Middling, but Not Mediocre, Part 1

by Carol

Like the middle child, medium-sized churches often don’t get a lot of attention.  They don’t have the big, flashy programs of the mega church.  They don’t have the hand-to-mouth financial struggles of the small church.  They just go about their business on Sundays and throughout the week, doing their best to grow believers and share Christ in their communities.

So, what makes volunteers in the medium church (101-350 attendance in worship) different?

Steady
For one thing, these volunteers tend to be steady.  (Not all of them, of course, but more often than not.)  They know that people are counting on them, but they don’t have grandiose plans to wow the world.

Leaders
There are enough levels of leadership in a medium church for leaders to rise up and yet not be in over their heads.  It’s small enough that leadership flaws, when they exist, are not fatal.

Tolerant
Members in conflict, at least to a certain level, can co-exist under the same roof in the medium church.  On the Up side, people can simply avoid those with whom they disagree.  On the Down side, though, conflict may fester and remain unresolved.

Numerically Challenged
Where one or two volunteers could handle something in a small church, most projects or programs need more staffing (or funding) in a medium church.  It’s common for the medium church to take on more than its volunteer base can actually run.

Good / Great
Volunteers can be excellent, but they don’t have to be professionals — especially those with technical skills and in the area of worship arts.

Contented
In a medium church, volunteers can get locked into tradition.  Maybe it’s because the status quo is working, and there is no apparent reason to risk it.  But medium churches actually have more opportunities to experiment — they are neither a small rowboat that sinks easily nor an ocean liner that is difficult to turn.

In Part 2 on medium churches, we’ll look at the relationship between volunteers and staff (especially the pastor).  Volunteers in a medium church need challenges so that they don’t become mindless sheep.  The pastor and other staff members have a significant role to play in casting the vision and gathering resources for volunteers to fulfill their potential.  But that comes with a price that is often overlooked.

A Few Things About Volunteers in the Small Church, Part 2

by Carol

As we started this series on church size, I mentioned the poor-little-me syndrome that occurs with volunteers in many small churches.  But there are some definite positives to being in a small church.

POSITIVES

Making a Difference
For one thing, it is easier for volunteers to see where they make a difference.  The same volunteer who is chairman of the deacons may also teach the only children’s Sunday morning Bible study class.  At Christmas, the choir has to have all hands on deck or there is no program.  It’s harder for people to fall through the cracks — everyone is needed for something — and people seldom wander the halls unattached.

Generalists
It is easier to help, too.  Volunteers don’t have to be experts since jobs in a small church are less specialized.  A jack-of-all-trades is highly valued.

Haven for the Young and Old
Although generalists are valued, many small churches are blessed to have older members who bring expertise and wisdom.  Some small churches are blessed with young members who are highly enthusiastic and willing to find a way to get a job done.  These same younger and older members are attracted to the small church when they get crowded out by staff or mainstream members in a larger church.

Unique
The skills and interests of the individual members of small churches tend to shape the church’s personality and strong points.  As a result, each small church is unique — sometimes novel, sometimes innovative, sometimes quirky, sometimes bordering on cultish.

This uniqueness can be a strength that carries volunteers through hard times.  But it can also insulate them from beneficial change and engaging the culture around them.  A good antidote to this drawback is to interact often in training workshops that draw an attendance from multiple churches.  Denominations, Christian publishers, and non-profit ministries offer lots of options to cross-pollinate with participants from other churches.

UNEXPECTED

There are a couple of unexpected things about volunteers in a small church:

Core, Not Clique
First, small groups that hang together in a large church are known as a clique (with all the negative connotations).  In a small church, that same group is the church core.  Yes, they may need to soften their edges to let newcomers in, but the solid relationships they have forged over time are the foundation of the church’s resilience.

Volunteer Pockets
Second, the budget in a small church may look miniscule and locked in, but that is not the whole story.  Volunteers in small churches often reach into their own pockets — because they can, with such small numbers — to fund things that really matter to them.  And sometimes they foot the bill for the fun fluff!

KEY TAKE-AWAYS

The key to taking advantage of the small church is to find the up-sides of having a small campus, small numbers, and a close network.

  • Use chatter in the network to encourage others in a round-about way.  Example: Talk up what some volunteer did and share your appreciation for them.  Positive attitudes spread even faster than gossip!
  • Use the instances where economy of scale works in reverse.  Example: Meet off-campus at a local ice cream parlor.  Example: Buy a fun (or inspirational) book for all of your volunteer team.
  • Use the established familiarity.  Example: When you need help, tap into what people know of each other and their talents.

Small churches are great, and the volunteers in them matter!

A Few Things About Volunteers in the Small Church, Part 1

by Carol

We’re looking at how church size influences volunteers and volunteer coordination. If you want to learn about the characteristics of a small church, there are quite a few good books about small churches, with more coming out periodically. We will review some of them, so come back and check our Reviews page. For this post, we will look at a few basics and a bit of what that means for volunteers.

How big is a small church?

When I did my doctoral research, I defined a “small” church as one averaging 100 or fewer in worship each week. Some experts would go as low as 50 and some as high as 150. An argument can be made for either one, but a better argument can be made for looking more at the organizational structure than at simple numbers.

Small churches are often said to be like a family in their organizational structure. Be careful, though, that you don’t assume that the pastor is the “father” of this “family.” The comparison with a family simply means that the church is organized on the basis of relationships. The congregation is small enough for people to know each other, at least on some level.

Think about a family reunion. All of those people are related to you in some way, even if you are a little fuzzy on what it is.

How big can the extended family grow before you have trouble remembering which toddlers belong to which of your cousins? At some point, the people you see at the far picnic table don’t feel like “family” anymore.

How does this impact the volunteers?

There are some obvious implications for volunteers in a small church. For example, due to numbers alone, small churches don’t have as many programs. As a result, volunteers have fewer choices of programs in which they can serve.

On the flip side, if there is an unmet need in the church, a volunteer may have more opportunity to start a program to meet that need and to serve in a leadership position. (And down the road, they may have a higher risk of burnout because they tried to meet the need without enough manpower, training or resources.)

Next time

But what about the not-so-obvious implications? How do the relational aspect and other unique characteristics of the small church impact volunteers?  In Part 2 on Small Churches, we will look at the less obvious ways in which the characteristics of a small church influence its volunteers.