Hi, and welcome to Confessions of a
Small-Church Pastor — my blog for churches with up to 300 in attendance! I was selected by the editors of Outreach magazine in 2006, to write a post a week for 2007. Well, now it’s 2009, and a community of small-church friends has formed around this blog. You can read the story of what has happened here in our small church of about 100, by clicking on the About Our Church page.
Debbie and I were called to Chatham Baptist Church in Chatham, Virginia over 4 years ago. We live in a old Victorian house on Main Street, which is a lot busier than you might think for a town of 1300. Debbie is an artist. Her blog, Goodthoughts, has photos of our house and gardens, plus Debbie’s art. She says we live a life of art, writing, and encouragement. I like that.
I’m an alum of Mercer University, and Southwestern Baptist Seminary, and currently I’m working on my DMin. at Fuller Seminary, concentrating on missional leadership. In addition, I did doctoral work in church growth at Fuller Seminary in the 1990s.
You can email me at chuck [at] goodthoughts [dot] net.
Writing, Speaking, Conference Leadership
I have written for denominational publications and Leadership Journal.
- Getting To Your Marketplace is the story of how we founded and grew a new church in Greensboro, NC.
- The Bowl of Hope tells about our success in revitalizing a wonderful United Methodist Church in Tennessee.
- Learn To Partner is in Leadership’s Spring 2007 issue. Christianity Today featured the article on their site here.
- Outreach Magazine published my article, Grow Your VBS in 5 Easy Steps in Jan/Feb 2008; and, Building Community in the Mar/Apr 2008 issue, plus 4 more articles for their Small Church, Big Idea column. I’m writing that column again for 2009. Also, links to my blog posts are on the Outreach magazine homepage.
- ChristianityToday.com posted my article, Where Is God? about the shootings at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, where 33 faculty and students died.
- Outcomes magazine recently published my article on community collaboration.
- I have done church consulting and led national conferences. Outreach invited me to lead a conference at NOC07, titled Small Church, Big Impact: Creating Missional Partnerships in Your Community. I’ll also be at NOC08 leading Small Churches Make Good Neighbors: 10 Ways Your Church Can Change Your Community. They’ve invited me back for 2009, too.
- In June, 2007, I was keynote speaker for The City Mission of Cleveland, Ohio at their conference, “Building Without a Blueprint: Walking Alongside Others to Transform a City.” You can see my powerpoint on AgreaterCleveland.org.
- I wrote “Deacons Leading In Church Ministry” for the book, Deacons As Leaders, now in its 5th printing. Chapter 2 details how we formed and maintained an effective deacon ministry in the church we founded, Cornerstone Baptist.
- You can access audio and video posts of my sermons here.
- I post full manuscripts of my sermons here usually by Friday or Saturday before the Sunday I preach them.
And now the obligatory disclaimer: I blog for Outreach magazine. Everything here, however, is my personal opinion and is not read or approved before it is posted. Opinions, conclusions and other information expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of Outreach magazine. – Chuck
I just stopped by and wanted to encourage you — I too am a small-church pastor. As a matter of fact we just lost a family (members) who we had been grooming for two years for leadership roles, to a local up-and-coming Mega-Church.
Sometimes this role is bone-wearying, and other times it is incredible, but at all times it is rewarding — to watch people come into the Kingdom of our Savior is something that is truly priceless…
I will check back when I can…
As a member of a smaller congregation, I want to encourage all small church pastors that God is alive and well in our communities and He is at work changing the hearts of your congregations. Over the past year, I have seen God do extraordinary things in and through the life of our church. May God richly bless your churches for your faithful service to Him.
Merry Christmas!
Dave, thanks and I agree with you that God is alive and well. That is our only hope and the only hope of large churches as well. Check back in — I’m interested in your thoughts. — Chuck
Nice to meet you on-line, sir. God bless you.
I too am a pastor of a small church (or as you aplty put it “micro-church’). We average around 50 people a week. I am looking forward to “mining” your blog. It is encouraging to meet other pastors of “micro-churches.” Blessings, Kevin.
Anglobaptist and Islandpastor, welcome and great to have you here. Anglobaptist, great blog. Islandpastor, let me know if you throw a blog up and I’ll check it out. Thanks, Chuck
Chuck,
I posted a blog today that you might be interested in. The topic is Wed evening services (“Still Blushing”). I have concluded it’s not an option for our congregation. If you have a moment to give it a read, I think you’ll be encouraged. Many churches are opting for forgo Wed evenings for various reasons. We have chosen to continue our Wed evening service.
Laced with Grace,
Jim Pruitt
MSCC Abilene, TX
http://jnapruitt.typepad.com (scroll down to “Still Blushing.”)
PS: I have really enjoyed all of your sites and have been passing them on to other pastors that I call friends.
Jim, thanks for the link to your blog. I like it and will be back. Thanks also for sharing my stuff with others — I appreciate it. You and I have share the same perspective on some stuff. Let’s figure out how to stay in touch. – Chuck
Hey Chuck, I do have a blog it is called “Shooting the Breeze.” Here is the link: http://kevinmartineau.blogspot.com/
Chuck,
Yes, let’s do figure out a way to stay in touch. Iron sharpens iron. I blog regularly on MySpace… yes, I know, risky business. But the impact has been significant. I need to spend more time getting my blog site up to speed and ween off of MS. Looking over your sites has given me some ideas and has inspired me to learn to utilize TypePad more effectively.
I have also been intrigued by your writings on the Church as Abbey. Just goes to show that there is very little that is new under the sun. I look forward to more interaction.
Grace and Peace,
Jim Pruitt aka Pastor J
Tilted Halo Society
Chuck,
Found your blog by clicking a tag from my blog. Interesting blog. I too am a SWBTS alum.
DH
Dee, glad you found me and drop in often. My SWBTS days were great and it’s good to hear from a fellow alum. Merry Christmas! — Chuck
hello! i luv your site, and I’m glad to meet another Christian blogger! stop by mine @ http://scripture4u.wordpress.com
Keep in the Faith!!
-neogotchi
Chuck,
Enjoy reading your blog. Gave you a shout out today on my blog.
DH
[...] have a “friend” named Chuck Warnock who encourages me nearly every week through his blog. We’ve never met and most likely never [...]
Great thoughts. Stop by my BLOG sometime:
http://spadinofamily.wordpress.com/
chuck i love your vision and passion for small church.
do you know Jim Toole from San Clemente Pres?
i believe he is in the same DMIN program you are in.
amazing! chuck, you married michelle and me at lawndale in august 1985. cool to find you here. i linked here via the EPC z4.10 page. i look forward to connecting in with this community.
Jeff Gardner
THRESHOLD
Charlotte, NC
Dear Chuck:
After my morning Quiet Time today I felt guided to google ‘Celtic Abbey Churches’, since their history inspired me to establish my home as ‘The Abbey of Merton St. Ambrose’ in a subdivision in the Bay Area of San Francisco where I now live.
This May I withdrew from parochial pastoring in Berkeley after 50 years of ministering to small churches, in order to concentrate on my own family and their neighbors. Since May I have been lying fallow. But next May when I celebrate the 50th anniversary of my priesting at the hands of Archbishop Ramsey in York Minster, I intend to celebrate a dedication and blessing of this Abbey in Martinez.
I have always recognized the chemical fact (and metaphor) that when a solution becomes saturated it will spontaneously precipitate crystals throughout the container.
Humankind is becoming globally saturated with Christ. Everywhere the Spirit is precipitating ‘christal souls’ ready to form households for the human children yet to be born.
So discovering a ‘christal community’ in Main Street, Chatham, has been for me a welcome confirmation of my own intuitions. As my wife and son are gardeners and all our lawns have been grubbed up this year for veggies and dwarf fruit trees, your take on ‘Eden’ further confirms all that I have felt guided to do.
I do not have your webskills, but over the next few weeks I intend to explore every aspect of your site to see what insights I may glean and copy for our own website.
Meanwhile, Small is Beautiful, and as Kant wrote in 1793:
after the (Winter) Darkness we experience Inner Light;
after the (Spring) Light we experience Fellowship;
and from the (Summer) Fellowship we go out
into our neighborhoods to Harvest Justice.
For Justice is the public face of Love.
Wishing you and all who live in America
a fruitful Advent; a Joyful Christmas; a Revolutionary New Year;
and a Popular Administration that will renew its subscription
to the Geneva Convention!!
Shalom – Richard Mp
The Abbey of Merton St. Ambrose, Martinez, CA.
I have always beleive that a Healthy church has nothing to do truly with size. I have been pastoring for the last 13 yrs, turn around ministries. My first pastorate was a church in the inner city of Passaic, NJ, the size 38. In ten yrs it grow to around 275 in general attendace on a sunday morning. after that, the Lord lead us to a bigger ministry as Sr. Associate pastor of a church with an average attandance of around 1,200 . For the last year, we are pastors of church ( Turnaround ministry) that average around 130 to a general attendance of 425. The dynamics of a small church are unique with regards to growth. A small church, that eventually grows will depend on the health of its leadership and members. Growing heathly is a key factor.
Hi
I am very impressed by everything on this site. I’m a Christian too.
When I return to college, I am actually starting on a regular newsletter with the school chaplain to add to my writing commitments of the college magazine, another up and coming magazine and a newspaper.
I am 17 years old, the Youth Community Correspondent for the North and East Manchester Advertiser and member of Cleland Thom’s premier gold standard mentoring scheme.
Check out my website: samsondada.com
16sd, thanks for your comment and blessings on your ministry!
[...] Warnock, also a Baptist pastor and the author of the blog Confessions of a Small-Church Pastor wrote this: Of course, the response we hear [when we invoke the radical words of Jesus to "turn the [...]
dear pastor chuck, i just read your letter ‘don’t quit’, because i am in despair. my wife and i recently asked for release from our pastor to begin a work that God has called an equipped us to do. iam an ordained elder and my wife is an evangelist,we have spent many years preparing for thsi work for God-we have began having weekly bible studies and the #’s are increasing and response is excellent (‘can’t wait til next week”), anyhow, i felt God leading us to begin public worship (perhaps 2x monthly), and as we don’t intend on having a house church,and have no bldg, i reached out to fellow pastors in my area as to available space to worship. i’ve gotten three very positive responses so far, and we are excited to move forward. the issue is that, our bible study group is beginning to wain. part of it is my fault, as we had a steady following on thursdays, but i had to switch to weds for one month, due to another teaching assignment, now i am trying to get back on track for thursdays, but i can’t start up public worship with my wife and myself!! is this all an attempt by the enemy to throw us off just before God starts to bless the work? help
god Bless you, pastor mike
I have no comment @ this time. I was looking on your website to see if you had an employment section. I realize a lot is volunteer help but I am sure some are on payroll and I am in search of employment. Would you direct me as to how I would be able to apply.
Thanking you in advance.
Darlene Paige
I finally found a small church blog. Thanks. I’m going to follow you.
Milton, welcome aboard!