Small Churches: Overcoming Challenges of a Small Membership - Paper Example

Several distinct challenges are faced by churches with a small membership. These challenges distinguish them from the charges that have vast membership in the realization of their ministry roles (Tye 2008). The majority of the churches with small membership face challenges in their operation due to their desire to copy larger churches' activities. Concentration on the problems affecting small churches can improve their performance in the ministry. Financial constraints, insufficient staffing, and scarce expansion spaces, among other are the primary challenges of these churches (Tye 2008). However, dedication, innovation, and passion can help in solving the problems. The clergy and other leaders of churches with small membership must consider their churches as areas of offering spiritual needs to their members (Tye 2008). Christian education in small membership churches is integral in helping these churches rise to the challenges they face in their ministry.

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Christian education is a critical aspect of any church ministry devoted to providing the congregants' holistic spiritual needs. In a community that has value on the numbers of congregants, small membership churches are often seen as unfortunate and unable to serve their followers' spiritual needs. Nevertheless, there are outstanding opportunities that small churches can create to form, mold, and attract the following of faithful people of the Christ Jesus. By the provision of appropriate Christian education, the role of the clergy is exceptionally crucial (Tye 2008). The posters are invited to take the lead and show how their small membership churches discover a method and a vision of Christian education.

The nature and the benefits of small membership churches are critical and need to be established promptly. There are distinguishing features of small churches that are relevant to the activity of education. Tye identifies a crucial characteristic of a small membership church that provides the strength on which they value the connection among their members compared to other programs (Tye 2008). It means that the sense of society needs educators who are Christian to stress on people-centered education methods that concentrate on meeting individual desires and wants of the church members. Tye also believes that people-centric strategies would aid in confirming that faithfulness is indeed a quality that the members of the church should portray (Tye 2008).

The second quality of small churches is that they operate as closely connected families, and the relationship ensures that the members are comfortable and secure. Type mentions that churches with small membership often support the congregants' thoughts of enlarging and promoting diverse ministerial activities tailored to serve the needs of a family. According to Christianity's pedagogy, one of the powers of a family image in comparison to small churches is that it identifies the benefits of intergenerational unity and sharing of knowledge from the older people to the younger generations (Tye 2008). Tye argues that the arrangement witnessed in small churches is critical in allowing the more senior people to show the newer generations the way by giving practical examples that promote a connection to the church without having the need for youths (Tye 2008).

Another influential quality of churches with small members is their ability to promote the symbolic coexistence between traditions and orthodox doctrine. Tye highlights how churches of this type can use the traditional philosophy well blended with the orthodox one with enormous membership (Tye 2008). Tye insists that sustaining the well-rooted roots of traditional doctrine paves the way for the small churches to understand their way of life and identities, crucial in ensuring the continuity of the membership (Tye 2008). The customs are also integral since they pave the way for small membership churches to concentrate on their goals by reminding them of the problems and past experiences.

As mentioned earlier, Christian education is critical in small membership churches. However, the educators of this education must portray a range of diverse qualities to make teaching effective and to meet the objective of Christian education in these churches. Some of the most outstanding qualities of the educators may include the strong sense of community, has a good knowledge of traditions, encourages a high number of participation from the learners, enhance a sense of family connection among the learners (Tye 2008). The educator must also ensure that worshiping is a significant activity and, finally, must provide a simplified organizational structure.

Considering the characteristics mentioned above, it is necessary to note that all the churches with small membership are not similar. Each church regardless of the small number of members, will portray the characteristics and dynamics mentioned herein in their own distinguished and individual means. Nevertheless, these qualities are not specifically for the small membership churches because they may also apply to churches with a large membership (Tye 2008). They may be seen to be specifically evident is small churches and typically play an instrumental responsibility in the church ministry of Christian education. Ideally, people value the feeling of belonging, acceptance, among other determinants.

A strong feeling of belonging and coexistence with others is the foundation on which the operations of small churches are built. When being given matters to handle in these churches, most of them are relationships between individuals and not the curriculums used in teaching Christian education (Tye 2008).The hearts and the desires of the people are at the low membership churches, identifying and taking care of each other is crucial to its sense of ministry. Churches that have large membership ought to offer intentional ideologies to creating amongst themselves and the small membership churches where the people can quickly be identified with their names. Nonetheless, this only happens more naturally in charges with few members, and it is challenging to locate all the church members by their names in larger churches. The sense of belonging, therefore, is instrumental as all people need it.

Reference

Tye, K. B. (2008). Christian education in the small membership church. Abingdon Press.