Four Reasons I am Grateful My Roots are in a Small Membership Church

My spiritual roots are in a very small church in Texas. How small? For one solid year, I was the only student – taught by the same teacher in Sunday School and Training Union. We had thirty to forty people each week, and if we ever hit fifty, we felt revival had come. To my knowledge, we never had a full-time pastor; therefore, I was raised on the preaching and teaching of bi-vocational pastors.

Today, I want to take a few moments to share four reasons I am grateful God let me be raised in a small membership church.

1. We were very committed to the Bible being the Word of God.

Our Pastors taught the Bible. Our people believed the Bible. I was raised carrying my Bible to church every time we met. We participated in the teaching and preaching of God’s Word by opening our Bibles and following as our Pastors taught us the Word of God.

In fact, our church was formed in the living room of our home. My parents were part of a group of people who left a church over biblical convictions. I was way too young to remember the details, but I do remember how exciting it was when all these people began to worship and meet in our living room. Eventually, a church was formed: The Faith Baptist Church.

My parents were not graduates of high school or college, but they were lovers of the Word of God, and Mom taught it faithfully. I remember when I left for college, their #1 fear was that I would not come back believing the Bible was the Word of God. Therefore, my commitment to biblical inerrancy came from a very small membership church in Texas.

2. We believed in the local church of Jesus Christ.

At Faith Baptist Church, if you were a member, you came to church. You were involved in a Sunday School class. You were probably a part of Training Union. You were involved on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. If you were not there, you were missed and checked on. If you began to fall away, you were approached. Therefore, we had a strong commitment to the local church.

As a child or a teenager, I never entertained the idea of not going to church. This was unheard of in our family and in our church. My parents would not have tolerated it and quite honestly, nor would my church.

Therefore, I struggle continually with the lack of commitment I witness toward the local church of Jesus Christ. The main reason I have such a high passion for and a deep commitment to the local church is because of what I learned in my small church growing up.

3. We were taught how to share our faith in Jesus Christ.

As an older child and teenager, I was involved in weekly visitation. This was not a time to simply check on those who were not there; our main role was to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

I remember as a teenager, we were taught how to use the Four Spiritual Laws and how to give our testimony. Then, we walked down the streets of a nearby city and shared our faith in Jesus Christ.

I learned to share my faith in Jesus Christ and win people to Christ because a small membership church equipped and expected me to do it.

4. We were led by bi-vocational Pastors.

As far as I remember, every one of our pastors was bi-vocational. I probably did not appreciate it then like I do today. Some were school teachers, others were salesmen, others carpenters and painters, and others were even students. None of our pastors stayed very long. Perhaps that was because they didn’t live in our town and had to commute, they actually went to other churches, or our church did not or was not able to take care of them.

What I do know is that these men were faithful men. They worked forty or more hours a week, commuted from nearby cities to pastor our church, and faithfully taught us the Word of God. Looking back, I don’t know how they did it all!

Today, those men and other bi-vocational pastors are heroes to me. My friend, Dr. Kevin Ezell of the North American Mission Board, says they are like Iron Men. I agree completely.

In closing…

I don’t like categorizing churches by saying they are large or small, in fact, I don’t like it at all. I really believe that God does not look at the size of a church as much as a church’s faithfulness to the task and opportunity given to them.

I have no idea why God has called me to pastor a church like Cross Church. What I do know is that my spiritual roots from growing up in a small membership church still anchors my soul in the Word of God, the local church, the Great Commission, and a deep belief in God-called pastors. This is why I am filled with a sense of deep gratitude for the church where I was raised and invested in me faithfully.

Yours for the Great Commission,

Ronnie W. Floyd