"What you have is enough." Those five simple yet radical words grace the cover of Broadview magazine’s latest edition, serving as the heartbeat of its deeply anticipated Small Church Issue. But for many modern believers and church leaders, internalizing that message requires dismantling deeply ingrained cultural assumptions about institutional success, financial solvency, and numerical growth.
When confronted with that phrase, the human mind often leaps immediately into critical overdrive. The reality for the vast majority of modern faith communities is starkly different from a posture of abundance. Most contemporary congregations simply do not possess enough financial resources, active members, or sustained human energy to accomplish everything they would ideally like to do—or even what they feel they ought to do in an ever-changing world. Churches across various denominations are small, and statistically speaking, they are largely getting smaller. An atmosphere of scarcity and what can only be described as "not enoughness" frequently hangs in the air of parish halls and boardrooms like a weary sigh.
There is no denying the weight of these demographic numbers and institutional struggles. Yet, a growing chorus of church leaders and thinkers is asking a profound question: Could a deliberate and intentional reframing help modern churchgoers recognize the distinct opportunities hidden within smallness—and perhaps even perceive it as a legitimate theological calling?
Last August, the Rt. Rev. Kimberly Heath of Brockville, Ont., was elected to lead The United Church of Canada as its moderator. Part of what resonated deeply with voters during her election was her explicit call to lean into smallness rather than viewing it solely as a symptom of decline. At the time of her election, Heath shared with Broadview her conviction that the United Church must learn how to be small again. She emphasized the vital necessity of recognizing that the denomination’s current faithfulness is entirely sufficient for God’s purposes. The church, she argued, needs to cultivate a deep trust that all the modest offerings it brings forward will not be wasted, and that God will continue to use those humble contributions as the community journeys forward into an uncertain future.
As an editor serving a readership composed largely of United Church members and progressive Christians, Jocelyn Bell took immediate note of this paradigm shift. What does it actually mean to be called to be small in an era obsessed with expansion, visibility, and measurable metrics?
To find substantive answers and help discern a clear editorial direction for the magazine’s special issue, Bell reached out to several prominent theologians, denominational leaders, and ministry experts. Their insights form the backbone of the features that follow within the magazine’s pages.
Rev. Heather McCance, president of the Atlantic School of Theology, offered a piercing perspective on the historical trajectory of Western Christianity. She noted that Jesus Christ did not come to help humanity construct massive institutional buildings or to preach the capitalist mindset that inherently equates bigger with better. Instead, Jesus came for a radically different purpose: to offer humanity abundant life, which transcends balance sheets and attendance records.
Echoing this sentiment, Rev. Cameron Fraser, the United Church’s executive minister of growth and stewardship, pointed to a different kind of metric for vitality. He suggested that when communities of faith are finally able to unlock the hidden possibilities within the exact resources they already possess—rather than perpetually lamenting what they lack—they discover what he describes as the "secret sauce" of authentic ministry.
Furthermore, Rev. Ron Johnston, the founder of Small Church Connections, addressed the profound psychological and spiritual harms inflicted by the evangelical church growth movement of recent decades. This pervasive movement has long equated megachurches and rapid physical expansion with definitive signs of divine favour, while simultaneously framing declining or plateaued congregations as symbols of moral or spiritual failure. Johnston pushed back firmly against this damaging narrative, asserting unequivocally that God has a purposeful place for all kinds of churches, regardless of their scale.
This special edition of Broadview serves as the publication’s comprehensive answer to the question of what it means to be called to be small. Although some of the practical advice and ministry strategies featured within the issue may inadvertently lead to numerical growth, helping congregations attract hordes of new members is explicitly not the primary objective of the project. The overarching aim is much simpler and far more transformative: to spark imaginative ideas and provide local faith communities with the intellectual and spiritual tools necessary to discern their own unique calling.
As part of this ongoing initiative to support struggling or searching congregations, a specialized webinar is being offered for churches seeking a fresh way forward. Hosted by Rev. Christopher White, the online learning event is designed to help local leaders navigate new pathways for ministry without succumbing to the exhausting treadmill of corporate growth models.
To truly grasp the theological foundation of this movement, one need only look back at the foundational narratives of the Christian tradition. Jesus famously fed thousands of hungry people using nothing more than five small barley loaves and a couple of fish. While the disciples diligently did the rigorous math and fretted anxiously over the staggering deficit, Jesus simply trusted God to work miracles with whatever material was already immediately on hand.
What you have is enough. The crucial question facing modern congregations is whether they have the faith to actually believe it.