In this first series of blog posts, I would like to share some key statistics and trends about the effectiveness and impact of Small-Town Rural Churches in the Southern Baptist Convention.  

We should not assume they have a lesser role or impact because they comprise 1/3 of SBC churches.  In 2023, 27% of SBC churches (approximately 12,663 of 46,906 congregations) are in rural areas with populations less than 2,500. This compares to 45% in suburban areas (2,500–50,000 population) and 28% in urban areas (50,000+ population).^[1]

Small Churches seem to be the norm in the SBC.  Lifeway’s analysis of the 2023 Annual Profile reveals that the smallest churches are increasing in percentage.”^[2] In an article, “Complicated Picture of the Southern Baptist Churches Emerges from Statistical Analysis”, Aaron Earls explains: 

In 2018, 38% of congregations fell in the smallest category, fewer than 50 in attendance. In the 2023 ACP, those churches represented 43% of the SBC. Seven in 10 churches in the SBC see fewer than 100 people at their weekly worship service, including 27% that average 50-99 and 43% that average less than 50 attendees each week. One in 5 (20%) are between 100-249. Fewer large churches are part of the Convention, with 6% averaging 250-499 for their services and 4% climbing to 500 or more.^[3]

When comparing the 2018 and 2023 Annual Church Profile data, Rural churches seem to maintain greater stability. Rural SBC churches, with 27% of congregations, are less likely to decline significantly (35% reported decline from 2018–2023) than urban churches (46% reported decline).^[4]

Why is all this so important to consider?  There are at least two significant reasons.  First, every church and its pastors, regardless of size and location, are equally important in God’s eyes.  Francis Schaeffer once emphasized this when he wrote, “In God’s eyes, there are no little people or little places.”^[5] Second, regardless of size or location, every church has the same important calling: making disciples. In their book, Pastoring Small Towns, Ronnie Martin and Donnie Griggs emphasize this point. They write, “Two things faithful churches do to multiply are to make disciples and appoint qualified leaders.  Those are things churches do because those are things Jesus prioritized in His earthly ministry.”^[6]

Small-town Rural Pastors are as crucial to the Great Commission as suburban and urban medium-to-large-sized churches and those who pastor them.  We need to honor them with an equal high regard as we would other pastors.  

Resources

1. No Little People: 16 Encouraging Sermons on Human Weakness and God’s Sufficiency by Francis Schaeffer
2. Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome by R. Ken Hughes
3. The Grasshopper Myth: Big Churches, Small Churches, and the Small Thinking that Divides Us by Karl Vaters 
4. Small Church Essentials: Field-Tested Principles for Leading a Healthy Congregation of under 250 by Karl Vaters
5. Shepherding the Small Church: A Leadership Guide for the Majority of Today’s Churches by Glenn C. Daman
6. Pastoring Small Towns: Help and Hope for Those Ministering in Small Places by Ronnie Martin and Donnie Griggs

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^[1] Aaron Earls, “Complicated Picture of Southern Baptist Churches Emerges from Statistical Analysis,” Lifeway Research, March 10, 2025, https://research.lifeway.com/2025/03/10/complicated-picture-of-southern-baptist-churches-emerges-from-statistical-analysis/

^[2] https://research.lifeway.com/2025/03/11/complicated-picture-of-southern-baptist-churches-emerges-from-statistical-analysis/

^[3]Aaron Earls, “Complicated Picture of Southern Baptist Churches Emerges from Statistical Analysis,” Lifeway Research, March 10, 2025.

^[4] Adelle M. Banks, “Snapshot of Southern Baptist Churches,” MinistryWatch, March 12, 2025, https://ministrywatch.com/snapshot-of-southern-baptist-churches/.

^[5] Francis Schaeffer, No Little People (originally published in 1974 and later included in The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer, Volume 3, 1982), Pg. 9. 

^[6] Ronnie Martin and Donnie Griggs, Pastoring Small Towns: Help and Hope for Those Ministering in Smaller Places (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2023), 123.