Small Church Has Big Heart

           What St. John’s Baptist Church is a congregation near downtown Raleigh with the typical issues of a church that has seen the once thriving neighborhood around them change taking most of the folk who attended their church to the suburbs.  One thing that has not changed is the church’s big heart. 
            Earlier this year St. John’s conducted their second Operation Inasmuch where their numbers swelled from 80 in usual Sunday attendance to 140 OIAM participants!  Richard Wynne, St. John’s pastor and his wife, Betty, summarized their Inasmuch this way:  “Inasmuch revitalized our church!  Some of our people have never been involved in hands-n mission work, but Inasmuch gave them the opportunity to do so.”
            Small churches often assume their size limits their impact on their community.  They believe their limited resources also limit the ministry they can do.  It doesn’t help that most innovative ideas are marketed to medium to large congregations . . . until now.
            Operation Inasmuch is rapidly becoming the community ministry of choice for small churches.  “The fact that the Inasmuch model is customizable for any church while providing an efficient framework makes it appealing to small churches,” says David Crocker, Executive Director of Operation Inasmuch, Inc. 
            Perhaps the most amazing aspect of St. John’s experience is that they involved 6 different people groups in their Inasmuch!  A new French Congolese congregation partnered with them for Inasmuch.  A Hispanic Alcoholic Anonymous group that meets in their building provided 20 volunteers.  One of the unexpected benefits of this blending of volunteers was the relationships that were formed across language and cultural lines.  Says the Wynnes:  “People from our congregation got to know and better understand our friends in the Congolese congregation and that has led to other interactions at other times.”
            Small church or not, St. John’s did not shrink from the big needs of the Lucy Daniels Center for Child Development, an agency that serves children with special needs.  Instead they deployed 5 teams there to paint their kitchen and teachers’ lounge, clean their restrooms, power wash their sidewalks and clear a drainage area.  An electrician the church has attempted without success to involve in the church provided his services gratis in their Inasmuch. 
            Clearly, St. John’s has considered the size of the God they serve rather than the number of worshippers on Sunday when they minister in their community.  “Some small churches have told me they are too small to do much ministry,” says Betty Wynne.  “But Operation Inasmuch makes it possible for them to overcome those perceived limitations to be the hands and feet of Jesus in their community.”            

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