Practice
The Strategically Small Church Intimate, Nimble, Authentic, and Effective, revised and expanded ed. Brandon J. O’Brien Small churches are the norm in America: 90 percent of churches see fewer than two hundred people in regular weekly attendance. In this revised and expanded edition, Brandon O’Brien helps readers understand that a smaller church is sometimes more strategic than a larger one. O’Brien explains that the smaller church is not a problem to solve or a liability to neutralize but a strategic advantage that can be leveraged for effective ministry in a variety of contexts. He also illustrates the strengths of small congregations with case studies. Today’s congregants want services that are local, personal, and intimate. Small churches provide space to nurture close relation- ships across age and lifestyle barriers, and they facilitate a higher level of commitment from laypeople. O’Brien shows how small churches can take full advantage of their size and analyzes how other churches can learn from their strategies. This new edition contains 20 percent new material and incorpo- rates insights from the author’s refined thinking on local church ministry after almost two decades in service to pastors worldwide. It will be invaluable for professors and students in pastoral training programs and practical theology courses and will help small-church pastors and leaders play to their strengths. Discussion questions for pastors are included. FROM THE BOOK For the last couple of generations, conventional church-leadership wisdom has held that larger churches are more effective than smaller ones in the core activities of worship, formation, and mis- sion. For many years, the superior effectiveness of larger churches was not tested. It was assumed. The primary evidence of effective- ness was size itself. Bigger does better because bigger is better. . . . This assumption has had its conscientious objectors. Their number has grown significantly in the past twenty years. Increasing interest in liturgical forms of worship and rising concern about discipleship, spiritual formation, and more recently, mercy and justice have raised serious questions about whether worship, formation, and mission can be accomplished at the massive scale of megaministry.
JULY 2025 • 160 pp. • paper • $22.99 • 9781540969118
Brandon J. O’Brien (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is director of global thought leadership for Redeemer City to City. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including the bestselling Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes (with E. Randolph Richards), and has served as a pastor for two small congregations.
49
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease