In his new book, “A Big Gospel in Small Places (Why Ministry in Forgotten Communities Matters)” Stephen Witmer has written an excellent, helpful work of well-researched analysis coupled with theologically insightful reflection that yields Gospel-driven advocacy for the values and virtues of pastoral ministry in smaller congregations in smaller communities.
As Witmer himself puts it in the Introduction, “In this book I’ll make the case that the gospel isn’t just the message we take to small places; it’s our motivation for going to them in the first place and our means of fruitful ministry once we get there.” (p. 5)
And as Jonathan Dodson notes in his endorsement, the book “ . . . offers rigorous research on rural trends, demographics, and the subtleties of smallness…”. But in his analysis and advocacy of ministry in small places, Witmer remains realistic. For example, he acknowledges, “Believing the myth of idyllic small-town life isn’t just naive— it’s dangerous. Much of the energy, vision, and resources of the evangelical church is currently focused on cities and suburbs, and there will be no equivalent impulse to mobilize Christian workers for the small places if we assume they’re doing just fine. Why pour out your life for what’s already near perfect? We will not fruitfully serve what we idealize. A theological vision for ministry to small places must recognize the deep sinfulness, brokenness, and complexity of people everywhere, in places big and small.” (p. 46)
Conversely, the author reminds us that “we will also not fruitfully serve what we despise”. And so, in making his case for a sustained commitment to Biblically rich ministry in small places, Witmer also provides a respectful but effective critique of the ‘urban priority’ perspective that prevails today in many paradigms for mission and church planting. He gladly affirms the value of urban ministry, but argues that a fuller, more inclusive perspective better reflects what the Bible presents descriptively and prescriptively, including in the ministry of Jesus (from Nazareth!) himself.
In summing up this section of the book, he writes, “I don’t pretend to have answered (or even asked) all the important questions regarding whether city ministry ought to be prioritized. I’ve simply made a start at what I hope will be a charitable, gracious conversation regarding an important topic—a significant topic for building a theological vision for ministry in small places. But I have enough questions regarding the case for prioritizing city ministry that I think it’s worth pushing back on this view as it’s commonly expressed.” (p. 179)
But the theological core of Witmer’s philosophy of ministry in small places is expressed as he writes persuasively that a fundamental and enduring commitment to such ministry mirrors and manifests key aspects of the gospel itself, in ways that are at least as significant as ministry carried out in urban centers of ‘influence’.
He writes, “Ephesians 3 shows that the purpose of the church is to manifest God’s glory. Can any one church or any one kind of church capture all of it? God used four Gospels to reveal Jesus. Might he choose to place his multifaceted glory—his power, creativity, love, patience, kindness, gentleness—on full display through many different kinds of churches in many different kinds of places? Wouldn’t we expect God to show forth various aspects of his character with particular clarity through churches wealthy and poor, big and small, in big and small places, of various cultures and ethnicities and classes? I think the answer is yes. One of the great purposes of any church, no matter what kind, is to become see-through to distinctive aspects of the character of God as revealed in the gospel.” (p. 73)
And so the application of this gospel-shaped paradigm is that “The more podunk the place, the more clearly the world will see God’s prodigality in blessing it with a servant-hearted church, a gospel- centered pastor, and leaders committed to its good. When the answer to the question, Why is your church there? couldn’t possibly be to get rich, become famous, gain influence, or maximize growth potential (all reasons the world understands), there’s a precious opportunity for the gospel’s logic to be heard: because God offered his Son for the people who live here.” (p. 82)
Witmer’s theological understandings then form the basis for his practical perspectives and principles that point to the applications in real life and ministry for questions such as, what are the good reasons for contemplating ministry in small places (and what are bad reasons for doing so), how can one minister fruitfully there, and how does a pastor battle joy-killers in such ministry settings?
In a time where the term ‘gospel-centered’ sometimes seems rather loosely and liberally applied, Witmer’s fundamental paradigm truly warrants the description, and with this book (in keeping with his previous “Eternity Changes Everything”) Dr. Witmer continues to develop in the role of pastor-theologian, a role that the evangelical church urgently needs if it is to live up to its heritage -- ‘always being reformed by the Word of God’ -- as it strives for faithfulness and fruitfulness in mission.
Witmer’s book has been enthusiastically endorsed by both theologians and ‘pastoral practitioners’ and other leaders who are themselves devoted to ministry in rural settings and other smaller places. In the words of Gordon-Conwell’s Eckhard Schabel, “This is one of the more important books written about the gospel and missions in decades.”
From my personal point of view, most of the most decisive spiritual formation I have experienced in my own life has happened is small churches in small towns, for which I am profoundly grateful. And even now as I pastor today in a larger church setting, I frequently notice how often our goal is to ‘seem small’ to our members, seeking to foster the dynamics of community and relationship that are essential to authentically experienced Christianity. So this is yet another reason why I was happy to be helped by this insightful book to think more carefully about the essentials of faithful ministry, no matter what the acreage of the field that Providence has appointed us to farm (1 Cor. 3:5-9).
Dr. Witmer is a theologian and exegete with a profound pastoral sensibility at his core, the kind of pastor’s heart that is summarized well by a quotation he refers to from a small-church pastor of another era: “Perhaps you’ve heard the famous quote from John Brown of Haddington. In a letter to one of his newly ordained pupils who was pastoring a small congregation, he said,
‘I know the vanity of your heart, and that you will feel mortified that your congregation is very small, in comparison with those of your brethren around you; but assure yourself on the word of an old man, that when you come to give an account of them to the Lord Christ, at his judgment-seat, you will think you have had enough.’” (p.134)
And so I am happy to commend this excellent book, concurring with the confidence of the pastor of small-town Pepperell Christian Fellowship: “We can be very thankful that God knows exactly where to place us in ministry and has done so for our joy and his glory.” (p. 134)
Doug Phillips
Doug Phillips is executive pastor for ministries at South Church in Lansing, MI where his wife, Becky is director of women's ministries. He's a graduate of Cedarville University and Grand Rapids Baptist (now Theological) Seminary."