But somewhere along the line, I think I subconsciously developed a line of thinking that big churches were better than small churches. This thinking of mine was particularly true when it came to youth ministry. I couldn’t conceive how a small church, without ‘adequate resources’ and paid staff, could really deliver when it came to the complexities of programming a great youth ministry.
What an idiot, right?
I remember a number of years ago now, feeling a bit disoriented when hearing an influential youth work expert tell me about his own teenage experience of youth ministry. This guy grew up in a tiny church of 30 people. He said: “We didn’t have a youth ministry. My experience of youth ministry was Bob, the guy who genuinely and authentically asked me how I was, every week.”
What I’ve noticed is that some of the best youth ministry takes place in small churches. Of course, that requires us to unpack what I mean by ‘best’. Certainly, without all the bells and whistles, many youth workers (particularly those who have access to the bells and whistles) would assume that ‘nothing good can come out of Nazareth’ (‘cause it’s small and backwater). “Sure, they’re trying, but there’s no way they can pull off the creativity, complexity, and competence we embody.” (Some big church is going to pick up those three ‘C words’ as their tag line, just watch.)
Here’s my observational insight: small churches are often blessed into wonderful youth ministry by their very lack of resources. In fact, I’m becoming more and more convinced that one of the worst things that can happen to a youth ministry is to become well-resourced. If small churches had resources, they might have gone down the same paths of distraction and bluster that have plagued so many of us.
Small churches are often blessed into wonderful youth ministry by their very lack of resources
I noticed something amazing at a particular youth event I was speaking a few years back. This event was primarily populated with small youth groups, five to 15 teenagers per group. There was one larger group (with more than 30 teenagers), but most were little groups. What I noticed seemed like it should have been more previously obvious to me: there was a significantly higher percentage of ‘misfits’ at this event. Overweight teenagers, teens with limps, one in a wheelchair, even otherwise normal-ish teenagers with horrible haircuts that revealed a likely high level of social awkwardness. There were fewer ‘beautiful people’, fewer of the kinds of teenagers who have multiple social options.
In the moment I first noticed this, as the teenagers were filing in for a session where I was speaking, I was surprised by my own emotion. My throat constricted. I thought I might cry. It was absolutely and stunningly gorgeous. It hit me like a brick; these misfits had clearly been told: “You belong, you matter, we want you here.”
If you’re in a smaller church (let’s say 200 people or fewer - the vast majority of churches in the UK), thank God for your lack of resources. Thank God that you may have had your hand forced to not pursue showiness and ‘pizazz’. Count it a blessing that your only option may have been to ‘compromise’ on what you wish you could do, and ‘settle for’ spending time with teenagers without impressing them.
If you’re in a mid-sized or larger church, watch out for those resources: they bite (and their venom can lull you into the lie that your resources are what bring changed lives). Watch out for how resources seduce you and threaten to control you. Pay attention to your level of excitement over budget approvals (this could be your ‘canary in a coal mine’ - warning you that it’s time to redirect your energies).
There’s unquestionably some amazing youth work happening in larger churches, but only if they’ve ruthlessly embraced a value of small. Smaller churches don’t have to figure this out as they’re ‘embracing small’ by default.
So, TLDR? Smaller churches have a shorter pathway to amazing youth work.
