But while there are many reasons to celebrate the things larger churches have already done (and continue to accomplish), sometimes we fail to overlook (at best) and neglect (at worst) the work that small churches can do and are doing. Small churches (250 or fewer members/attendees) make up the vast majority of evangelical churches in the United States.

As the people of a missionary God, we are entrusted to participate in the world the same way he does—by committing to be his ambassadors (see John 20:21; 2 Cor. 5:20). “Missional” describes the perspective to see people as God does and to engage in the activity of reaching them. The church on mission is the church as God intended, loving our neighbors as ourselves, and proclaiming the good news of redemption found in Jesus.

Small Matters in Mission

In today’s church culture, we seem to focus a larger percentage of our writings, thoughts, and conferences on larger churches and how they are reaching people for Jesus. Their pastors seem to be the go-to public figures for speaking invitations, and their model(s) of church growth are extolled as something for all churches to emulate.

But while there are many reasons to celebrate the things larger churches have already done (and continue to accomplish), sometimes we fail to overlook (at best) and neglect (at worst) the work that small churches can do and are doing. Small churches (250 or fewer members/attendees) make up the vast majority of evangelical churches in the United States.

Popular pastor and author Francis Chan left a church he and his wife had founded, a church that had grown to over 5,000 in its seven years of existence. Recently he went into detail on why he left:

I got frustrated at a point, just biblically. According to the Bible, every single one of these people has a supernatural gift that’s meant to be used for the body. And I’m like 5,000 people show up every week to hear my gift, see my gift. That’s a lot of waste. Then I started thinking how much does it cost to run this thing? Millions of dollars!

So I’m wasting the human resource of these people that according to Scripture have a miraculous gift that they could contribute to the body but they’re just sitting there quietly. . . . [T]hey just sit there and listen to me.

Today, Chan leads a small house church network in San Francisco called We Are Church. Chan disciples leaders in the network, two pastors per house church who work for free, and enjoys this smaller setting where everyone can make use of their spiritual gifts. Everyone reads the Bible for themselves. Chan does not preach. They meet in homes and pray and care for one another. The plan is to double the number of house churches every year so that in ten years, there would be over a million people committed to actively being the church.

Chan’s theology of gifting and service in the church is supported by Paul’s writings in 1 Corinthians 12. Paul makes note that God gives spiritual gifts to each believer, and that believers are to work together for the good of the church. He immediately moves to the unity of the church and makes special note that members working together, exercising their gifts and not letting the supposedly more important gifts take center stage, leads to a healthy church. In Chan’s mind, it is difficult in a large church for each member to exercise his or her gift. The point is movement, which can happen in larger churches, but is essential in smaller churches.

In addition to churches, large and small, understanding the giftings of their members, all churches need to begin with an understanding of their identity as a church. The concept of sentness is critical to an accurate biblical understanding of the church and its relationship to the world.

Big Picture for Smaller Churches

Many people sit in small churches each week and wonder how to move forward. Let me suggest several big-picture ways to begin moving toward mission and then in the remainder of the chapter iterate ten very practical applications.

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