The Cry of Small Churches
By Mxolisi Vilakaz, Contributing Writer
The church process understands that the strength of our churches would not be equal. Hence, the classifications of our churches and pastors from A to E. The church process requires the presiding elder to pay more attention to the churches with less strength which are normally called the small churches. This broadly remains unaccounted and not seen.
There is much literature written on the big church and the benefits that go with them such as getting the most experienced pastors with an impeccable pastoral record, a vibrant worship experience, and the stronghold and ability to influence the polity of the church. Largely, the membership of the strong churches dominate the leadership of the church and auxiliaries which is an added advantage to the strong churches.
The Melian Dialogue, a dialogue between the Melians and Athens, provides clear relations of power in international relations. Confederalism and, in our case, Connectionism says that “the strong do what they have power to do, and the weak do what the strong prescribe of them to do.” This is a tragedy that needs to be mitigated.
Largely, big churches dominate small churches which confine them to remain small with no intentional programmes to empower and develop it. One of the tragedies is that mostly because the “small” churches have limited capacity to pay the best pastors with proven impeccable pastoral records, presiding elders normally recommend pastors who are new in ministry and have secular employment to take charge of small churches. The result is that the pastor would have no time to do extensive work in the charge. In some instances, the pastor would be residing over 300 km away from the charge which makes pastoral care a nightmare. In addition, the organisation of the church, preparation classes for new members, church conferences, official boards, and the various boards on which the church polity rest are never organised; and when organised, they are dysfunctional. The result is that members join other denominations nearby.
Small churches are not even represented in church businesses outside of the local charge because their character is that they are rural and remote, without any financial strength to even send delegates to the polity of the church. So, the Sunday School Conventions, Presiding Elder’s District Conferences, Annual Conferences, and General Conferences are festivals of the big churches making decisions suitable for big churches. As a result, many small churches are not able to meet any of the church obligations and their pastors are forever on the stage appearing before the Ministerial Inefficiency Committee or ignored as if they do not exist and their cry often falls on deaf ears.
Since the start of the lockdown, most of the small churches are unable to even interact with their members. For instance, in one presiding elder district in the East Annual Conference, out of nine pastors, 55.6% of the pastors resides over 300km away from the charge and 66.7% of them have secular full-time employment.
Our church should reconsider improving its support to small churches such as the appointment of pastors fit for developing the church and enable to provide effective pastoral care and administration to the church, rollout programme of membership training, and development aimed at developing small churches. Subsidisation of small churches to participate in the polity of the church and careful cooperation of members from small churches is needed to participate in the leadership of the church and its auxiliaries as a form of mentorship.
The cry is to take us along. Do not leave us.
