Many pastors of smaller-sized churches dread the question almost everyone asks, “How big is your church/membership?” (If you tend to ask that question, please stop). First, pastor, just answer the question. Tell the inquisitive person honestly you have a small-sized congregation (“intimate”, or “close-knit” are good synonyms if you just cannot say the word “small”). Yes, people tend to be impressed with numbers, bells, and whistles, but do not be ashamed or hesitant to state what you have been blessed to oversee. The issue is not the size, but whether the church is healthy, as this article suggested: https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2013/july/rethinking-small-churches-6-questions-to-ask-about-your.html?paging=off
Secondly, switch the conversation away from membership to discipleship. Say something like, “We have a great group of people we are getting to know better, baptizing, and helping them know the Lord” or “We are focusing on reaching everyone we meet and bridging the gap between the community and our church .” or “We are helping our folks see the tremendous impact each of them can have outside of the church.”
The question I want us to focus on is what is your disciple-making strategy and is it working? Everything stems from this.
