1. I love my small church because it is local. My church exists on the map. It’s a real (not virtual) place. When I go to that one particular building on Reservoir Street that is designated for God’s use, I see my neighbors. It is precisely in this place that I develop relationships with real people who live within driving distance from my house. These are people I can touch, and hear, and speak to. This rooted place of connection breeds relationship and empathy and care between real people. More than seeing pictures or commenting to acquaintances via my phone or computer, in my local church I can be in the presence of real people who live near me. I can have conversations about the 99% of life they don’t post about online.
2. I love my small church because it is a church. This may seem obvious, but there are very few places in the world that offer substantive spiritual encouragement as I follow the way of Jesus. At church people are on a similar path as I am. In most other places in the world it is awkward or even unacceptable to talk about God. But at church I am fully accepted as a follower of God and I am encouraged when I try to follow God more faithfully.
3. I love my small church because in it I am known. Most people in the world don’t really know me. They might know a few facts about me. But most people don’t really know me. Most people don’t know the good, the bad, and the ugly. But many people in my church do. I see them at least once a week. I talk with them. I share my prayer requests with them. I listen to them. They listen to me. I’m so glad I’m known not just for the person I’d like to be or for the person I present, but as the person I really am.
4. I love my small church because it is counter-cultural. The values of my local church are different from the values of the world. My church loves poor people and rich people, healthy people and hurting people. At church I am not in an echo chamber. It’s full of different political views. I am with all sorts of people I wouldn’t have anything in common with if it were not for Christ, and I’m forced to remember that the world doesn’t revolve around me. It’s a breath of fresh air to be reminded that God’s people are called to be different from the world.
5. I love my small church because it is multi-generational. From the time we are born to the time we die we are pushed into groups of people whose age is the same as ours. We are age-segregated through and through. Almost no one knows how to develop friendships with people who are younger or older. But my church is purposefully different. It is one of the only places left in society where all ages are equally valued and all ages spend time together on purpose.
6. I love my small church because it is multi-ethnic. My experience is limited because my cultural and ethnic background is very specific. But when I am at church I get to be with people whose backgrounds are very different from my own. It’s not an accident that one day heaven will be filled with all tribes, tongues, peoples and nations. God is making heaven that way because there is a fullness within that experience. I get to experience a little piece of that on earth every time I walk into my local church.
7. I love my small church because it is honest about its imperfection. She is not yet the beauty she will one day be. From day one it has been obvious that my local church is not perfect. We make mistakes daily. We are a ragtag group. While our failings are frustrating at times, I’m usually thankful for them. In this environment I can feel free to be vulnerable and grow in Christ with others without wearing a mask.
8. I love my small church because in it I hear God’s Word from someone I trust. Don’t get me wrong, I love listening to sermons and podcasts from preachers and teachers I don’t personally know. But there is something different about hearing God’s Word from a person who knows me, cares about me, and wants the best for me. Oftentimes it’s the sermon from the pastor I know that impacts me more than anything else I hear during the week.
9. I love my small church because in church I get to sing to God with other God-followers. While I enjoy iTunes and Pandora and Spotify and all the rest, my experience of music is different when I’m at church. I am encouraged in a special way when someone I know is leading me in worship and I can hear the voices of my brothers and sisters in Christ belting out the song in all the right and wrong keys all at the same time. It is special when I can look around and see the faith of my friends, when I can hear their cries, and when I can be surrounded by their voices.
10. I love my small church because Jesus married her. There is a book in the Bible called Hosea that pictures this so beautifully. In this book a prophet is told to marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her. Hosea does that, and then the woman runs away to cheat on her husband some more. But God commands the prophet to pursue this woman and buy her back. He does. We are later told that this story is a picture of divine reality. Jesus gave his life for unfaithful people. Jesus calls out to us. Jesus marries his bride, the church. We are told that the whole reason Jesus came was so that the church can be presented to God as beautiful, radiant, pure and blameless (Ephesians 5). If Jesus loved the church so much that he “married” us, how can I not also love Jesus’ people the same?
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Mike Penza
Mike Penza is the Associate Pastor at Holden Chapel in Holden, MA and is a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.