Small Church is a big deal 

Hilary Taylor reports on efforts being made to resource and connect our Union's small churches

2015 has been a year of change around our Baptist Union as some Associations have taken up the challenge of gathering small churches together for days of encouragement, networking, teaching and eating.

The London Baptist Association's Small Church Connexion (SCC) have been holding events twice a year since 2003 for the smaller churches (those with 40 people or less) such as resource days, workshops, retreats and celebrations.

In October 2014, a meeting was held in London to which all Associations were invited. Representatives from seven Associations met to discuss small church life in both urban and rural situations and how best to encourage the churches.

The Associations all do great work among small churches but don't often get them to meet together for mutual encouragement. As the LBA had experience, two of the SCC team were asked to provide a draft programme for small church day conferences which could be rolled out across the country.

Central, Northern, East Midlands and South West Baptist Associations have all run with the idea in 2015, tweaking it to suit their locality. The days have all been well received by the small churches. Here are some comments:

    ‘Well worth travelling 85 miles’
    ‘I have appreciated the day – it was excellent’
    ‘I enjoyed every minute – no waffle, no wasted words, all practical stuff’
    ‘Fantastic day – so helpful’
    ‘When is the next conference?’

All Associations were all invited back to London in October 2015 to feedback on the events and to discuss the way ahead. Ten Associations were represented alongside our guests Jenni Entrican, current Baptist Union President, and Simon Mattholie, an accredited Baptist minister who is the chief executive of Rural Ministries. The feedback was very positive and discussion lively!

Looking ahead, it was suggested that the Associations hold a variety of events, to scratch where the churches are itching. What are the local issues? What resources do they lack? Do they want training? What subjects do they want to discuss?

Another suggestion was for a newsletter to be circulated to all the small churches within an Association as happens across the LBA. The SCC contacts and connects all 108 small churches about four times a year. It is full of stories, dates of upcoming events and ideas. The common feeling of isolation needs to be eliminated, so it's a good tool. Central Baptist Association has already taken up this idea.

Websites were also discussed. Each Association already puts all local events, news and resources on their websites, but it was decided to refer people to the LBA website (londonbaptist.org.uk) Small Church Connexion pages for specific good stories and resources. Additional resources include the blog I write for small churches (smallchurches.wordpress.com), as well as my book A Toolbox for Small Churches.

Let us celebrate our small churches, which make up half of our denomination, encouraging them to reach out in mission. Many small churches are doing amazing work in Jesus' name, often on a very limited budget, impacting not only their local communities but also globally.

It really is not about numbers; its about health. Let's think Kingdom as we work together and learn from each other across our Baptist Union. 

Hilary Taylor is the Small Church Enabler for the London Baptist Association, and a member of Ashford Common Baptist Church