The Little Church that Could

by Dr. Jason R. McConnell, CCCC Vermont Area Representative and
pastor of the Franklin United Church and East Franklin Union Church

Once upon a time, 150 years ago, in 1860 to be exact, there was a small group of Christians who worshipped together in a little schoolhouse on Sunday mornings. The facilities were adequate, but the people desired a better place to worship. They had a vision to build their very own church building, which could be exclusively dedicated to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So the community gathered to design and make plans for just such a building.

The founding members bound themselves together and pledged resources in cash and lumber. The rest of the money was raised by auctioning the pews to current and prospective members. The whole amount raised was $1,593.04, enough to complete the project. (By the way, the pews in the back brought in a lot more money than the pews in the front.)

In those early days, the church building was shared by three denominations — Methodist, Baptist and Universalist. This unorthodox union carried on for a number of years. The Baptist and Universalist memberships eventually died out, but the little church kept chugging along for over a century. It experienced many ebbs and flows and passed over many mountains and through many valleys along the way, but it remained faithful.

Eventually, the membership and attendance dwindled to the point that it was only open during the summer months. After many decades of only ten people worshipping on Sunday mornings, the church wondered if it might be time to close its doors. But in God’s amazing providence, five people attended that meeting and they voted three to two to keep the church going, regardless of how futile it seemed. During the conversation, one member stood up and spoke with remarkable apocalyptic wisdom, saying, “If the church dies, the whole community is doomed.” Their faithfulness persevered and they chugged along, saying, “We think we can!”

Well, the little church’s persistence paid off. God blessed their faithfulness and began to add to their number. By the early 2000s, the average attendance had trickled upward to 40 people; they voted to meet for worship all year long. With a renewed focus on biblical preaching, consistent prayer and intentional community outreach, during the past decade the church has exploded to an average attendance of more than 100 people every Sunday. On Sunday October 17, 2010 the church received 30 new members at the same time. But even more important than the attendance and membership, the church has experienced authentic conversions, meaningful discipleship and growth into a healthy church community.

This is the story of the East Franklin Union Church, which is nestled among the hills of East Franklin, a small agricultural hamlet located along the northern Vermont border, just two miles from the Quebec line. Like the children’s book The Little Engine that Could, this little church remained faithful through times of difficulty. Despite its remote location and poor population density, God continues to bless this little church that could. God does not measure the success of a church by attendance, membership, buildings or budgets — he measures it by its faithfulness!

By God’s grace, the East Franklin Church will officially join the CCCC’s later this year, along with at least two other churches in Vermont. Please help us pray for these and other churches as we try to remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ in the least “religious” state in our nation!