What percentage of kids in your ministry can you call by name? What do you know about what’s going on in their lives? If you’re in a small church, you likely know kids and their families pretty well. With fewer kids to get to know, it’s just a more realistic expectation that you can do it!

We talked with Krissy Richardson, the Children’s Ministry Director at Grace Baptist Church in Warren, Oregon. Krissy says that “when you get past 20 kids in your group, they become more of an entity as opposed to individuals…it becomes about management and less about relationship.”

As a small church, it can be easy to get discouraged when you can’t always pull off the big, flashy programs like the larger church down the street. But instead of focusing on what you can’t do, let’s look at seven things you can do well because of your smaller size!

Small Churches Build Relationships

Krissy told us, “The day I can’t remember the names of all my students is the day my church has gotten too big.” While church growth is a good thing, it requires more leaders and people to really invest in the lives of kids and their families.

To Krissy, the use of a name is so powerful. When you hear someone call you by name, there’s a different level of relationship. You feel seen, known, and acknowledged. You give dignity to people when you take time to learn not only how to say their name but also how to spell it correctly. Kids feel safer when they feel known.

But Krissy says, it goes deeper than just learning names. It comes down to our attitude of getting to know kids. Are we thinking about them and praying for them throughout the week? Krissy keeps a journal with a list of the first names of kids at her church so she can pray for them by name each week.

Krissy admits that even in a smaller group, our memories can be limited. She does utilize nametags. But she makes a conscious effort to get to know kids and make sure they feel like people to love rather than kids to manage. She points out that “the bigger your group, the less time you have to dedicate to seeing kids as a person.”

Sometimes small churches can get bogged down in the “only.” We “only” have two kids coming. But when we serve the least of these—just one or two kids—we’re serving Jesus himself (Matthew 25:31-26).

Small Churches Have Room for Flexibility

One of the benefits of building relationships with kids and seeing them as individuals is that you get to know kids’ unique preferences, likes, and dislikes. And you more naturally know how to accommodate them. For example, you might know one fifth grade boy loves crafts but is embarrassed to show that joy with other fifth grade boys around. Or you might know a child who prefers to sit on the sidelines for a game.

As a small church, you naturally flex and adapt to kids’ needs. You know how to applaud kids for things they’re good at, and how to encourage them to push through things you know are a struggle.

If you prepare for a mixed-age group but find that only kindergarteners show up one day, it’s easier to scrap the in-depth conversation and pivot to more playground time. You can be less strict with the time you have, and the amount of purposeful time becomes more important than the number of kids you have. What an amazing small church advantage!

Small Churches Raise Up Leaders

All churches can raise kids as leaders. But smaller churches with mixed-age groups have a unique opportunity to do so more easily!

With older kids in the same room as younger kids, you have the opportunity to let the older kids lead and to pour into them with training. Plus, the younger kids will see the big kids getting roles and look forward to being old enough to do those things.

By giving kids roles in church, you’re teaching them how to serve. Kids today are used to things being focused on them. But inviting kids to serve empowers them to actively participate in their church family.

Krissy says there’s no “junior Holy Spirit.” Kids are part of the church now, not just the church of the future. With a smaller group of kids and less of a time crunch, small church leaders naturally have the best chance to disciple and empower kids to serve and lead today.

Small Churches Celebrate Milestones

Most churches have some kind of milestone celebration—a “step up” day or a recognition for graduating seniors. Small churches have an extra special opportunity—they can make milestones personal!

As a leader in a small church, you can go to birthday parties when you’re invited or cheer at soccer games. As Krissy says, “When you show up for the everyday things, they want you to be part of the big things, too.”

When kids in her ministry are baptized, Krissy buys them a book (something like this one!) and writes a personal note inside. It’s not a generic congratulations but something personal about the spiritual development she’s seen in them—because she’s been able to build those relationships.

When preteens or teens are ready to take communion but are nervous about it, Krissy sits in church with them and explains what they’re seeing or feeling. Having a guide on hand makes the milestone feel safer. Later, Krissy invites those kids to share when new kids are ready to celebrate communion, too. Kids become role models who have gone before.

There’s no need for a big budget for gifts and parties to celebrate milestones. Krissy says that sometimes celebration isn’t about being big or flashy—it’s just personal recognition. Maybe even recognizing spiritual growth or overcoming challenges gives reason to celebrate.

These little celebrations only come when you have the time to get to know somebody—which you can do when you have a smaller, more manageable group of kids.

Small Churches Work Together

Big churches already have a lot of proverbial cooks in the kitchen. So it can be a little difficult to partner with other churches to plan programming. But smaller churches can more easily share resources to plan something amazing.

For example, Krissy’s church partnered with two others in their community to host a VBS. They were different denominations, but they came together and each contributed their strengths. Krissy’s church had a bigger space to host the VBS, but it’s more tucked away. Another church is located in a more accessible part of town and could advertise easily. And the third church had a lot of teenagers who were eager to volunteer. By pooling their resources, these three churches were able to pull off something amazing!

Small Churches Open Their Buildings

Larger churches have a lot of logistics and ministries to manage when it comes to building use. But small churches can be more nimble in using their building as an outlet to serve their community.

Krissy shared a few examples. There was a woman who drove to their church during the week to walk her dogs. Day after day, she would walk her dogs. Over time, she began to build relationships with staff members there, even though she didn’t attend church on Sunday. Eventually, she did come and heard a sermon on baptism—and she wanted to be baptized!

Krissy’s church also opens its doors to a community driver’s education class. That’s led to some of the teens coming to their youth group because they’re familiar with the building.

Krissy says that when crisis comes, people who’ve interacted with your church people or building will think of you as “their church”—even if they’ve never come to a service. So she challenges small churches to make their buildings a safe place for people and make them available for community use.

Find Unique Small Church Opportunities

Small churches are sometimes tempted to imitate the programs and resources of larger churches—which often is a recipe for failure. But Krissy shared two stories of how small churches were able to use their resources to meet specific needs in their community.

One was a church that was located directly across from a school. When the school day ended, kids would cross at the crosswalk right in front of the church steps. So the church secretary started coming out at school dismissal time to greet kids and give them snacks like apples, oranges, or chips. This interaction met a huge food insecurity need in the community. The church secretary became such an important part of kids’ days that when she was out sick, kids noticed and missed her!

Krissy also knows of a church that shares a fence line with a public school. Due to town logistics, busses were delayed in picking kids up from school on Wednesdays, leaving a gap between the end of the school day and before kids could leave. So the church recruited members who didn’t work during the day to start an afterschool club on Wednesdays.

Both churches used their resources—like their location—to meet needs in their communities. They didn’t look at what another church was doing and think, “We should do that flashy ministry.” They looked at what they could offer to the needs around them.

The Gift of a Small Church

Small churches have so much to offer. As Krissy says, “It’s less about your resources…and more about your perspective on the gifts you’ve been given.” So if you serve a small church, take time right now to thank God for the gifts you’ve been given and ask him to show you how you can use those gifts to serve him even better.

And here’s a great resource for small churches: a children’s curriculum that’s specifically tailored to highlight your strengths! Check out Two or More today!

Krissy Richardson is the Children’s Ministry Director at Grace Baptist Church in Warren, Oregon. Her favorite parts of ministry include dodgeball with her preteens, hands-on storytelling, and creating adaptive environments for children with disabilities. Krissy and her husband have three kids and live in a multigenerational home. In her free time, Krissy loves creative journaling, reading, and caring for her chinchilla.