Significant Church Small Church Research Study

[DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THE REPORT]

[le français suit]

Most evangelical churches in Canada are small.

You would expect to find a significant number of resources geared toward the small church, and you’d think a significant portion of pastoral training curriculum would be dedicated to training for small church ministry.

But our research shows most resources and training for church leadership and ministry assume large church contexts that simply do not translate to a small or a Canadian context.

This report comes out of a research partnership that sought to understand the needs of small, Canadian, evangelical churches. We set out to understand from pastors what small churches need to function and flourish in Canada. This report is an opportunity to care for small churches as they are rather than how they are not. It’s an opportunity to understand how the small church is, truly, a significant church. (See also our shareable media release.)

Details

Significant Church: Understanding the Value of the Small Evangelical Church in Canada, by Rick Hiemstra and Lindsay Callaway. Faith Today Publications, 2023. ISBN 978-1-989246-02-3. Printed by the Canadian Evangelical Small Church Study partnership. 238 pages. PDF.

Simplified Table of Contents

1. Small Church

   What is Small? Size Dynamics. Environmental Considerations. Covenants.

2. Pastors

   Demographics. Success in Ministry. Ministry Preparation. Role. Expectations. Pastoral Tenure.

3. Community Engagement

   Community Perceptions and Cultural Distance. Community Engagement.

4. Networks

   Network Theory. The Importance of Ministry Networks. Network Distance. Networks Pastors Participate In. Women in Ministry.

5. Denominations

   Denominational Expectations for Small Churches. Small Church Expectations for Denominations. Denomination-Church Relationship. Denomination Switching.

6. COVID-19

   Mastering New Technology. COVID and Congregational Budget. COVID and Worship. Divisions over COVID Restrictions. COVID’s Effects on Pastors. Rural Difference. Other Ministry Elements.

7. Social Issues

8. Front/Back Matter

   Thank You. Executive Summary. Introduction. Biblography. Abbreviations. Glossary. Appendices on Methodology and Survey Questionnaires.\

[DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THE REPORT]

La plupart des églises évangéliques au Canada sont petites.

On s'attendrait à trouver un nombre important de ressources orientées vers les petites églises, et on penserait qu'une partie importante du programme de formation pastorale soit consacrée à la formation au ministère des petites églises.

Mais notre recherche montre que la plupart des ressources et des formations pour le leadership et le ministère des églises supposent des contextes de grandes églises qui ne sont tout simplement pas transposables au contexte de petite église ou au contexte canadien.

Ce rapport est le fruit d'un partenariat de recherche qui a cherché à comprendre les besoins des petites églises évangéliques canadiennes. Nous avons cherché à comprendre auprès des pasteurs ce dont les petites églises ont besoin pour fonctionner et s'épanouir au Canada. Ce rapport est une occasion de s'occuper des petites églises telles qu'elles sont plutôt que telles qu'elles ne sont pas. C'est une occasion de comprendre comment la petite église est, vraiment, une église importante.

Détails

Significant Church : Comprendre la valeur de la petite église évangélique au Canada, par Rick Hiemstra et Lindsay Callaway. Faith Today Publications, 2023. ISBN 978-1-989246-02-3. Imprimé par le partenariat d'étude des petites églises évangéliques canadiennes. 238 pages. PDF.

Table des matières simplifiée

Voir ci-dessus. Le rapport n'est disponible qu'en anglais.

[TÉLÉCHARGER UN PDF DU RAPPORT EN ANGLAIS]

Partners and Research Process

[le français suit]

The Canadian Evangelical Small Church Study (CESCS) investigated the ministry and mission opportunities that small churches engage in, as well as the challenges that hinder vitality in congregational life and ministry.

The study sought to hear particularly from small church pastors or leaders who have stories to tell about the value of the small church in Canada. 

The CESCS is a research partnership between the following EFC affiliate organizations:

• Apostolic Church of Pentecost 

• Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada 

• Canadian Baptists of Ontario & Quebec 

• Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches 

• Canadian Midwest District, Christian & Missionary Alliance 

• Evangelical Free Church of Canada

• Pinewoods Chapel & Vision Ministries Canada 

• Small Church Connections 

• The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada 

• The Wesleyan Church of Canada 

• Tyndale University 

Partnership Chair

• Ron Johnston, Small Church Connections

Research Team

• Rick Hiemstra, Director of Research, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

• Lindsay Callaway, Researcher, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

• Stéphane Couture, Directeur régional du Québec, l’Alliance évangélique du Canada

Research Process

1. Ministry Consultation (Completed May 2019)

2. Partnership Formation (Completed June 2020)

3. Literature Review (Completed February 2020)

4. Ministry Expert Interviews (Completed December 2020)

5. Small Church Pastor Interviews (Completed November 2021)

6. National Small Church Pastor Survey (Completed November 2022)

7. Consultation on Research Findings (Completed December 2022)

8. Dissemination of Findings (Starting January 17, 2023)

For more information about the CESCS or to book a speaker please contact:

Rick Hiemstra, Lead Investigator

research@theEFC.ca

613-233-9868 x332

Lindsay Callaway, Researcher

EFC Centre for Research on Church and Faith

613-233-9868 x324

L'Étude sur les petites églises évangéliques canadiennes a examiné les possibilités de ministère et de mission dans lesquelles s'engagent les petites églises, ainsi que les défis qui entravent la vitalité de la vie et du ministère des assemblées. L'étude a cherché à entendre en particulier des pasteurs ou des dirigeants de petites églises qui ont des histoires à raconter sur la valeur de la petite église au Canada.

L'EPEEC est un partenariat de recherche entre les organisations affiliées suivantes de l'AEC :

• Church of Pentecost (Église apostolique de la Pentecôte)

• Baptists of Atlantic Canada (Églises baptistes du Canada atlantique)

• Baptists of Ontario & Quebec (Églises baptistes de l'Ontario et du Québec)

• Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (l’Association des églises des frères mennonites du Québec)

• Canadian Midwest District, Christian & Missionary Alliance (L’Alliance chrétienne et missionnaire, District du centre-ouest canadien)

• Evangelical Free Church of Canada (Église évangélique libre)

• Pinewoods Chapel & Vision Ministries Canada (Chapelle Pinewoods et Ministère de la vision du Canada)

• Small Church Connections (Connexions des petites églises)

• The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (L’Alliance évangélique du Canada)

• The Wesleyan Church of Canada (Église Wesleyan du Canada)

• Tyndale University (l'Université Tyndale)

Président du partenariat

• Ron Johnston, Small Church Connections (Connexions des petites églises)

Équipe de recherche

• Rick Hiemstra, directeur de la recherche, l'Alliance évangélique du Canada

• Lindsay Callaway, chargée de recherche, l'Alliance évangélique du Canada

• Stéphane Couture, Directeur régional du Québec, l’Alliance évangélique du Canada

Processus de recherche

1. Consultation du ministère (Achevée en mai 2019)

2. Formation du partenariat (Achevée en juin 2020)

3. Analyse documentaire (Achevée en février 2020)

4. Entrevues avec des experts du ministère (Achevées en décembre 2020)

5. Entrevues avec des pasteurs de petites églises (Achevées en novembre 2021)

6. Enquête nationale auprès des pasteurs de petites églises (Achevée en novembre 2022)

7. Consultation sur les résultats de la recherche (Achevée en décembre 2022)

8. Diffusion des constats (À partir du 17 janvier 2023)

Pour plus d'informations sur l'EPEEC, veuillez contacter :

Rick Hiemstra, enquêteur principal

research@theEFC.ca

613-233-9868, poste 332

Lindsay Callaway, enquêteur

EFC Centre for Research on Church and Faith (Centre AEC de recherche sur l'église et la foi)

613-233-9868 x324

Related Resources and Selected

Bibliography

Resources

Small Church Connections (smallchurchconnections.com)

This is Us! Canadian Small Churches in Action – Podcast

(smallchurchconnections.com/podcasts)

Faith Trends Podcast (theefc.ca/faithtrends). Episode 15, Why small churches in Canada need our attention, discusses the Significant Church study report.

Canadian Small Church Ministry Centre (cscmc.ca)

Flourishing Congregations Institute (flourishingcongregations.org)

Appreciating small churches, article by Bill Fledderus (Faith Today, Mar/Apr 2023)

Selected Bibliography

For a complete bibliography, see the report pages 184-186.

Alpha Canada. “The Priority & Practice of Evangelism: Canadian Church Leader Perspectives in 2021.” Alpha Canada, September 9, 2021. https://alphacanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Alpha-Evangelism-Report-FINAL.pdf.

Beadle, Timothy. Turning Over a New Leaf. Lulu Publishing Services, 2020. http://www.turningoveranewleaf.ca.

Elliott, Stephen D. Next Level Church. Fishers, Indiana: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2021. https://www.parasource.com/next-level-church-9781632574619.

Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change. “Kelowna and Sudbury: What Makes a City a City? | EUC | York University.” Accessed September 7, 2022. https://euc.yorku.ca/news-story/what-makes-a-city-a-city-officially-kelowna-and-sudbury-might-be-in-for-a-surprise.

Haensel, Robin. “Exploring Opportunities to Provide Spiritual Care to Inhabitants of Sparsely Populated Regions.” D. Min., Lutheran Theological Seminary/Saskatoon Theological Union, 2019.

Harder, Cam. “New Shoots from Old Roots: The Challenge and Potential of Mission in Rural Canada.” In Green Shoots Out of Dry Ground: Growing a New Future for the Church in Canada, edited by John P. Bowen. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2013.

https://wipfandstock.com/green-shoots-out-of-dry-ground.html.

Johnston, Ron. Reality Check for the Church: Discovering a Unique Vision for the Small Church. Word Alive Press, 2013. https://www.amazon.ca/REALITY-CHECK-CHURCH-Ron-Johnston/dp/1486601103.

Keller, Tim. “Leadership and Church Size Dynamics: How Strategy Changes with Growth.” Redeemer City to City, 2010. https://seniorpastorcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Tim-Keller-Size-Dynamics.pdf.

Knoll, Benjamin R., and Cammie Jo Bolin. She Preached the Word: Women’s Ordination in Modern America. Oxford University Press, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190882365.001.0001.

Lee, Allen A. “Ministry Longevity, Family Contentment, and the Male Clergy Family: A Phenomenological Study of the Experience of Ministry.” Liberty University, 2017.

Malcolm, Wanda M., Karen L. Coetzee, and Elizabeth A. Fisher. “Measuring Ministry-Specific Stress and Satisfaction: The Psychometric Properties of the Positive and Negative Aspects Inventories.” Journal of Psychology and Theology 47, no. 4 (December 2019): 313–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091647119837018.

McIntosh, Gary L. One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Bringing Out the Best in Any Size Church. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Revell, 1999. http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/one-size-doesn-t-fit-all/219700 (preview: https://books.google.ca/books/about/One_Size_Doesn_t_Fit_All.html?id=sEIaQTctUe8C).

O’Brien, Brandon. “Explainer: The Micro Church Movement.” CT Pastors. Accessed February 9, 2020. https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2009/july-online-only/explainer-micro-church-movement.html.

Reimer, Sam, and Michael Wilkinson. A Culture of Faith: Evangelical Congregations in Canada. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015. https://www.mqup.ca/culture-of-faith--a-products-9780773545045.php.

Schaller, Lyle E. Activating the Passive Church: Diagnosis and Treatment. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1981. https://www.amazon.ca/Activating-Passive-Church-Diagnosis-Treatment/dp/068700716X.

———. The Small Church Is Different! Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1982. https://www.amazon.ca/Small-Church-Different-Lyle-Schaller/dp/0687387175.

Stackhouse, John G., Jr. Evangelicalism: A Very Short Introduction. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2022. https://www.johnstackhouse.com/evangelicalism.

Stiller, Karen. The Minister’s Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Doubt, Friendship, Loneliness, Forgiveness, and More. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 2020. https://karenstiller.com/the-ministers-wife.

Vaters, Karl. Small Church Essentials: Field-Tested Principles for Leading a Healthy Congregation of under 250. Chicago: Moody Publishing, 2018. https://karlvaters.com/books.

Watson, James. “Congregational Life Cycle Assessment.” The Salvation Army, Canada and Bermuda, 2012. https://salvationist.ca/files/salvationarmy/corps-ministries/Files/congregationallifecycleassessment.pdf.

Watson, James W., Wanda M. Malcolm, Mark D. Chapman, Elizabeth A. Fisher, Marilyn Draper, Narry F. Santos, Jared Siebert, and Amy Bratton. “Canadian Multivocational Ministry Project: Research Report,” 2020. https://www.canadianmultivocationalministry.ca/master-report.

Wong, Enoch. How Am I Going to Grow Up? Congregational Transition among Second-Generation Chinese Canadian Evangelicals and Servant-Leadership. Carlisle, UK: Langham Publishing, 2021.

https://digitalcollections.tyndale.ca/bitstream/handle/20.500.12730/1636/Wong_Enoch_2021b.pdf?sequence=1.

Have a small church resource suggestion? Send us an email a research@theefc.ca and we’ll review it to include here.