Small Church Essentials
Field-Tested Principles for Leading a Healthy Congregation of Under 250
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Narrated by:
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George W. Sarris
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By:
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Karl Vaters
About this listen
Do you lead a small church?
Big churches get all the love. Articles, books, conferences - they mostly feature leaders of large congregations. Yet big churches are a small part of the ecclesial landscape. In fact, more than 90 percent of churches have fewer than 200 people. That means small churches play a big part in what God is doing.
Small Church Essentials is for leaders of these smaller congregations. It encourages them to steward their role well, debunking myths about small churches while offering principles for leading a dynamic, healthy small church. Based on the popular six-hour lecture that Karl Vaters delivers to church leaders across the country, Small Church Essentials will affirm small church leaders and show them how to identify what they do well and how to do it even better.
Listeners will:
- Be assured that leading a small congregation does not make them ministry failures
- Come away inspired to lead with passion, regardless the size of their church
- Have field-tested principles for leading a church in their context
- Possess new metrics for biblically measuring vitality in small churches
- Have a toolkit of resources to use in their everyday ministry
Karl Vaters has been a small church pastor for 30 years and is the author of The Grasshopper Myth: Big Churches, Small Churches, and the Small Thinking That Divides Us (2013). He travels extensively to churches and conferences to speak about leading a small church well.
If you are pastoring a small church, this book will be a breath of fresh air. It will affirm your calling while giving you fresh tools to help you lead. It will help you:
- Stop believing lies about small churches
- Lead your church to fulfill the role only small churches can
- Understand your congregation’s strengths and weaknesses
- Turn around a dying or unhealthy church
- Identify good trends and bad in church and culture
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- By larry jenkins on 06-07-18
By: Chris Sonksen
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Seven Practices of Effective Ministry
- By: Andy Stanley
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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There's no scoreboard in the sanctuary, and the only plate is probably for the offering. But every church leader needs to know how to win, and every congregation needs to know when to cheer. This insightful book speaks to every church leader who yearns for a simpler, more effective approach to ministry. An engaging parable about one overwhelmed pastor is followed by an overview of seven successful team practices, each one developed and applied in a ministry setting.
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required reading for any ministry
- By Daniel on 04-11-16
By: Andy Stanley
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Real-Life Discipleship
- Building Churches That Make Disciples
- By: Jim Putman
- Narrated by: Lance Smith
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Real-Life Discipleship explains what should happen in the life of every Christian and in every small group so that the church becomes an army of believers dedicated to seeing the world saved. With the overriding goal to train disciples who know how to make more disciples, this book offers proven tools and strategies from Real Life Ministries, one of America’s fastest-growing churches. Discover what the Bible says about true and effective discipleship with these strategies and practices.
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It's fantastic!
- By Ali on 04-25-24
By: Jim Putman
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The Invested Life
- Making Disciples of All Nations One Person at a Time
- By: Joel C. Rosenberg, Dr. T. E. Koshy
- Narrated by: Joel C. Rosenberg, Lynn Rosenberg
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Every follower of Jesus Christ should be able to answer two simple questions: Who is investing in me?Whom am I investing in? God desires to pour an abundance of spiritual and emotional capital into your life - directly and through older and wiser believers. And he wants to use you to pour spiritual and emotional capital into the lives of others. Along the way, you’ll be changed. Others will change. God calls this process of spiritual investing "making disciples". It’s the heart of the Great Commission.
By: Joel C. Rosenberg, and others
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Living Your Strengths
- Discover Your God-Given Talents and Inspire Your Community
- By: Albert L. Winseman D.Min., Donald O. Clifton Ph.D., Curt Liesveld M.Div. M.A.
- Narrated by: James Foster
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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American churches are experiencing a power shortage, declare the authors of Living Your Strengths. "People aren't harnessing the power of their innate gifts." Does this message sound familiar? Have you felt disconnected from your church lately? Are you not attending as much? Or maybe you're a passionate member who wants to become even more involved, and you would also like to inspire others.
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Great Resource for Strength Finder!
- By K Dorsey on 03-02-21
By: Albert L. Winseman D.Min., and others
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The Leadership Lessons of Jesus
- By: Bob Briner, Ray Pritchard
- Narrated by: Mark Warner
- Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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A bind-up of two titles that offers the timeless wisdom of Jesus Christ as it can apply to today's leaders. Practical as well as inspirational, the lessons and techniques are perfect for business leaders, community leaders, anyone who need to interact and motivate diverse groups of people.
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Will definitely repeat
- By Amazon Customer on 11-29-22
By: Bob Briner, and others
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The Most Excellent Way to Lead
- Discover the Heart of Great Leadership
- By: Perry Noble
- Narrated by: Carl Cartee
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Speakers often use the words vision, boldness, and influence to describe the characteristics of effective leaders. In The Most Excellent Way to Lead, Perry Noble makes the case that the heart of great leadership lies elsewhere. Perry, despite being voted least likely to succeed in high school, beat the odds against him. Today, he inspires 3,500 people every weekend to live for something greater than themselves. He credits this achievement to the leadership principles he has learned from the Bible.
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A must read for every leader
- By Meredith on 05-02-16
By: Perry Noble
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4 Chair Discipling
- What Jesus Calls Us to Do
- By: Dann Spader
- Narrated by: Tim Lundeen
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Dann Spader is a disciple-maker who has spent his adult life exploring what it means to take someone from being a seeker to making disciples themselves. Over 750,000 people in 80 countries have been trained to make disciples through organizations he has led. Through studying the life of Christ and his disciple-making methods, Dann developed 4 Chair Discipling, a simple picture for others to follow. Jesus’ last words on earth had a few very specific instructions: Go, make disciples, baptize, and teach.
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I stopped reading..,
- By Linda on 08-04-23
By: Dann Spader
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Rooted
- The Hidden Places Where God Develops You
- By: Banning Liebscher
- Narrated by: Banning Liebscher
- Length: 5 hrs
- Unabridged
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In Rooted, Banning Liebscher takes us to the life of David to show how God expands our root system in the hidden places to leave an impact on the visible world. It was in a field of prayerful devotion, a season of serving, and a cave of community that God prepared David for his crown - the same way God prepares us. Take a look at your own life. Are you embracing God's process, the sometimes painstaking and maddening process?
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Pushing thru in growth
- By Carmen Gibson on 06-07-16
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Why Men Hate Going to Church
- By: David Murrow
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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David Murrow's groundbreaking new book reveals why men are the world's largest unreached people group. With eye-opening research and a persuasive grasp on the facts, Murrow explains the problem and offers hope and encouragement to women, pastors, and men. Why Men Hate Going to Church does not call men back to the church - it calls the church back to men.
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An honest view of church from a man's perspective
- By G on 02-05-12
By: David Murrow
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Radical
- Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
- By: David Platt
- Narrated by: David Platt
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily...BUT WHO DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVES LIKE THAT? DO YOU?
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Theology distorted
- By Ray on 09-29-11
By: David Platt
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Fantastic Philosophy - Would like more scripture
- By JPN on 09-30-19
By: Thom Rainer, and others
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I Am a Church Member
- Discovering the Attitude that Makes the Difference
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Best-selling author and ministry leader Thom S. Rainer drew an exceptional response when he posted a 500-word declaration about church membership to his daily blog. Thoughtfully expanded to book form, I Am a Church Member begins to remedy the outbreak of inactive or barely committed church members, addressing without apology what is expected of those who join a body of believers.
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excellent book!
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Nine out of 10 churches in America are either declining or growing slower than the communities in which they are located. Stated simply, 90 percent of American churches are losing ground in their communities. Change is not an option; it is an urgent need. We don't change our doctrines and biblical foundations, but we do change our methodologies and approaches for this rapidly changing culture.
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great read for church leaders
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Concise and insightful
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Fantastic Philosophy - Would like more scripture
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excellent book!
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great read for church leaders
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What listeners say about Small Church Essentials
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Robert Nelson
- 03-16-19
Encouraging
Very helpful advice from a pastor who has experienced the ups and downs of shepherding a small church. My church is about 20 people and the recommendation to keep it simple, focus on the essentials and prioritize mentoring is a relief.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Tristan Maiden
- 02-03-23
Grateful for this book!
I am a Pastor of a small passionate, community loving, unreasonably generous Church. Unfortunately, when some hear the word small, nothing that comes after it matters in the ministry world which is a shame. I loved this book and the ideas discussed because it’s a reminder that no matter the size we are called to lead well what God has entrusted to us. I have recommended this book to so many Pastor friends of mine. It was so good!
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- Bradley S. Rinehart
- 05-20-22
Excellent Observations
Karl does a great job providing insight and focus where it belongs - the health of the church. He doesn’t discredit large churches, but points out the differences between small and large. He provides plenty of examples and practical advice for small church pastors and leaders. We are going through this book as ministry leaders in our church. It is worth the read.
You will have to take into account that there are a few ministry examples Karl used that seemed safe in 2018 but may not be so today. He has it covered though, but challenging the church to be authentic.
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- T. Ogle
- 09-20-18
Excellent and practical
Vaters gives practical direction and argument for effective small churches.
This isn’t a strategy book, it’s a book about heart and honoring Jesus.
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1 person found this helpful
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- DJ
- 05-15-19
Splendid!
Exceptionally revealing, impressive and impactful. I could not stop listening till I got to the end. Really practical and time tested.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jennifer L
- 12-11-18
Small churches can also be healthy churches
I knew much of through experience, but it was very helpful to have it all in one place. I wish my seminary would have made this required reading instead of all those books on church structure that has nothing to do with my ministry context.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Ibrahim A.
- 03-01-19
Good listen and great advice!
Good book for pastors or anyone in church leadership roles. I found it helpful and insightful to learn how to not focus on growth as a goal but Ministry and growth or outreach as the end-result.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Debbie
- 02-22-23
Small churches please read
This book had great insight and encouragement to those of us who struggle thinking we need to be bigger to make a difference!!!
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- robert vest
- 04-14-21
this is a re-read to keep on the shelf
a breath of fresh air for leaders of smaller congregations. you probably want a print copy to mark up and highlight as well
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- Fuller
- 03-30-21
Really good paradigm shifting ideas for all church leaders
I was hesitant to commit to this book because I didn’t want to settle for small church thinking. But this book really attacks the myth that bigger is always better and identifies a lot of leadership strengths that can be exercised in a smaller setting. Vaters really challenges the notion the numerical growth is the only measure for church health and I think there’s a lot more of us that need to hear what he has to say.
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