All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. 15 You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “ Abba, Father. ” 16 The same Spirit agrees with our spirit, that we are God’s children. 17 But if we are children, we are also heirs. We are God’s heirs and fellow heirs with Christ, if we really suffer with him so that we can also be glorified with him.
In All Churches Great and Small, the author makes a compelling case that smaller is better when it comes to the church's ability to accomplish its mission. The author cites research indicating that, when it comes to the ten vital qualities of strong churches - qualitites such as growing spiritually, participation in the congregation and having a sense of belonging-small churches have a decided advantage over larger churches.
The author explores the ingredients of faithful, healthy churches, offering some 60 ideas for small churches that want to become even more effective in areas such as worship, caring, praying, studying, giving and witnessing. Featured is the Small Church Advantages Index, which lists the five vital qualities of strong churches and the seven essential qualities if healthy churches.