If you're leading or serving in a small church, I have some news that might not surprise you—but the numbers behind it will.
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Our latest Church Staff Health Assessment, covering over 3,400 church staff members across three years, reveals a troubling reality: the churches that can least afford to lose staff have the highest risk of losing them.
Staff members at churches under 100 in attendance report a flight risk of 61%—meaning six out of ten are seriously considering leaving their positions. Compare that to megachurches over 2,000, where only 40% of staff are at flight risk.
That's a 21-percentage-point gap. And for small churches operating on thin margins with limited resources, every departure can be catastrophic.
Nearly half of our survey respondents serve in churches under 250 in attendance. These aren't outliers—they're the heartbeat of American church ministry. And here's what we discovered:
The biggest drop-off in staff health happens below the 100-person mark. After that, scores cluster more tightly together, suggesting there's something uniquely challenging about serving in the smallest churches.
"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." — Ecclesiastes 4:12
Before we dive into the challenges, let me share the encouraging news: 67% of small church staff are actually in healthy territory. Two-thirds are doing okay. Size is a factor in staff health, but it's not a death sentence.
Some small churches have figured this out. The question is: what are they doing differently?
If you've served in a small church, these challenges won't surprise you. But understanding them clearly helps us address them intentionally:
Lower pay, fewer benefits, outdated equipment, no budget for training—these realities compound quickly in small church settings. You're trying to do ministry with tools that larger churches wouldn't even consider using.
When you're the only person doing your job, you have no peers to brainstorm with, no one who truly understands your daily challenges. This isolation can lead to burnout faster than almost any other factor.
You're not just the youth pastor—you're also leading worship on Sunday, unlocking the building on Tuesday, and handling the sound system when it inevitably malfunctions. You're not doing one job well; you're doing four jobs poorly, and you feel it every day.
Every decision affects people you'll see at the grocery store tomorrow. Every conflict involves someone whose kids play with your kids. The emotional weight is relentless.
There's no clear pathway for advancement. If you're the senior pastor, the only way up often feels like out. If you're support staff, you might never have the opportunity to grow into new roles within the same church.
Here's the reality that keeps me up at night: when a megachurch loses a staff member, it's disruptive but survivable. When a church of 75 loses their only staff member besides the pastor, it can be catastrophic.
There's no one to absorb those responsibilities. The budget for a replacement might not exist. Qualified candidates are scarce. The search drags on for months. Volunteers burn out trying to fill the gap. The pastor burns out carrying extra load.
One departure can trigger a downward spiral that threatens the entire ministry. And with 61% flight risk already, that trigger is closer than most church boards realize.
But here's where it gets exciting. Small churches that buck this trend have discovered something powerful: they have a superpower that larger churches can't match.
Everyone knows everyone in a small church. You might think that's a burden, but healthy small churches recognize it as their greatest advantage. Deep, authentic relationships become the foundation for sustainable ministry.
These churches are honest about what's possible and clear about what's not. They don't promise their staff the resources of a megachurch, but they also don't expect megachurch-level programming.
If isolation is the enemy, then connection is the cure. Healthy small churches actively help their staff find peer groups, attend conferences, and build relationships outside their walls.
They offer flexibility, autonomy, trust, and genuine appreciation. They compensate as fairly as possible and communicate transparently about limitations. They know they'll never compete with megachurches on salary, but they can out-care them every time.
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." — 2 Corinthians 12:9
Small church leaders must be more intentional about staff health because the margin for error is thinner. You can't afford to assume your staff is fine. You can't survive a preventable departure.
But what you lack in resources, you can make up for in relationship and intentional care. Some of the healthiest, most life-giving ministry environments I know exist in churches under 100 people.
The question isn't whether small churches can create healthy staff cultures—our research proves they can. The question is whether you'll be intentional enough to make it happen.
If you lead a small church, have an honest conversation with your staff about what's sustainable and what's not. If you serve in a small church, find a peer network outside your walls—the isolation will erode you if you let it.
And remember: God's power is made perfect in weakness. Your church's size isn't a limitation to overcome—it might just be the very thing God wants to use most powerfully.
This is just one of ten key discoveries from our Church Staff Health Assessment. Want the complete 200+ page report with all the data, trends, and insights? Download it free here.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this research. Are you seeing these trends in your context? What's working in your small church setting? Send me your insights at podcast@chemistrystaffing.com—I read every email.