The Appeal of the Small Country Church

Many people love to go to big churches. That's why they are big. They usually feature the best of everything - top notch musicians and preaching, programs for everyone, and the excitement of being part of a big crowd.

But that can sometimes be a problem. Not everyone likes being in a big crowd. Alan Patterson and his wife Wyona attend the Orrington Center Church (located in the center of Orrington) because it isn't big. When they moved to Orrington from Stockton Springs, they tried out a couple of the bigger churches. "We tried out a number of churches, but people would look right at you and never say, 'Hi.'" said Paterson, "They were too impersonal. You go and you say you've been, then you leave and nobody knows. Sometimes you might not show up for a month and nobody knows."

But when they came to Orrington Center Church, things were different. According to Patterson, "People met us at the door and welcomed us. They made us feel right at home. Why would you want to go to a great big church where you are a nobody?" His wife Wyona added, "When they don't even know your name."

This is why there will always be a place for the small country church. It seems like family. It seems like you belong. When you miss a Sunday, people call to see what's wrong, or they send you a note telling you that you were missed. "If I miss church," added Patterson, "the Pastor always sends me a note and tells me I've been missed."

When the Davis family moved into the area from Deer Isle, they missed their old church. Sherry Davis explained, "Although we were loath to give up our old church, we wanted to join a fellowship where we could fit in as part of a new family and be part of a local body of believers. Orrington Center Church gave us such a warm welcome that we have been blessed."

Carolyn Howard agrees that the church has a family atmosphere. She is 93 years old and has attended the church since she was six. She raised her children and watched her grandchildren be raised in the church. In reflecting over her lifetime in the church, she says, "I've seen a lot of changes. We didn't even meet here in the winter when I was a child because we didn't have heat. Then we got a wood furnace, and the janitor came and stayed all night to tend the fire so we could have heat on Sunday."

Small country churches develop this kind of loyalty in their members. "Everybody supported the church in the area," Mrs. Howard said. "It was their church. They didn't always come, but it was their church." The small country church becomes a place of belonging.

It is also a place you can feel ownership and take responsibility. In the 1980s, when the church was loosely affiliated with the United Methodist denomination, there was an attempt by the denomination to consolidate the churches in Orrington. The Orrington Center Church was marked for shut-down and demolition. Eunice Baldwin, whose husband was one of the trustees who placed his own personal assets at risk by entering into a lawsuit to keep the building from being torn down, remembers. "It was awful," said Mrs. Baldwin. "I can't imagine they were going to tear this beautiful building down." Having gone through the battles together gives the congregation a sense of solidarity - a feeling that "this is my church" - a sense of ownership.

Being in a small church also gives you a place to minister. You don't have to have near professional quality talent to sing in the choir or play an instrument, and you don't have to have a seminary degree to teach Sunday School. According to Deacon Mark Chellis, "In a small country church, we all know each other and minister to one another. Everybody has an important ministry to fulfill, and no one has to feel left out or unused by the Lord."

Jody Lowery agrees. "Our small church encourages everyone, members or not, to use their gifts to minister to our church family and to those in the community," she said. "We are a family. If one is happy, we all rejoice. If one is down, we encourage each other."

Debbie Lockman concurs. "It's true," she said. "You feel like family. You can count on these people like family." Those who are ill or who have been shut-in have meals brought to them; or if they have home projects they can't complete, people come by to help.

Hebrews 10:25 says, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another." At a small church with a family atmosphere, it is easy to do that. Most people come, not for what they can get, but for what they can give. You see the same people week after week and get to know them. You know them well enough to know their needs. You know when they are hurting or depressed. You know when they are struggling with sin. You can offer the words of encouragement or correction, just like they were family.

These are the reasons there will always be a place for the small country church. It is the kind of place people crave to be a part of. The Orrington Center Church is still small enough to seem like family.

The Orrington Center Church at 468 Dow Road in Orrington is an Independent Bible Church that has sered the community for 175 years. They worship every Sunday at 9:00 A.M. For more information on the church, check out their web site at http://www.orringtoncenterchurch.net/.