of the small town minister.
a. Visit, Visit, and Visit.
b. Pay special attention to the older members.
2. Introduce new ideas slowly.
a. New is a dirty word in a small town.
b. Change is difficult and not desirable.
c. Start with small changes first.
3. Understand the level of education in the congregation.
a. There are not many college graduates in the congregation.
b. But do not treat them like they are slow.
c. Challenge them and they will feel good about it.
4. Be a community do-gooder and not a community activist.
a. Leave small town politics alone.
b. Join a civil club and go to the Friday night football games.
c. Pick your community activities wisely.
d. When you first come to town you will be asked to join every committee or board. Choose wisely one or maybe two organizations. Your first priority is to the Gospel.
IV. The Secret Laws of Mayberry Success
1. Learn the story of the past first.
a. Talk with the older members and learn the important events.
b. Learn about former respected elders and ministers.
c. See what characteristics people admired.
2. Focus on your preaching.
a. Remember you are a preacher.
b. All the visiting and community involvement will not make up for weak preaching in the pulpit.
3. Remember your call from God.
a. You are an equipper.
b. You are a theologian in residence.
c. You are a counselor.
4. Beware the chronics.
a. Some people will always demand your time.
b. Some people will always have huge problems.
c. Chronic complainers.
5. Do not create too high of expectations.
a. If you come in like superman you have to keep the “S” on.
b. Have an even and balanced approach to ministry.
6. Mayberry knows about your money.
a. Your banker and tellers could be your members.
b. Pay your bills and avoid debt.
7. Take the day off.
a. You have to force yourself to take a day off.
b. When you are the “everything minister” there are always events on the weekends, weeknights, and weekdays.
c. If you do not take heed to this you will wake up and realize that you have just worked 90 days in a row and this is destroying your attitude.
V. The Lack of Leadership in Mayberry
1. Most of the future leaders move.
a. Small towns cannot provide high paying jobs to young professionals.
b. The best future leaders move away.
2. The minister must provide silence leadership.
a. The elders do not have a large context to draw from.
b. Many have been in one congregation for years.
c. You have to research new ideas.
Related posts:
- Read “Seven Practices of Effective Ministry”
- A Minister in a Small Town
- Ministry is Working in Castle Rock
- Youth Ministry Model Broken
- Expectations in Ministry
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I know you don’t know me, but I thought this was a really good post. Texas is full of small towns, and it’s difficult to know how to approach things. But you did a good job pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of small towns along with some practical advice on how to maneuver through them. Thanks for the post.
Here is my advice for small town Ministry. It is very ironic that when I was minister in a small Texas town called Bartlett that I tried this ministry model almost to the smallest detail. It failed miserably the last few members of the congregation died and the remaining ones disbanded and sold the building. I thought this was only unique to my experience. Then I realized this is happening all over the nation. Texas lost a net 85 congregations in the last 10 years.
So for many Mayberry congregations the best solution if this Mayberry ministry model doesn’t work is to close down as soon as possible to avoid the inevitable. Disband and send the remaining members to the nearest congregation.