Are You a Church Pioneer or a Church Settler?
Shirley and I were reflecting tonight on how people make decisions about churches, especially when it comes to families and the “smaller church.”
The smaller church typically is at a place size-wise where there is not yet a big enough nucleus to have a youth group, or a young adult ministry, or a praise band, or a ___________________ (fill in the blank).
When a family with young children or middle school/high school children visits the smaller church without __________________ (fill in the blank), it is understandable that they might wonder, “Is this the best place for us and our children?”
How We View Life…
How we answer that question depends on many variables, including our view of our family, our family’s calling, and what type of upbringing best prepares young people for a Christ-like life of service to others.
If our view of life is, “My kids need the best of everything in order to survive in life,” then we will make church choices of a certain type.
On the other hand, if our view of life is, “We are called to model and teach a life of sacrificial service for others which will prepare our children to thrive in adulthood,” then we will make church choices of a very different type.
What Truly Prepares Our Kids for Real Life as Real Christians?
Given that life out there is very hard, does it really prepare our kids for the real world when their church life is very easy?
Given that Christ calls us to sacrifice for others, does it really prepare our kids for Christian living in the real world when our church-shopping choices are all about what is best for us?
Or, given that life out there is very hard, is it possible that what best prepares our kids for the real world is a “pioneer” mindset about church life?
The Pioneer Mindset
Think about Little House on the Prairie and the Ingalls family. They moved into a virgin area and made a home—a settlement—long before they had any comforts of home. 
Then, others moved into that settlement—and benefitted from the sacrifices that pioneer families like the Ingalls had made.
When the next generation of kids in that settlement town grew up, which ones do you think were tougher? Were better prepared for real life? Were able to live a sacrificial, Christlike life?
Was it the folks who came after the hard work of the settlement was done? Doubtful—those kids would have been more pampered in life so they were likely easily discouraged by life.
Instead, don’t you think it was kids like the Ingalls kids who were best prepared for real life? They knew what it was to grow up as pioneers—who worked hard, who sacrificed, who built something that others could benefit from.
The Pioneer Church Mindset
In church life, especially with the smaller church, what’s needed is a pioneer mindset.
The young family enters the church. They see that it’s “small.” And they recognize that there’s not a larger enough nucleus yet to start a children’s ministry, or a youth group, or a worship band, or a young adult’s marriage group, or a ______________ (fill in the blank).
That young family with young kids or pre-teen kids just about decides to leave.
Then they think of the Ingalls. Pioneers. They stay. They sacrifice. They build a settlement for others to benefit from.
The Pioneer Christ Mindset
More importantly, they think of Christ. They “fix their eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).
Wow!
What if!?
What if we made church choices that were for the eternal benefit of our kids? What if we made church choices that reflected Christ’s pioneer mindset?
Choices where we taught them that, “We’re going to be pioneers in this church. There’s no youth group ‘settlement’ yet, so we will be the first, the pioneers. Others can come later and benefit from our sacrifice. And is it even that big a sacrifice since Christ, the true Pioneer, endured the cross for us!?”
Join the Conversation
How do you make church choices for your family—like a pioneer or like a settler?
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