Partnering with Other Small-Town Churches

What experiences spurred deep gratitude and sparked great delight in the heart of the Apostle Paul? Here’s one we know for sure: the gospel partnership he enjoyed with fellow Christians. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (Philippians 1:3-5; cf. 4:10).

Notice Paul’s gladness (“making my prayer with joy”) and gratitude (“I thank my God”) flowing from partnership (“because of your partnership in the gospel”). That same partnership also yielded affection. The Philippians’ faithfulness in joining with Paul’s work caused him to hold them in his heart (verse 7) and to yearn for them “with the affection of Christ Jesus” (verse 8). And he wasn’t afraid to tell them so. His affection often overflowed in the final chapters of his letters, including Romans, where Paul refers to his gospel partners as ‘beloved’ (Romans 16:5,8,9,12). For Paul, gospel partnership was a joy-giving, gospel-spreading, relationship-deepening reality.

And it can still have those same effects. God still means for Christians to live within a chaotic web of joyful, productive gospel relationships in their local church. He still means for local churches to collaborate with other churches for the sake of gospel advancement. At their best, these church partnerships kindle affection and advance the Great Commission.

This is excellent news for churches everywhere, of any size. But it’s particularly good news for small churches in small places. Sometimes such churches adopt a defensive posture. When resources are scarce or people are few, we may be more concerned with keeping the doors open than taking new ground. Those concerns may be real, but gospel partnership with other churches can deepen persevering joy in hardship and advance productive mission in ways we may never have considered possible.

Church partnerships take many forms. I’ll highlight two which I’ve particularly enjoyed and from which my church has greatly benefited.

Three years ago, the small-town Massachusetts church I pastor, Pepperell Christian Fellowship (www.pcfchurch.org), planted Christ Church Townsend (www.christchurchtownsend.org) in the town next door. We did so because people were driving to our church from Townsend (or driving through Townsend to get to our church) and we believed there simply weren’t enough gospel-centered, community-engaged churches in Townsend. For the sake of reaching those in our under-churched region who don’t know Jesus, we long to plant more churches close to people – churches local enough that people can remain in their own community and still participate in rich gospel community. Christians are happy to drive 3-4 communities away in order to worship at a church they love. But not non-Christians. They’re more likely to be reached if they’re invited to a church they regularly see, filled with people they already know.

Christ Church Townsend is just fifteen minutes away from Pepperell Christian Fellowship. But already in its first three years, it’s reaching people with the gospel who we hadn’t reached over the course of many years. There have been conversions and baptisms. That’s because Christ Church Townsend is local. They’re embedded in the schools and local businesses, they’re neighbors and friends of those in town, they’re flipping burgers at town events, meeting with the police chief and town officials. The gospel is advancing.

Although Christ Church Townsend is now an autonomous church, with its own leaders and governance, Pepperell Christian Fellowship is an ongoing partner in its gospel work. Together we’ve formed a family of churches. We share ministries and events, including a youth group, men’s retreats, and an annual church retreat. Pepperell Christian Fellowship provides office space for the church planter. Our pastors collaborate on sermon series. Most importantly, our two churches share culture, values, and commitments that shape our approach – and each church regularly, publicly prays for the other.

Our partnership brings multiple benefits that run in both directions. Christ Church Townsend is smaller, scrappier, and innovative by necessity, trying new things to reach their community and disciple their members. Pepperell Christian Fellowship is learning from what they’re trying, consistently encouraged by their zeal and creativity, and borrowing some of their approaches. We’re able to supply financial and other needed resources, ministry experience and wisdom, and ongoing relational support. Each church is privileged to be part of something bigger than ourselves, celebrating the wins of the other, joyfully aware that God is working in multiple towns.

Long before Pepperell Christian Fellowship planted a church, our leaders began to foster a culture of church planting. We talked about church planting, prayed for church plants, and invested in church plants locally and globally. God also began to stir among a group of our friends and fellow small-town pastors throughout the six states of New England (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island) who cared about planting churches and shared a passion for the gospel. Each of our churches is small and unimpressive. But as we prayed, dreamed, and deepened friendships, a vision coalesced of small-town New England churches planting small-town New England churches together. We thought: if we partner and pool resources, we can do together what we couldn’t do on our own. So, we formed the Village Green Collective (www.villagegreencollective.com).

Ten churches now compose the VGC. We’re unified theologically (we all affirm the Confessional Statement of The Gospel Coalition) and we partner relationally and financially to plant small-town New England churches. We pray together regularly, spend a day together four times a year for relationship-building and equipping, and enjoy an annual multi-day retreat. Each partner church contributes a portion of its annual income to the VGC and seeks outside donors to match its contribution. Those financial resources allow us to commit long-term financial support to church plants – important in a region where new churches grow slowly and require a longer runway to become financially self-supporting. 

So far, the VGC has planted two churches. And we aim for more. In spiritually-hardened New England, planting in small towns, that’s a blessed work of God! He’s using the Village Green Collective to take new ground, starting churches in small, forgotten places. We’re having fun doing it together. We’re spurring one another on to love and good deeds as we go. Our ten churches savor the goodness of being part of a New-England-wide church-planting movement.

What kingdom work might your small-town church accomplish as you partner with other churches? Maybe you’re not ready to plant a church or to form a church-planting collective. But what about asking another like-minded church (or two, or three) to run a Vacation Bible School together? How about hosting a men’s retreat, or a marriage or parenting seminar, together? If 7-8 small-town churches pooled resources, they could provide substantial support for a missionary partner. The possibilities for joy-giving, gospel-spreading, relationship-deepening partnership among small-town churches are manifold.