Chris Vitarelli is the pastor of The Road Community Church, a small multi-site church in Fenton and Howell, MI. He is the creator of the Small Church BIG Deal Conference and author of Small Church BIG Deal: How to Rethink Size, Success and Significance in Ministry.
I’m really excited to share this week’s episode with you. I recently had the opportunity to speak at the Big Little Church conference out in Lacamas, WA with Chris, and I loved that time with him and Karl Vaters. So I’m excited to share this conversation Austin and I got to have with him to encourage you in your leadership!
Today, Chris shares about why small churches are SO significant, how to know if you’re leading from a place of fear, cautions for church leaders in this current season, and moving from a success-mindset to an identity-mindset. Listen in!
Key Takeaways
1) “A lot of what I was doing in the church was out of fear.” So powerful to hear Chris opening up about the struggle he had early on in pastoring. Fearing opinions, failure, lack of finances, or anything else is not a strong foundation for a leader to move forward effectively.
2) Your small church is a BIG deal. You matter. Your ministry matters. You can make a HUGE impact in your community, whether you are a church of 20 or 200. Don’t get distracted by things that don’t actually matter.
3) Who are you apart from pastoring? Your identity does not come out of your vocation. Your identity does not come out of what you accomplish. Do you know who you are?
4) “The church is more than a concert and a speech.” The Church is something God created and there is power behind it. We need to define it for ourselves and for our people so we don’t miss out on the true value of what God has put us here for.
Links to Resources Mentioned or Related
- Small Church Big Deal
- Get in touch with Chris
- PastorServe
- Use code PODCAST to get 10% off anything in our store!
- Read Stalled: Hope and Help for Pastors Who Thought They’d Be There By Now
- Join us with your spouse for the From Stalled to Freedom Conference in Greenville!
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