Mancos United Methodist Church shelters local resident and helps her win legal authorization to stay

The adobe-style sanctuary of Mancos United Methodist Church in rural, southwestern Colorado is modest in size, with only 15 pews that comfortably seat five people each. Despite its limited physical capacity, the congregation has made a significant impact on its local community and the broader national conversation.

One notable example of this impact is the experience of Rosa, a local resident who found sanctuary within the church during the first Trump administration. The small congregation sheltered and protected her from the threat of deportation. Through their efforts, congregants brought her case to national attention, which contributed to her eventual legal authorization to remain in the United States, where she had already lived and worked for more than 30 years.

In 2022, shortly after a court granted her request to remain in the country, Rosa expressed her gratitude to supporters, stating, “The church has been very welcoming, and I have felt the love of all of them and all of you. This embrace has helped me in so many ways.”

Wesleyan Impact Partners, a Texas-based nonprofit that invests in ministries nationwide, identified Mancos as a model for the future of The United Methodist Church. With funding from the Texas Methodist Foundation, the organization profiled Mancos and eight other United Methodist congregations across the U.S. in its 36-page report titled “Flourishing Small Churches.”

Most of the nine churches featured in the report have an average worship attendance of fewer than 50. The report highlights that these small congregations have an outsized impact in representing the Kingdom of God, comparing them to the “wee mustard seed” described in Jesus’ parable.

The Rev. Kathleen McShane, director of learning and innovation at Wesleyan Impact Partners and pastor of First United Methodist Church in Paso Robles, California, initiated the study by asking, “What if the smallness of so many churches in United Methodism isn’t a problem, but an asset?” This perspective is particularly relevant given that nearly 70% of the country’s Protestant churches average fewer than 100 in weekly attendance.

According to the General Council on Finance and Administration, as of 2024, 12,607 U.S. United Methodist churches—64.5% of those that reported their attendance—had an average of 50 or fewer people in either in-person or online worship each week. McShane and her team explored how these small United Methodist churches can thrive, gathering nominations to identify congregations that demonstrate this potential.

Source: Read the original report