Taken from Chapter 2: Realizing the Advantages
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. —Phil. 4:8
In July 2019, I wrote “The Top 10 Advantages of Small Churches” in a five-minute whirlwind that I now have identified as a holy download from the Lord. I never planned the list; it just came to my mind and exited through my fingers. Within about twenty minutes of writing the list, I had created a Facebook image that I posted to my Wesleyan Woman Facebook page. To my utter astonishment, the post immediately went viral with no boosting, culminating in three spontaneous viral episodes with a reach of over three million people, including hundreds of thousands of shares, likes, and comments across denominational lines, from the Nazarenes to the Baptists to the Pentecostals to the Presbyterians to the Episcopalians. I was completing my doctoral dissertation that focused on the educational deficits of small-church pastors, and I was still in a mindset of developing concepts to get small churches to grow into larger congregations.
Consequently, when the Top 10 list immediately went viral, I never expected it. Quite the contrary, I had a few negative thoughts as I was posting the list. I speculated that the post would not receive much attention because it contained so many words. With social media posts, the shorter they are, the more likely they are to gain attention. Thankfully, the Lord does not act according to our negative thoughts or social media trends. He is the one from whom the post originated, and he took over its distribution. I believe it went viral through the power of the Holy Spirit just as it was inspired through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord used the experience to teach me some important truths. While the Top 10 list bounced from north to south, east to west, all over North America like a whirling cyber tennis ball, it turned into a spiritual and mental hurricane that changed my perspective within a few days.
As I read all the enthusiastic comments from small-church attendees who were declaring the benefits of their small church and using the Top 10 list to invite people to visit their church, I swiftly realized that throngs of people across denominational lines all over the United States and Canada love small churches (a few people to one hundred in attendance). I experienced a new level of joy over the fact that small churches cover North America and many parts of the world. Furthermore, the Lord immediately showed me that despite the consumer culture and all the difficulties it presents, small churches are the backbone of the church world, and it’s a grave error when people view small churches as insignificant and lacking influence….
(Small Church Big Impact by Debra White Smith, The Foundry Publishing, 2025)
