I will be writing this week about the greatest challenges doing ministry in small towns. My first attempt at the multiple day format thing. So all you small town crazy pastors who follow this thing…share this with your fellow crazies! Come on…link to this thing or e-mail it on. Let the conversation begin!

#1–Very few people talk about small town ministry.

When is the last time that a major conference, article, story, or list included those in small towns? Not that I am bitter…not at all. Just stating the facts.

Big church, big town ministry while providing many principals that have driven our thinking and models, there are huge obstacles to many of the methods they use in small towns.

I did have the opportunity to share at the Leadership Network Multi-Site conference this year @ Seacoast church. I think they were shocked and pleased that as many people came to the “doing multi-site in the sticks” break-out.

The sad thing is that most people just find that small towns are irrelevant. (And sadly, we don’t present the best images in many of our small town churches.)

That is why we started THE STICKS gathering. To learn, grow and network with each other. Stop making excuses, change your schedule, ask daddy big bucks for a few hundred bucks and come on out. Let’s do this thing together.

Why am I passionate about this: I believe it takes twice the leadership to have an impacting ministry in a small town as it does in a bigger town. We’ll keep talking about why the rest of this week!

Blessings and peace!
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Doing ministry in a small town? Check out the sticks conference coming in just 2 weeks!