Dear Editor,
I found Chris Sinkinson’s article ‘Growing a rural church’ (February EN) very interesting and helpful.
However, I would take issue with him on his first point: ‘Reaching critical mass.’ He suggested that a church needed a minimum of 30 members to be effective and have an impact. I preach most Sundays in rural churches – mainly but not exclusively Methodist – and rarely have that many people in the congregation. I also work and worship in a small village church with a regular congregation of around 12. However, I don’t accept that this means we cannot make an impact or reach out into the community. In fact, we are able to do this because we have a group of committed people.
