Foreword

I have served as pastor of a small church for over

twenty-one years. My congregation is still among those

churches with an active membership barely above one

hundred. If you are a pastor of a church with less than

150 active and tithing members, this book will teach

you more than you will ever learn in a traditional

seminary.

I earned three Masters degrees and one Doctorate

from a well-known and fully accredited seminary. I was

well schooled in the principles of Biblical

interpretation; I learned Greek and Hebrew from some

of the best teachers. I studied church history and

systematic theology. The one thing I was not prepared

for was ministry in a small church. Since most churches

are small churches, you would think that the average

seminary would do a good job preparing its students

for ministry in the small congregation. However, many

theological institutions will not prepare you for what

you will face in a small church.

This book will do more for the average pastor of a

small congregation than years of training in a traditional

school. The book is very practical. Kent should have

written this book twenty years ago. It would have saved

me countless sleepless nights. Some of the ideas are

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For Pastors

radical but solidly biblical and theologically sound. The

most important thing about this book is that it is very

practical. It is written in the format of “books for

dummies.” The wisdom shared by Philpott is priceless.

The book is full of practical ideas gained by the

author’s own experience as pastor of a small church.

Of all the books I have read on the small church, this

is the only book written specifically for the pastor of a

small congregation. Whether you are seminary trained

or not, I highly recommend this book as a “must” for

your personal library.

Emmanuel Akognon

President and Academic Dean

Southern Marin Bible Institute

Marin City, California