Small Town Pastors and A Big Dreams God
You believe a church community is a good thing, but many people in your small town think churches are a waste of real estate and a tax burden.
Tony Warriner lives in Fort St. John, BC, and pastors what he calls "a Boondock Church" in the middle of the great Canadian North. He's a fifth-generation pastor passionate about seeing people, pastors, and churches flourish to their fullest potential. He also believes in "silver bullets," so nothing gets him doing the happy dance more than discovering (or inventing) a hack, shortcut, or a secret treasure map that'll take him from putzing around to hyper-drive.
The Boondock Pastor
Tony is 49, a pastor for 30 years, married for 28 years, with four adult children and three grandchildren, and currently in a church called Evangel, where he's worked for the past 19 years. The little chapel he pastors has grown to 500+ people.
Those in metropolises can benefit from his insights. The small-town way of life is trending in the big city.
Tony says the values needed to lead a Boondock Church are:
having a leader or pastor who gets and loves the culture of the small town,
working with a team or congregation from within that environment, and
realigning the Sunday gathering away from the megachurch model to something more fitted to the sticks.
A Party of Epic Proportions
When the Warriners first came to Evangel, they noticed the vision statement was "touching the community with the love of God."
Tony says, "It was cute but had little practical implications in the life of our church. It was a guy named Sam who first suggested the idea of doing a party of epic proportions for the city, no strings attached, no secret religious agenda. To try actually walking this out in showing God's love. 'Freely you received freely give.' (Matthew 10:8)"
The first event in 2004 cost about $2000, and 1000 people showed up – ten times their average Sunday attendance. Thirteen years later, Evangel is known for events like this. They spend tens of thousands of dollars now and have hosted some of the largest events in the city.
Here's why Tony does this stuff:
Generosity produces life. For this reason, one could say these events are purely selfish. Given you shall receive, and we do. The kickback on these events often feels like a flat-out revival. It's fascinating.
Looking at the church, people could get the idea that God is stingy, always asking for money, mad about everything, and not very happy in general. Because we believe God is the happiest person in the universe, we set out to change the face of the church and to put a correct face on Jesus.
We're leading the way in creating community spirit. There is often a lot of negativity around living in The Boondocks. A lot of people are in towns like ours because of a job. We wanted to change that and start actually celebrating our Zion. The anthem of this event was and is "we love our city." That caught on, by the way. Today many people comment on the community spirit in Fort St. John. The church should be leading the way in this.
We love doing fun stuff. "Will it be fun?!" This statement has been a guiding principle for us in almost everything we do, whether city events or prayer meetings. Party in the Park is by far one of the most enjoyable events we do, in spite of the copious amount of effort that goes into each one.
We are in relationship with our town. We always believe that this event is part of a sequence of events in the romance relationship we have with our city. Too many churches are like the guy who proposes on the second date. Slow down, boy. A relationship is just about hanging out together without any real agenda. First, dance, laugh, talk about sweet nothin', and maybe even do a little kissing.
Actions Small Town Pastors Can Take
Look for opportunities. Expect a Game Changer to present itself. The term "game changer" is important. It describes something that produces a significant shift. And you want to shift. A shift in the way you do things. A shift in the way your town perceives the church. A shift in how deeply you penetrate your city with the gospel. A shift is almost always good. And this is where growth begins.
Identify your community's felt needs. In That None Should Perish, Ed Silvoso states that one of the primary reasons for their extraordinary success in South America was their ability to see peoples' felt needs and meet them.
A random list of felt needs in the average Canadian small town:
Fresh food for the poor
Relational connectivity
Health and fitness
Healing
Financial assistance
Training for parents
Seminars for marriage enrichment
Courses on personal development
Programs for the elderly
After-school programs for kids
Visit a city official and or take them out for coffee. Find out what makes them tick and why they believe in your small town.
Prayer-walk in your downtown area, asking Jesus to show you what He loves about your small town. Nothing is more transforming because he's hopelessly in love with it. Let him show you why.
Take a beauty tour of your small town, and take a few people with you.
If you've been a jerk about your small town, write an apology to your church and read it this Sunday. Tell them you love this place.
For those with guts, make a long-term commitment or at the least be willing to go there. Most major players in your small town have likely already done this or settled this (mayor, council, business owners, etc.) Why should it be any different for you?
Tony will share his story at the Church Vitalization Summit on August 30, 31, and September 1 – 10:00-11:30 AM MT. Get your FREE pass to the Summit here.