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Small church bluesI wonder if the plight of so many small, Christian churches and fellowships is at all disturbing to the consciences of Christians today as they drive past with scarcely a glance in their direction on their way to something better. We all know of church buildings in our neighbourhoods that have been sold off for storage purposes, sold to cult members or those of other religions, or to developers, and we comfort ourselves with the knowledge that the place was decaying and about to close anyway, so it doesn’t matter; life has to move on. In almost every case, these buildings were erected by means of monies donated, often sacrificially, by the Christians who lived in the area at that time. Their hearts’ desire was for the institution of a shelter fit for the purpose of meeting together for worship and prayer with the ultimate intention of reaching the unsaved and furthering all the work of the gospel in the neighbourhoods in which they were set. Prayer was a vital part of the preparation; foundation stones were laid and churches and chapels were opened to the sound of rejoicing and thanksgiving to God for his provision and wonderful answers to the faithful prayers and entreaties of his beloved people. These places of worship were once treasured, but, from that time on, the buildings have passed into the variable stewardship of subsequent generations. Supermarket churchesThe origin of these precious meeting places cannot be compared with that of corner shops which opened for convenience in the Victorian suburbs and yet they are being treated with less respect than they deserve as worshippers flock to the ‘supermarket’ churches which offer a range of services and amenities and demand less commitment in these days of ‘multiple choice’. At the conference sponsored by SEGP at St. Helen’s Church, Bishopsgate, on February 3, Phillip Jensen described his ‘E’ category churches as those which needed reinventing. It was, he said, no longer economically viable to keep them open. They needed undertakers to come in prepared to take over from the people who might be more willing to change because of the rock bottom nature of the work in its state of degeneration. As I listened, three questions arose in my mind, born out of our experience as leaders of an ‘E’ (if not an ‘F’!) church. Leave the comfort zoneFirstly, I wondered, exactly who is willing to become an ‘undertaker’? In seeking to help to keep one, small church open, we have found no one willing to leave the ‘comfort zone’ of a large church to do anything (other than preach occasionally) for a small one, let alone ‘undertake’ for them. To do so would be far too risky. Once churchgoers have become used to the quantity and quality of provision within the larger churches, the level of commitment required for membership of a small fellowship and the veritable mountain of work that looms larger make joining such a most unattractive proposition. Sub-standard Christians?Secondly, I wondered what Phillip Jensen had in mind when he, an Australian, spoke of ‘change’ and ‘reinvention’ of our British ‘E’ churches. What is this ‘turn around’ that appears to be so necessary to survival? I have heard three unconnected people use the phrase recently. They have said to us, ‘If the church does not change, it will die’. It is like a line from some new chorus; a clichˇ that has been revived. We have lived long enough to have witnessed ‘the church’ endeavouring for years to change and all that change has produced little more than a sad declension in the spiritual tenor of the church in general and a reprobate society. The suggestion seems to imply that what the ‘fews’ of us do, with our Lord in the midst (he promised to be with the twos and threes who met together in his name), is somehow lacking now and definitely sub-standard for this technological age. We would be very happy to broaden the programme in our church to provide for different needs, but we can do little unless we are joined by younger people with enthusiasm, vision, courage and Christian mettle. We need people who are willing to serve the Lord humbly, not with a proliferation of new ideas, but with a genuine desire to study his Word and with great sorrow in their hearts for the unsaved. We need people who believe that the same old-fashioned preaching, the hymns that are grounded in Scripture and prayer to our God who does not change will be the means by which some are saved. Re-building churchesThirdly, I have noticed a new generation of ‘corner shops’ or their equivalent. They are situated in helpfully strategic positions, just as the little churches and chapels once were, and are offshoots from the large supermarkets, Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s, for example, whose managements have seen the wisdom of smaller outlets. Obviously, the world has its eye to business and is first again to see opportunities that lethargic Christians are not yet all aware of. From time to time we read in the Christian press about ‘church plants’. I wonder if there could be more work done in the area of revitalising small churches that are already there, rather than establishing new works which often do not have a building of their own. One suggestion made by Phillip Jensen caught my attention particularly. I may be placing a different interpretation on what he actually said, but I liked the possibility that, as a move in the right direction, groups of people from big churches should take turns to visit small congregations to join in with one of their services. They would need, of course, to be in sympathy with the mode of worship, even if they, personally, prefer something different. There must be no ‘going in to show them how to do it’. That would be anathema. BenefitsThree benefits (at least) would come out of these visits if they are made in the right spirit. The small church and the preacher would be very encouraged — small fellowships can feel quite lonely and isolated; the witness of seeing more people trooping into the building could give some ‘outsiders’ courage to go in too; some among the visitors may see jobs that need doing, burdens that need someone else to share them, friends to be made, and, who knows, they may even feel a call to make the place their own realm of service. We must not, we cannot allow our little churches and chapels to die. One of the most frequent prayers in our small group is for young men to see the vision, accept the courage that the Lord has promised to give and grasp the exciting challenge of pastoring small fellowships, then seeing their humility and hard work rewarded with growth in the Lord. Vera K.A. Conway,
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