Veteran Restoration Movement Minister Ben Merold Shares Views on Small Churches and Church Growth

Ben Merold, a longtime leader among Christian churches and churches of Christ, has spent more than half a century in ministry, according to an interview published in Christian Standard. The interview says he began preaching in 1948, has led churches in four states, and has preached in 47 states and seven foreign countries. He served as president of the 1978 North American Christian Convention and has been senior minister at Harvester Christian Church in St. Charles, Missouri, for 16 years.

Merold said his path into ministry began with his uncle, Leroy Trulock, who taught the midweek service at a Florida church Merold attended after World War II. Merold said he once hoped to be known as an evangelist and had held many revival meetings, but that today he would prefer to be known as a church builder and a friend of the small church.

He described the difficulties small-church preachers often face, including a lack of leadership, discouragement, and resistance to change. He said some small churches are locked into memories, and that a strong desire for social intimacy can crowd out new people. His advice to them was to be patient, to pursue small victories, and to aim to become a turnaround church that grows 10 to 15 percent a year. He noted that larger churches can generally bring about change more quickly than smaller ones.

Merold said Harvester’s growth has been substantial. He estimated that attendance was “probably a little less than 200” the year before he arrived, when he was 65, and said he had hoped to reach 600 to 700. He said the church now averages close to 3,500. He credited hiring the right staff, the advancement of Doyle Roth from youth minister to associate minister and then executive minister, an emphasis on evangelism, and the basic principles of church growth.

Merold also named the church’s local benevolence program as part of what makes Harvester distinctive. He said the congregation and elders share an attitude of caring for people, and that benevolence has become part of the church’s evangelistic outreach, a practice of caring for those in need (Isaiah 58:7). He said people do not always stay with those they help, but some are drawn to a church that helps others.

On church numbers, Merold said he believes numbers tell less of the story than they did 15 or 20 years ago. He expressed concern that some churches focus on the Sunday morning service without emphasizing Christian education and discipleship, but said he still agrees with Bob Russell that numbers reveal more about a church than any single factor, provided a church does not become fixated on them alone.

Asked about culture, Merold said churches should know the culture well enough to decide how to preach and teach the gospel, rather than giving in to it. He said he expects megachurches to continue, and perhaps to increase, but also expects an emphasis on midsize churches where members can know one another. He said small churches can be strong and influential even without the leadership and resources that megachurches often have. He urged small churches to stop looking inward and to serve their communities, and he described an elderly congregation of 35 that built a steel family life center in an area with lenient zoning and opened it to the community three nights a week. The church now runs about 140 people, and local young people asked to hold their postprom party in the building.

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