I currently live in the small town of Berrien Springs, Michigan. There are two traffic lights and a handful of little restaurants and shops. This town is surrounded by farms which cultivate corn, grapes, and other fruit. If I want to go to a decent mall I have to drive 35 minutes south to an area called Mishawaka, Indiana.
I used to live in Tampa, Florida, which is a good-sized city. There are four large shopping malls across the city, museums, aquariums, parks, not to mention one of the most popular amusement parks in Florida: Busch Gardens.
So what’s the biggest difference between living in a small and a large town or city?
I’ve discovered that it’s not so much about things like malls and aquariums, but about something much more significant: community.
Community is the sense that you belong to or are part of a group. How does one develop community? I believe that it largely comes from the ability to interact with people who you know or that share common values. Having lived in a large city, I’ve discovered that having a sense of community is difficult because you never see people during the week unless you make an appointment to meet someone. It was a rarity to run into someone at the mall or other place.
In a small town, this aspect is much different. You run into people at the gas station. At the grocery store. At any of the restaurants in the area. As you’re driving through the main street in the town. As you’re driving around town, you see cars and people who you recognize.
Now, I don’t think that one is better than the other. I’m not trying to say that a small town is better to pastor in because of a sense of community, although I’ve found that it’s an interesting and a pleasant aspect. But there is something that I’ve noticed about community: it requires more of you emotionally. You have to expect that you will run into people. There is no such thing as anonymity. When you go to the grocery store people will see you and engage you in conversation.
So if you’re the kind of person that likes to be anonymous and is more introverted, I believe that living in a small town can actually be more challenging. In a large town there are lots of people, but it’s very easy to hide.
This emotional aspect related to community is actually the biggest difference (I believe) between living in a small or large town.
What have you noticed about your own community? (To leave a comment click here)
(image by lookseebynaomifenton)
It’s true that pastoring in small towns leads to a loss of anonymity. This can be challenging if a person is not only introverted, but has trouble being authentic and real with people. Sometimes as pastors we are led to believe that we can’t be open and honest with our members. We sometimes live double lives, one public and another one in private. One can get away with this when we live and work in a big city but in a small town it will end up causing us problems.
I’m not sure that living in a small town leads to more community per se. The reason I question it is because while it is true we see each other more often in a small town, it doesn’t mean we enter into anything more than superficial relationships with people. I would think this would be especially true in your context Rodlie where you serve as a pastor in a church of thousands.
No doubt about it though, pastoring in a small town requires a person to be more accountable and potentially vulnerable to more criticism.
While there are many points against the smaller fish bowl of a small town, I for one prefer a small town to a large one. It is quieter, generally safer to raise children and feels cosier and more inviting than the anonymity of a large city.
I think you’re right, Joe: a small town doesn’t necessarily lead to more community in that sense. If you don’t want to enter in to it there are ways to avoid it, but it’s a little tougher in a smaller town 😉 What town are you living in these days?
I’ve been living in a small town called Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada. It has roughly 10,000 population though far fewer Adventists than you have to deal with in Berrien Springs.
I miss your posts Rodlie. Always appreciate hearing you thoughts on things. Keep writing!
Always appreciate the encouragement, Joe. Thanks!
Very interesting post. I definitely agree with the last point about introverts. If you go for a walk in a small town, you’re going to have to talk to people. Because you know most of them if you’ve lived there for a while. For me, it can be positive and negative at once. Positive because it challenges me to interact with people more. Negative because walking is a time of reflection for me.
I think that a pastor in a small town should work at bringing that community together and casting a vision for the missional church. A pastor in a larger context should probably work to fight that anonymity (especially if the church is big), and give people a heart for their neighbors and the needy in the larger community.
Hmmm…Nice synthesis, Ben.
Have at it, Mark!
i guess it’s all relative. i hardly ran into my church members in public places when i lived in inverness. but now that i’m in jacksonville, i run into them all the time at stores, at restaurants, at the gym, at the park, at the gas station, at the hospital, at the beach! i can’t hide anymore!
even though big cities are larger, it still seems that people will mainly move around, live, and shop within certain sections of the city. so that in a certain sense there is still a similar community dynamic in large cities as in small towns.
and quite honestly, even though i’m a major introvert, i rather enjoy running into my church members when i’m out and about.