I have been a part of small churches for most of my life.  There is a richness of experience, and always ongoing challenges, in being a small church family.  Unfortunately, many small churches eventually close, most of them certainly due to circumstances unique to each situation, but also often due to the common dilemma of wanting to grow yet being challenged in making changes to help that to happen.

As we have experimented with different approaches to worship at Gateway Christian Church, we have used the Fifth Sundays in a year to experience worship in different ways.  While our worship attendance still fluctuates with the expected ebbs and flows as with most congregations, these unique worship experiences have helped to foster vitality in both our worship gatherings throughout the year and in other areas of church life.  We have found that most people do not want to miss these unique Sundays.

I have published a small book entitled, Transforming the Small Church: Fifth Sundays and Beyond.  It suggests a process for transforming worship, since that is the largest common experience in small churches.  It also offers ten Fifth Sunday Worship Gathering suggestions as a way of prompting the reader’s own creativity.  My hope is that some of the resources will be useful just as they are, and that others will be a starting point for other churches to create their own unique experiences.  It is available through Amazon.com.