“Just a Family Meal!”—Principles and Practices of Small Church Educational and Formational Ministry

Abstract

This article shares ten principles and practices in a small church's educational and formational ministry from the author's reflection on ministry experience with literature related to the literature of small church pastoral and educational ministries. It provides the author's definition of the small church, his perspective on small church educational and formational ministries, ten principles and practices of small church educational and formational ministries, and a conclusion with questions for further exploration of this topic.

Keywords

Small church educational ministry faith formation

Introduction

Throughout around 20 years of my pastoral ministry, I have participated in small church ministry as a pastor who served in a small church, a supporter of small church pastors at the denominational level, and an adjunct faculty member who teaches courses on pastoral ministry and small church ministry. One area I have conviction in is developing the educational ministry of a small church. As I reflect on my ministry experience personally with literature related to small churches and Christian education, I have asked myself the following questions: What are some of the principles and practices pastors and leaders of small churches should embrace? What are some of the principles and practices seminary educators and denominational leaders should be aware of to equip small church pastors and leaders to do effective educational ministry?

The purpose of this paper is to lay out the principles and practices of small church educational ministry that I find beneficial in reflections on my ministerial context, with literature related to small churches and Christian education. This paper will first describe a basic definition of a small church. Later, it will present a perspective of church education and formation for small churches. Finally, it will lay out ten principles and practices of small church educational ministry that are supported by literature on small church pastoral and educational ministries.

Definition: Small Church as a Single Cell

Traditionally, it is defined by the number of attendees. However, the number of attendance consists of being a small church varies from less than 100 to less than 250 (Hiemstra & Callaway, 2023; Thumma, 2021; Vaters, 2018). It shows that such measurement is a sliding scale for which denominations or researchers have their standards (Dudley, 2003, p. 24). Dudley argues that “caring cell” would be a better definition of a small church:

The small congregation is the appropriate size for only one purpose: the members can know one another personally, not all the members can know all the others on a continuing, face-to-face basis, but they can all know about one another. They expect to be able to “place” everyone physically and socially in the fabric of the congregation. The caring-cell church may be defined as a primary group in which the members expect to know, or know about, all other members. (Dudley, 2003, p. 40)

Dudley's definition pinpoints the human dynamics of the small church. It is a helpful definition for observing the behaviors and communication patterns within the congregation. At the same time, the average attendance can be useful in providing a rough idea of a small church congregation. Incorporating with the current research from the Canadian small church ministry (Hiemstra & Callaway, 2023), this paper defines a small church as a faith community with 150 regular attendees or fewer which exhibits the nature of a sole primary cell where the members expect to know, or know about, all other members.

A Perspective of Church Education and Formation for Small Churches

If the small church is defined by the primary cell community, it is obvious that Christian education and faith formation are operated within this context. Therefore, church education in small churches is a communal learning experience in which faith is encultured among one another (Simpson, 2001, p. 160). To this extent, “faith as life is best transferred by the more relational socialization model than by the Sunday school or instructive classroom model” (Maddix et al., 2020, p. 82). It is important to recognize that “faith is caught as one experiences it in the Christian community and in the lives of faithful people from biblical times to ours” (Ray, 2003, p. 133). Thus, Christian education is the communal educational work:

The congregation is the context, and its mission—to praise God and serve neighbors—the impetus for Christian religious education. The purpose of church education flows out of these two statements. It is to “build up” or construct communities of faith to praise God and serve neighbors for the sake of the “emancipatory transformation of the world,” which New Testament writers envisioned as the Kingdom of God. In this corporate educational effort [,] the nurture of the faith and the practice of the witness of community members occur. (Foster, 1994, p. 13)

If small churches focus on this community of faith approach in Christian education, there are significant implications for developing their faith formation and Christian education ministry.

Ten Principles and Practices

With this definition and perspective in mind, several principles and practices, which are supported by literature on small church pastoral and educational ministries, help provide a solid perspective and guidance to do educational ministry effectively in pastoral ministry and equip others to participate in small church educational ministry effectively.

Relational Emphasis Church

First, a small church is a relational emphasis church. The small church has its unique features, that is not the miniature form of the big church (Schaller, 1982, p. 12; Stewart 2023, p. 13). One unique feature of the small church is the relational orientation, such that the small church is viewed as a family where “there is a feeling of kinship. Each person knows all the others. Churchwide gatherings that include a meal are much like family reunions” (McIntosh, 1999, p. 17). Also, there is “often warmth and acceptance of one another in these family-like churches and a willingness to overlook certain foibles and behaviours” (Tye, 2008, p. 5). In fact, “the most obvious advantage that smaller churches have over larger churches is their intimacy” (Hussey, 2016, p. 177). The sense of family bond is one of the most powerful aspects of the small church (Smith, 2025, 119). Therefore, “caring is the essence of the small church” (Johnson, 1996, p. 369).

Such emphasis in small churches shapes the purpose of Christian education and formation in a small church: “to love and to be loved; to know and to be known; to live and to forgive within the context of a single cell, culture carrying, history bearing primary group” (Foltz, 1989, p. 17). It is rooted in the role of the faith community that fosters “members of a particular group living into and out of their primary identities as children of God in the family of God in their particular season in life.” (Allen, 2019, 224). To cultivate a learning environment in a small church, it is extremely important to capitalize on the relational nature of the primary cell. Learning is not only happening in the classroom but also in the relationships with one another, to learn from one another in a relational context. It is important to remember that all church members “receive all persons, regardless of age, as welcome members of the household of faith” (Wind, 1996, p. 632).

People-Oriented and Individualized Ministry

Second, the Christian education and formation in small churches will be a people-oriented and individualized ministry. People in the small church are known by other members of this faith community. Thus, Christian educators can “focus on people-centred education, not program-centred education. We are able to pay attention to [the] particular needs and interests of congregational members and give careful thought to how we might address those needs and interests” (Tye, 2008, p. 3). This is a more personal approach in Christian education in which we think of certain individuals in the church and provide timely, purposeful, and specific education and formation ministry to them. For example, the growing number of new couples might trigger a need for the church leaders to plan and implement a parenting class and small group in the church ministry. Also, small churches are more likely to provide disciple-making “on an individual level” (Hussey, 2016, p. 181). Indeed, individualized discipleship through mentoring is an effective way to develop disciples and new mentors for a small church (Vaters, 2018, 208–210). Therefore, “[e]ach congregation must begin to see its educational ministry as specialized, tailored for the particular time and place in which it lives” (Griggs & Walther, 1988, p. 27).

Educative Power Within the Totality of Church Ministries

Third, the community of faith approach in small church Christian education and formation stresses the educative power within the totality of church ministries in the small church. It means “Christian education happens whenever and wherever the church meets, eats, worships, works, learns, plays, cares, and serves. It is the whole life of the congregation that educates!” (Tye, 2008, p. 42). Living together in a small church is a process of being shaped by the beliefs, values, and practices that this community of faith has embraced, even without their recognition. This process involves several elements:

They center life together on rituals of meaning (such as worship, fellowships, and eating together), through conversations about belief and values (informal education events and programs, or through casual conversations), and by the confession of a shared faith (through formal and informal worship experiences). As in all communities, practices and values in congregations are negotiated, shared, modified over time, and inculcated into the lives of the participants. (Galindo & Canaday, 2010, p. 16)

Therefore, small church education is moving away from the schooling-instructional paradigm to the community of faith paradigm that “it will mean living each day under the judgment and inspiration of the Gospel to the end that God's community comes and God's will is done” (Westerhoff, 2012, p. 74). Say it differently, the core of the educational ministry of the church is fashioning and refashioning the activities of church ministry in proclamation (kerygma), teaching (didache), prayer and communion (leiturgia), community life with the believers (koinonia), and caring for the needy (diakonia) (Harris, 1989, pp. 16–17). In this way, people of God will grow to become the disciples of Christ in the body of Christ, the church (Kelly 2019, p. 66). Therefore, the total activities of the church have their educational power for shaping the worshipers in the small church with the aim of “getting us out into a world of experienced faith” (Vaters, 2024, p. 166).

Four Educative Events

Fourth, small church education needs to be aware of the formative events that the members of the church and the congregation have experienced. Four types of formative events can nurture congregational life. It includes the paradigmatic events that are deeply rooted in the tradition, rituals, and the Bible; the seasonal events that are patterned with the liturgical season of the Christian church; the occasional events that bring meaning and energy to the faith community, which include weddings, funerals, baptisms, anniversaries, etc.; the unexpected events, both joyful or sorrowful, that are interrupting the rhythm and structures of life of the faith community (Foster, 1994, pp. 42–46; Nell, 2023, pp. 11–13). Pastors and Christian educators in the small church can engage in mutually critical reflection in order to generate meaning for making sense of these events (Foster, 1994, pp. 47–48). Learning in a small church is a process of meaning-making in the events that the congregation has gone through together.

Intergenerational Ministry

Fifth, small church education is intergenerational. Intergenerational ministry “is [a] ministry that integrates different age groups together in worship, fellowship, education, and outreach” (Eikenberry, 2013, p. 3). It is observed that a “distinctive characteristic [is] the Sunday church school in many small churches, and one of its major assets. It is intergenerational” (Schaller, 1982, p. 116). In fact, “in many small churches, the dynamics of congregational life naturally tend to bring people together in repeated face-to-face contacts across generational lines” (Schaller, 1982, p. 31). Thus, the small church itself is intergenerational: “With smaller numbers, it is easier for multiple generations to interact together on a regular basis … small membership churches are ‘intergenerational by default’” (Tye, 2008, p. 30).

One important point of understanding intergenerational education is that “[i]ntergenerational ministry is not simply a matter of occasional events or new programming; it is a philosophy of ministry that affects the culture of the church. It is a way of living and working together, a way of doing things” (Eikenberry, 2013, p. 3). Intergenerational small church education includes worship together and other familial Christian education and formation that can invite many adults and youth to “teach a song, bring refreshments, tell a story, or hold a child on a lap. Organize intergenerational events, programs, and parties through the church year” (Ray, 2003, p. 140). Therefore, intergenerational education and formation seek to “bring the generations together in most, if not all, of the areas of church life” (Eikenberry, 2013, p. 24).

Modeling

Sixth, modeling in small church education and formation can educate all people in different age groups together through various aspects of church life. A small church tends to view its members as a big spiritual family: “In a smaller church that works at being familial, every child has twenty to eighty aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Every adult has many nieces, nephews, and grandchildren” (Ray, 2003, p. 141). In this way, modeling becomes an important way to transmit faith to others, particularly from the older generation believers to the younger generation believers (Schaller, 1982, pp. 119–120). The older members of the small church become the vital part of becoming mentors and living out as the functional parents and grandparents to foster the faith to the next generation (O’Brien, 2025, 109).

Personally, I have seen many of the English ministry leaders in my church identify that the “uncles” and “aunts” in the church have shaped their understanding of faith and ministry. A small church can generate close and powerful relationships to form the lives of others because “enculturation—the interactions in [the] community between faithful person[s]—is more adequate than instruction for understanding [the] educational method in a faith community” (Westerhoff, 2012, p. 87).

Primary Role in Worship and Preaching

Seventh, small church education places a high emphasis on corporate worship and preaching as the means of faith formation. In a larger church context, there are various activities in the church. Some of them are as important as the worship service. However, Sunday worship and preaching are the primary activities of the small church (Willimon & Wilson, 1980, p. 26). In fact, small churches have “a greater percentage of member participation in weekly worship” (Thumma, 2021, p. 291). In the small church, worship is not just for celebrating and worshiping God. It also has a major educational function: “We need to realize that everything we do in worship is helping to form the people of God, helping them know what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Understanding worship as a place of education is vital in the small membership church” (Tye, 2008, p. 10). In this way, worship “results in our formation” (O’Brien 2025, p. 116). Worship “is where our lives as Christians are shaped, where we come to know who and whose we are” (Murphy, 2004, p. 13). Worship is the “primary time when most church members gather together to greet and meet, encounter God, and run the risk of being transformed” (Ray, 2003, p. 105).

As a pastor, worship is a moment through which I can influence the spiritual lives of most of the congregational members. It is an important event that should not be taken lightly. From the perspective of Christian education, it takes intentionality to incorporate worship with the educational elements. Some examples of this attempt include the consideration of worship style for sharing the concerns and joys of worshipers, using examples in preaching and teaching that can be understood by all worshipers, introducing personal conversation with children during the worship time, including testimonies in the worship, explaining the symbols and meaning of sacraments, etc. (Griggs & Walther, 1988, pp. 101–105). Particularly, the educational power of sacraments should not be underestimated because the knowledge that is generated from the sacraments is beyond rational knowledge of the faith:

It is important to come to an awareness that since sacramental experience is symbolic which, taking place on the precognitive level, the “knowing” that occurs through the celebration of the rituals, the hearing of the stories, and the actions of the body is just as important—perhaps more important—than ideas and facts that are understood intellectually. (Murphy, 1993, p. 132)

The observance of baptism and the Lord's Supper tangibly reminds worshipers of the essence of the gospel. They evoke the minds and hearts of the worshipers to follow Jesus since they “encounter the One who is always bigger and more” (Stewart 2023, 104–105). Therefore, “it is in corporate worship that the lives of Christians are most acutely formed and shaped … all efforts at forming and discipling Christians should presume the centrality of worship” (Murphy, 2004, p. 10).

Flexibility and Adaptivity

Eighth, small church education is flexible and adaptive. In a larger church context, Sunday school can be done in the age-specific ministry model. However, small churches experience difficulties in following this format because of the low number of attendance in specific age groups and the inadequate space in which the small churches are located. The real problem “really isn’t lack of numbers or space, but our limited image of what Sunday school should look like. If we think a Sunday school requires lots of children divided into different age groupings meeting informal, structured classrooms, then we do have a problem” (Tye, 2008, p. 42). Thus, small churches can be flexible and adaptive to their situation in developing their education program.

Flexibility and adaptability of small churches can be demonstrated in the way they organize their Sunday schools. One approach is the one-room Sunday School. It is a faith learning environment in which older and younger children learn together in the same classroom (Tye, 2008, p. 43). Other churches apply the idea of the learning center format in a one-room Sunday school (Griggs & Walther, 1988, p. 90). The approach of one-room Sunday school challenges the assumption that people learn best with those who are the same age. However, “good Christian education is not limited to classes of the same age. Good Christian education happens whenever people are challenged to explore some part of their faith” (Brown, 1982, p. 33). The other approach is grouping the students by approximate age and grade level, where they “combine age groups and grades into the most logical groupings. So combine two- and three-year-olds, four- and five-year-olds, first and second grades, third and fourth grades, and fifth and sixth grades” (McLaughlin, 2018, pp. 454–455). One more approach is remodeling the rooms with dividers if the space of the room is too big (Griggs & Walther, 1988, p. 92). These approaches reflect the flexible and adaptive nature of small church education. This flexibility and adaptability point to the capacity of imagination and the improvising nature of small church education (Tye, 2008, p. 87). It gives greater space to creativity in the development of Christian education in the small church.

Structurally Simple and Lay Leadership Oriented

Ninth, small church education is structurally simple and lay leadership-oriented. In many small churches, they do not have a paid professional Christian educator to operate their educational ministry. More often, small churches may have a full-time or bi-vocational pastor to serve in these congregations. Typically, small church pastors function as generalists in their ministry (Brown, 1982, p. 64). Their role in the educational ministry of small churches is to provide leadership so that the lay people implement the educational ministry of these churches. In a small church, the education ministry is operated and planned by the Christian education committee, which they are “dedicated to Christian education [and] carries out tasks that the [church] board has assigned to them” (Griggs & Walther, 1988, p. 44). Instead of multiple levels of the subcommittee in specific educational tasks, this committee meets “regularly (usually monthly) to administer ongoing programs, plan special events, and respond to new educational needs and ideas as they arise” (Brown, 1982, p. 9).

The roles of a pastor in the educational ministry of a small church include the spiritual leader and theological advisor in setting the tone of educational programs, a developer and nurturer of leaders in educational ministry, a master teacher, and a participant in carrying out educational programs (Griggs & Walther, 1988, p. 45). Pastors consider themselves the agents of faith formation in their congregations (Wong 2024, pp. 162–163). For the success of the church ministry, including educational ministry in the small church context, the pastor needs to have the “ability to accept the reality of lay leadership and work effectively with the influences that reside in the congregation” (Koessler, 1992, p. 181). Particularly, small church pastors need to gain the blessings and support from the matriarch and patriarch of their churches to lead the church ministry, including educational ministry, smoothly, because “nothing gets accomplished without their blessing” (McIntosh, 1999, p. 54). Therefore, small church educational ministry should not model their administrative structure on that of the larger church, which might have multiple pastoral staff and several layers of educational committees.

Formed by the Story

Tenth, small church education makes disciples through the shaping power of telling and re-telling the redemptive story. One of the characteristics of small churches is storied people who “will communicate more truth and meaning by simply sharing their heartwarming, gut-wrenching, belly-laugh stories with their young and their newcomers” (Ray, 2003, p. 98). Indeed, Johnson (1996) makes an interesting observation:

The old Sunday school seemed to know about the need for belonging and such activities as storytelling. The smaller church educational ministry seems to be more interested in faith sharing and role models than in teaching strategies and curricular resources, more interested in being a community concerned with sharing and experiencing biblical faith than with goals of knowing about the Bible (p. 374).

The story is an integral part of the educational ministry of a small church. When the small church members tell the story of the church, it is a time to share not only the story of this congregation but also the Biblical redemptive story that is related to this congregational life. Westerhoff (2012) argues:

At the heart of our Christian faith is a story. And at the heart of Christian education must be this same story. When we evaluate our corporate lives as a community of faith, this story must judge us. Our ritual life, the experiences we have in [the] community, and the acts we perform in the world must be informed by this story (p. 32).

Therefore, “[h]elping the church tell its stories and link those stories to the larger biblical story that shapes and forms our identity as Christians is a vital part of Christian education” (Tye, 2008, p. 64).

Conclusion

In reflecting on these ten principles and practices for small church educational and formational ministries, a regular family meal can serve as a metaphor to understand the congregational learning and formation of their faith: Family members come together for a regular meal cooked by their beloved parents or children. They come and share the food and affection. Even though the meals might not be glamorous, these meals nourish the body and soul of the family. The principles and practices in this article can serve as a way to enhance mealtime for forming the small household of God in the maturity of their faith.

Finally, there are three questions which emerge after this study, which are worthy of further research and investigation. First, what elements can the bi-cultural small church promote and implement toward intergenerational ministry for faith formation? Second, how can Christian educators and pastors help the congregation connect their life stories to the redemptive story to make sense of their lives and live differently? Third, what elements of theological education could enhance the learners, either lay leaders or pastors, to be effective in small church educational ministry?

There is still room for exploration, and research can be done in small church education and faith formation. I hope this is the beginning of more research conducted in this area.

Footnotes

Ethical Approval

Not applicable as it is a personal reflection on the ministry and related literature, and no actual data was collected.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Data Availability Statement

It is not applicable as it is a personal reflection on the ministry and related literature, and no actual data was collected.

ORCID iD

Ka H. T. Wong

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