“The temptation as a church and as a church leader is to hoard people, especially good people, especially if you are situated in an area without a regular influx of newcomers. It is immensely costly to give away your people to other ministries and other churches. It feels painful and costly and can make something that is already fragile feel even more so.”

I was privileged to grow up in a small church. There was no music group, no rapid growth, some teens but not a huge peer group. But what there was in the church was a gospel generosity that was healthy and outward looking and consistently gave away people to mission and ministry elsewhere. As I look back on that church, not perfect by a large stretch of the imagination, that healthy generosity is what really stands out for me. It is no surprise that for a small church it has produced a disproportionate number of pastors who lead churches elsewhere across the country.

It is only as we planted a small church and as we labor in it where the growth is slow that I now realise how amazing that gospel generosity really was. The temptation as a church and as a church leader is to hoard people, especially good people, especially if you are situated in an area without a regular influx of newcomers. It is immensely costly to give away your people to other ministries and other churches. It feels painful and costly and can make something that is already fragile feel even more so.

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