200churches Podcast: Ministry Encouragement for Pastors of Small Churches

Episode 350 - Church Growth Guru Gary McIntosh Speaks To Small Church Pastors

·55 min·5 clips

Church growth expert Gary McIntosh reveals how the movement shifted from missionary principles to an Americanized version that left pastors unprepared.

The episode begins with hosts Jeff and Johnny introducing Dr. Gary McIntosh as a renowned professor and church growth expert with over 26 books. They preview an eight-minute clip from a two-hour conversation about the future of the podcast, announcing the end of 'season one' after 350 episodes and a shift to a seasonal format starting in September. McIntosh shares his background, including 52 years of marriage and 34 years teaching at Talbot School of Theology. He discusses his upcoming book, 'The 10 Hats of a Pastor,' highlighting the multiple roles small church pastors play. McIntosh analyzes changes in seminary students, noting shorter attention spans and entitlement to high grades. He explains his consulting work, focusing on church health checkups and staffing for larger churches. A key theme is the historical training of pastors for churches of about 100 people, which creates bottlenecks when churches grow. McIntosh addresses the guilt small church pastors feel compared to mega-churches, attributing it to human comparison rather than the church growth movement's intent. He traces the movement's origins to missionaries like Don McGavern and C. Peter Wagner, who emphasized contextualization, but notes it shifted to an Americanized version in the 1980s-90s, leading pastors to misapply methods without considering local context. Examples include failed attempts to replicate drive-in churches in unsuitable climates. McIntosh connects his PhD in intercultural studies to the need for pastors to think like missionaries in studying their communities. He discusses the purpose of Sunday services, suggesting a balance between discipling believers and reaching non-Christians. In closing, he encourages small church pastors to be faithful, aim for modest growth, and leave their ministries better than they found them.

As heard by us

A grounded look at how church growth reshapes the pastor's work as a small church grows.

Church growth is handled with welcome clarity as Gary McIntosh distinguishes broad principles from the local judgment needed to apply them. The discussion follows a movement with missionary roots as it takes on a more American shape, then settles into the practical strain that…

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Why you'd press play

You want a growth conversation that follows a church from 50 or 100 toward 300 or 400 and asks what the pastor must change.

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