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Small Church Big Impact: Inside St. John's Ministry in Houston


The protesters showed up with signs reading "St. John's Presbyterian Church we want you but STOP PCHAS! Love your neighborhood!"

What a perversion of Jesus' command to love your neighbor.


It was 2013, and our small congregation of about 100 active members had just announced plans to partner with Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services (PCHAS) to build four duplexes on our campus. These would house seven single-parent families and a full-time social worker, providing stable housing and intensive support to help families break cycles of poverty.


The neighborhood went ballistic. We got death threats. Someone hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on the program. Anti-PCHAS flyers appeared on our windshields after Sunday worship. The Meyerland Civic Improvement Association fought us at every turn, trying to get the mayor involved.


I'm Pastor Jon, and I'll tell you honestly: those were some of the darkest months in our church's history. We lost members over this decision. We faced opposition that sometimes felt overwhelming. There were nights I wondered if we were doing the right thing.


But here's what I've learned after three decades of pastoral ministry: the kingdom of God rarely advances through massive churches with enormous budgets and celebrity pastors. It advances through small congregations willing to take risks that actually cost them something.

If you're searching for "small church Houston" or "church ministry Houston," you're probably tired of the spectacle. You're looking for faith that makes a real difference in real people's lives. You want to know your presence matters, your gifts are needed, your participation actually changes things.


Let me tell you the story of how a small Presbyterian church in southwest Houston became a force for kingdom impact that's changing lives, transforming families, and proving that intimate size is an advantage, not a limitation, when it comes to serious mission work.


Why Small Churches Can Do What Big Churches Can't


Here's the dirty little secret about mega-churches: they're really good at attracting crowds, but they struggle with the kind of hands-on, messy, long-term mission work that actually transforms lives.


I'm not saying big churches don't do mission work. Many do excellent work. But there's a difference between writing checks to mission organizations and actually getting your hands dirty in the lives of people who need intensive, personal support over years, not weeks.

Small churches excel at exactly this kind of mission work because everyone knows everyone else. When we partner with PCHAS to house seven single-parent families, our entire congregation knows their names, attends their kids' birthday parties, celebrates their graduations, helps with homework, provides childcare during classes, and walks alongside them through every setback and success.


Try doing that in a church of 5,000 people. It doesn't work. The mission becomes a program instead of a relationship. The families become statistics instead of friends. The transformation becomes transactional instead of incarnational.


Ann Hardy's story captures this perfectly. She's been at St. John's since 1987, serving in multiple capacities over the years. But the real transformation in her life came when she got involved with Small Steps Nurturing Center, an early childhood education program serving low-income families in our neighborhood.


She had told them she would do "adult things" but she "did not have any interest in working with those 'snotty nosed little kids.'"

But then she read a newsletter article about children who needed buddies, including a little girl named Aubry. Ann writes: "Mom had 5 children in less than 4 years! That sounded familiar! My mom was born right behind two sets of twins with three older children! Grandma did not have much time for any of them individually. People in the community had taken an interest in my mom and it meant so much to her and helped her become the person she grew up to be."


Ann continues: "Suzette could have written about any number of other SSNC students, but she chose Aubry! How could I not be her buddy? I have referred to the moment I read about Aubry as the second of God's 2x4's. It was the beginning of a wonderful experience in my life."

That personal connection led Ann to become a buddy. That buddy relationship opened her eyes to systemic problems facing special needs students in the community. That awareness led her to found Partners in Educational Advocacy with Suzette Harrel, helping families navigate the special education system.


See how this works? In a small church, one person's story becomes everyone's story. One person's burden becomes the community's mission. One person's calling mobilizes resources far beyond what their size would suggest is possible.

You can't manufacture that kind of organic, relational mission work. It only happens when churches are small enough for everyone to actually know each other's names and stories.


The PCHAS Story: When a Small Church Takes a Big Risk


Let me tell you the full story of how St. John's ended up with four beautiful duplexes housing single-parent families on our campus, because it's a story about what small churches can accomplish when they're willing to pay the price for real kingdom impact.


In 2013, PCHAS approached us with a proposal. They'd successfully run a pilot program in Weatherford, Texas, providing intensive support to single-parent families transitioning out of poverty. They wanted to expand the program and were looking for church partners in Houston.

The model was simple but intensive: provide stable housing for up to two years while single parents complete education or job training. Surround them with wraparound services including financial literacy classes, parenting support, counseling, job placement assistance, and spiritual formation. Create a community of families supporting each other while being supported by the church.


PCHAS would fund and build the duplexes. They'd staff the program with a full-time social worker. They'd handle all the screening, placement, and case management. St. John's would provide the land and become a community of support for the families.


It was the kind of partnership that could actually change lives, not just provide temporary assistance. Research shows that stable housing plus intensive support can break generational cycles of poverty. This wasn't charity. This was transformation.


Our Session (the governing board of elders) studied the proposal for months. We prayed. We debated. We asked hard questions about everything from liability to impact on property values to sustainability.


Finally, in April 2013, we voted to move forward.


That's when things got hotter than usual in our little corner of Houston.


Ann Hardy, who served as Clerk of Session during this time, describes what happened: "Looking back, I realize we pushed forward in the congregation without having complete information. PCHAS did not give all the details of how the duplexes would look (they had not been designed yet), exactly what the vetting process would be, nor what the rules would be. There was a small group within the congregation that immediately was against it."


The Meyerland Civic Improvement Association (MCIA) organized opposition. They held meetings where hundreds of neighbors showed up to protest. They distributed flyers throughout the neighborhood. They sent form letters to our church office, about 80 of them, "admonishing us to not do something the neighborhood felt so strongly about."


Ann writes: "There were signs throughout the neighborhood stating: 'St. John's Presbyterian Church we want you but STOP PCHAS! Love your neighborhood!' What a perversion of a commandment of Jesus! It got very ugly at points with a nearby neighbor funding a private investigator to look into the 'police call record' of the year-old pilot program in Weatherford, TX."


Here's what the investigation found: all but one of the calls came from inside the program about people and events on the outside of the facility. In other words, the PCHAS residents were calling about problems in the neighborhood, not causing them. But that didn't slow down the opposition.


We faced what felt like an organized campaign to kill the project. People stopped attending worship. Long-time members left the church. We got threatening phone calls. The stress was crushing.


But here's what small churches can do that big churches often can't: we could gather everyone in one room, look each other in the eye, and ask the hard question: What would Jesus do?


Not as a bumper sticker slogan. As a serious theological and pastoral question.


Would Jesus choose property values over vulnerable children? Would Jesus prioritize neighborhood aesthetics over single mothers trying to escape poverty? Would Jesus let fear of the unknown override compassion for the struggling?


When you frame the question that way in a small congregation where everyone knows everyone, something shifts. Because this isn't an abstract policy debate. It's a question about who we are as a community of Jesus followers.


We voted to proceed despite the opposition. It cost us members. It cost us money. It cost us some standing in the neighborhood. But we decided those costs were worth paying to be faithful to our mission: "To Glorify God by Making Disciples and Meeting Human Needs."


What Happened Next: The Kingdom Reality


The duplexes were completed and the first families moved in during 2014. I'll be honest: we were nervous. We'd made promises to the neighborhood about security and oversight. We'd assured our own members that PCHAS knew what they were doing. But we didn't really know what would happen.


Here's what happened: the program exceeded every expectation.


Ann Hardy writes: "I cannot imagine this project turning out any better than it has. There has been very little in the way of problems. We know one of the original participants was not following the rules. When she was showing no progress she was asked to leave."


That's it. One family needed to leave in the first few years. Otherwise, the program has been an unqualified success.


Our congregation members volunteer to keep the children when moms are in parenting classes or Bible study. We watch the kids become better adjusted and calmer as the stability of having a safe home gives them security they've never known. We celebrate graduations, job placements, moves into permanent housing.


The mothers in the program don't just receive services. They become part of our congregation, attending worship, joining Bible studies, serving on committees, contributing their gifts to our community life.


The children don't just attend our Vacation Bible School. They become our children, the kids we watch grow up, the young people we mentor, the next generation we're investing in.


This is what incarnational mission looks like. Not a program we run. Not a service we provide. But relationships we build, lives we share, futures we shape together.


Ann reflects: "Some of us have volunteered to keep the children when the moms are in various classes, such as parenting and Bible Study that Lynne Parsons leads. It has been interesting to watch the children become better adjusted and calmer as being in a stable situation made them feel safe. What a joy to have been part of seeing the project from the beginning through to fully operational."


Could a mega-church have done this? Sure, with enough staff and budget. But would the families have experienced the same sense of belonging? Would the congregation have the same level of personal investment? Would the transformation have been as deep and lasting?

I don't think so. Small size forced us into relationships that big churches can avoid. We couldn't just write a check and feel good about ourselves. We had to actually know these families, spend time with them, care about their struggles, celebrate their victories.


That's the advantage of small. Everyone matters because everyone is needed. Every relationship counts because there aren't hundreds of other people to fill the gap. Every success is celebrated because we all know the person who achieved it.


Beyond PCHAS: A Culture of Hands-On Mission


The PCHAS partnership is our most visible mission work, but it's not our only example of small church, big impact. St. John's has been punching above our weight in mission for decades because smallness creates a culture where everyone is expected to participate, not just observe.


The Anchor House Ministry is a perfect example. Sally Shaw and Dan Shaw started this ministry in 1997, taking over from Eleanor Brown and Esther Bender who'd begun it in 1994. The ministry provides affordable housing in medical center area apartments for out-of-town patients receiving long-term treatment in Houston's world-class medical facilities.


Think about what it's like to come to Houston for cancer treatment when you live in another state. You're already dealing with devastating illness. Now you have to figure out where to live for months while undergoing chemo or radiation. Hotel costs add up fast. Corporate apartments are expensive. You're away from your support system, in an unfamiliar city, facing medical bills that are bankrupting you.

Anchor House provides furnished apartments at well below market rates. But more than that, it provides a church community that checks on you, prays for you, helps you navigate a confusing city, and reminds you that you're not alone.


Ann Hardy joined Sally Shaw and Marie Kutz in running this ministry. She writes: "Joining with Sally Shaw and Marie Kutz in the Anchor House Ministry keeps me mindful how blessed my family was when my husband John was diagnosed with lymphoma, blessed that we did not have to leave home and support system to get life-saving treatment!"


She continues: "The ministry has been very blessed with tenants who have been grateful for comfortable home-like apartments in which to live while in treatment in the medical center. Can you imagine coming to an unfamiliar city and having to find housing while your world is being turned upside down by devastating illness?"


Notice the scale: three women running a ministry that houses desperately ill people during the most vulnerable time of their lives. No staff. No big budget. Just faithful presence and practical help.


That's small church impact. We can't afford to hire someone to do this ministry for us. So we do it ourselves. And in doing it ourselves, we experience transformation that paid staff could never provide.


Braes Interfaith Ministries (BIM) represents another dimension of our mission work. St. John's is part of a coalition of twelve congregations providing food, clothing, and job counseling to people in need in southwest Houston.


Dr. Jack Westmoreland, one of our longtime members, was instrumental in BIM after his retirement from practicing medicine. Our community garden donates fresh vegetables to the BIM food pantry every week. Our members volunteer at the food distribution. We're not running the whole operation, but we're pulling our weight as part of a larger coalition.


That's another advantage of small churches: we can collaborate with other small churches to accomplish things none of us could do alone. We don't need to be the hero of every story. We can play supporting roles in other organizations' work and still make substantial impact.

Living Waters for the World is a mission program that St. John's has supported for years, sending members on multiple mission trips to install water purification systems in communities without access to clean water.


Leonie Tchoconte has been on numerous mission trips and brought many people to our church through her infectious enthusiasm for mission work. She writes: "To be part of this great community of faith, to witness St. John's live out its Mission Statement and to be part of it is a blessing that overflows through me, with God's help, to the people around me, family and friends, and even furthermore the patients God entrusts in my care each day I go to work; more than just work my calling."


Notice the pattern? Small church. Big mission. Personal engagement. Lasting transformation.


We're not putting on mission conferences where thousands of people hear inspiring speakers then go home unchanged. We're sending actual members to actual places to do actual work alongside actual people. And we're being changed in the process.


What Opposition Teaches About Kingdom Priorities


Let me circle back to the PCHAS story because there's an important lesson in the opposition we faced.


When neighbors protested our plan to house single-parent families on our campus, they framed their objections in reasonable-sounding language. Property values. Neighborhood character. Traffic concerns. Safety issues.


But Ann Hardy saw through the reasonable language to what was really going on. She writes: "Looking back, I learned that when we don't know what is coming and make it up in our own minds, we frighten ourselves and when we are uncertain or frightened, we cannot hear."

Fear dressed up as reasonable concern. That's what we were dealing with.


Three advocates who weren't members of our congregation stepped up to support us: Lisa Gossett and Gerda Gomez, residents of Meyerland, and Debra Tice, a Catholic mother from Westbury whose daughter was a single parent.


Debra's family went to an anti-PCHAS organizing event carrying signs in support of our work. They engaged folks who said things like, "You might want to leave. There could be trouble" and "Well if all the single parents were like you we would not have a problem. It's 'those people' we don't want."


There it was. The real objection. Not property values or traffic or safety. Just "those people." Poor people. Single mothers. The kind of people Jesus defended. A clear New Testament example of Jesus defending poor people and single mothers appears in Luke 21:1–4, often called The Widow’s Offering.


“He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.’”


Here, Jesus publicly honors a poor widow—a single woman in a society that often ignored or exploited her. He defends her dignity and redefines generosity not by the size of one’s gift but by the depth of one’s sacrifice.


Another moment appears in John 8:1–11, when religious leaders drag before him a woman accused of adultery, threatening to stone her. Jesus protects her from execution and exposes the hypocrisy of her accusers, saying, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”


Both stories reveal the same heart: Jesus standing between the vulnerable and those who would use power, law, or wealth to condemn them.


Ann reflects on what the church learned through this battle: "The resistance did not really end. Almost until the duplexes opened, MCIA were making demands to be included as overseers, demands for money, for security, etc. We waited them out, trusting God to bring His plan to completion."


And then this crucial insight: "While we lost some members because of this we gained some new ones because of it and the fierce opposition brought the rest of us closer together than we had been in a long time."


That's what happens when small churches take risks for kingdom impact. You discover who you really are. You find out what you actually believe. You learn whether your mission statement is just words on paper or convictions you're willing to sacrifice for.


We lost members over PCHAS. That hurt. But we gained clarity about our identity and purpose. We became a congregation that knows we exist not to be comfortable or respectable, but to "Glorify God by Making Disciples and Meeting Human Needs."


Small churches have an advantage here. When you face opposition in a church of 5,000, it's easier to quietly slip away. In a church of 100, your absence is noticed. Your voice matters. Your choice to stay or leave has weight.


That accountability forced us to have honest conversations about what we were willing to sacrifice for our faith. And in those conversations, most of us decided that following Jesus was worth the cost.


The Role Small Churches Play in God's Economy


I've been in ministry long enough to see patterns in how God uses churches. And here's what I've noticed: God seems to delight in using small, faithful congregations to accomplish kingdom work far beyond what their size would predict.


Think about the early church. They met in homes. They were tiny groups scattered throughout the Roman Empire. They had no buildings, no budgets, no political power, no social status. Just ordinary people gathering around Jesus, breaking bread together, sharing resources, caring for widows and orphans, and gradually transforming the world.


That's still God's preferred method. Not mega-churches with celebrity pastors and enormous budgets. Small gatherings of faithful people willing to risk something for the kingdom.


St. John's Presbyterian Church has about 100 active members. We're not going to win any awards for size or growth. We're not going to fill an arena or get featured on Christian television. We're just a small Presbyterian church in southwest Houston trying to be faithful to our mission.


But here's what we've accomplished:

  • We house seven single-parent families and a full-time social worker in beautiful duplexes on our campus, providing intensive support that's helping families break cycles of poverty.
  • We maintain affordable housing for out-of-town patients receiving medical treatment in Houston, offering practical help and spiritual support when people are most vulnerable.
  • We partner with eleven other congregations through Braes Interfaith Ministries to provide food, clothing, and job counseling to hundreds of families in need.
  • We grow fresh vegetables in our community garden and donate them to food pantries serving our neighborhood.
  • We send mission teams to install water purification systems in communities without clean water.
  • We run an excellent music program that enriches worship and provides opportunities for people to serve through their gifts.
  • We offer multiple weekly Bible studies where people actually know each other's names and care about each other's struggles.
  • We provide pastoral care to our members in ways that are personal, not programmatic, because we're small enough to know everyone.


Could a mega-church accomplish all this? Sure, with enough staff and budget. But here's the question: would the congregation experience the same transformation?


I don't think so. Because transformation doesn't happen when you write a check or attend a well-produced service. It happens when you get your hands dirty. When you personally know the single mother you're helping. When you visit the cancer patient in the Anchor House apartment. When you work in the garden alongside your neighbors. When you study the Bible with the same people week after week until they become your family.


Small churches force that kind of personal engagement. We can't hire people to do mission for us. We have to do it ourselves. And in doing it ourselves, we're changed.


What Small Church Life Actually Looks Like


Let me paint a picture of what Sunday morning looks like at St. John's so you understand what you're getting into if you visit.

You'll park in a lot that has plenty of spaces because we're not trying to accommodate thousands of people. You'll walk into a sanctuary that seats maybe 200, currently hosting around 50-75 people on a typical Sunday.


The building is beautiful but not spectacular. We have stained glass windows and good acoustics and comfortable pews. But we're not trying to impress you with production values.


You'll be greeted by name within your third visit because we're small enough for everyone to notice new faces. People will genuinely want to know your story. They'll invite you to Bible study and coffee hour and volunteer opportunities. Not in a pushy way, but in a "we're glad you're here and hope you'll stick around" way.


Worship starts at 11:00 AM. We follow traditional Presbyterian liturgy, which means there's an order and rhythm to the service. Call to worship, hymns, prayers of confession and assurance of pardon, Scripture readings, sermon, response to the Word, offering, sending forth.

Our Chancel Choir leads worship. Alina Kimaszewska plays organ and piano with skill that would impress audiences at much larger churches. We sing hymns with theological depth alongside contemporary songs that are substantive. The music serves the message rather than being the show.


The sermon lasts about 15 minutes. I try to connect biblical truth with real life in ways that challenge and encourage. I don't sugarcoat hard teachings, but I also don't beat you up with condemnation. I preach grace, justice, mercy, and costly discipleship.


After worship, we gather for coffee and conversation on the breezeway outside the sanctuary. This isn't a quick handshake and rush to the parking lot. People stay. They talk. They share updates about their lives. They ask for prayer. They offer help with moves or meals or childcare.


If you have questions about faith or doubts about theology or struggles with applying Christianity to messy real-life situations, you'll find people willing to engage those conversations honestly. We don't expect you to have everything figured out. We're all works in progress.

Throughout the week, there are opportunities to serve through committees, mission work, Bible studies, choir practice, and fellowship events. You're not required to participate in everything. But your participation matters because we're small enough that every person makes a difference.


That's what small church life looks like. It's not polished. It's not impressive. But it's real. And for people tired of religious performance, that authenticity is exactly what they're looking for.


The Cost of Real Mission Work


I need to be honest about something: the mission work we do at St. John's costs us more than money.

The PCHAS partnership cost us members who disagreed with housing single-parent families on our campus. It cost us relationships with neighbors who opposed the project. It cost us some sense of security as we navigated conflict and opposition. It cost us emotional energy dealing with protests and threats and criticism.


The Anchor House ministry costs time and emotional investment. Sally, Marie, and Ann spend hours screening tenants, maintaining apartments, responding to needs, and providing pastoral presence to people facing life-threatening illness.


The Bible studies cost consistency. You have to show up week after week, even when you don't feel like it, even when you're busy, even when the discussion is difficult.


The community garden costs sweat. Someone has to plant, water, weed, harvest, and distribute those vegetables. It's physical labor in Houston heat and humidity.


Every mission partnership requires sustained commitment. You can't just show up once, feel good about yourself, and check the box. Real transformation requires long-term presence, consistent investment, willingness to stick around when things get hard.


Small churches can demand this kind of commitment because everyone is needed. You can't hide in the back of a crowd of thousands. Your absence is noticed. Your gifts matter. Your participation shapes what's possible.


That's both the challenge and the beauty of small church mission work. It costs you something. But it also gives you something that writing a check never can: the experience of being part of God's redemptive work in the world.


Ann Hardy captures this when she concludes her story: "God has been very good to me! St. John's has been a gift of God to me. Small groups at St. John's, including Adult Sunday School classes have also been gifts of God! The opportunities to serve others through St. John's are gifts of God! Thanks be to God!"


An Invitation to Impact That Matters


If you're reading this article, you're probably done with churches that measure success by attendance numbers and budget size. You're looking for a place where your presence actually matters, where your participation changes outcomes, where your faith produces something more substantial than warm feelings and inspiring messages.


St. John's Presbyterian Church might be exactly what you're looking for.


We're not going to impress you with production values or celebrity pastors or programs for every possible demographic. We're not competing in the religious marketplace for your consumer dollars.


We're offering something different: a community where you're known by name, where your gifts are needed, where mission work is personal rather than programmatic, where transformation happens through relationships rather than transactions.


We're proving that small churches can have big impact when they're willing to take risks that cost them something. When they choose mission over comfort. When they pick faithful presence over impressive programs. When they measure success by lives transformed rather than numbers attending.


The invitation stands: come see what's possible when a small congregation decides to actually live their mission statement rather than just print it in the bulletin.


Come meet the single-parent families we're walking alongside. Come work in the garden that feeds our neighbors. Come join a Bible study that becomes family. Come discover that your participation actually matters because we're small enough for everyone to count.

You won't find perfection. We're a church full of broken people trying to follow Jesus together. But you will find authenticity, real relationships, and mission work that makes a tangible difference in people's lives.


That's what small church, big impact looks like. Not in theory, but in practice. Not someday, but right now. Not somewhere else, but right here in southwest Houston at 5020 West Bellfort Avenue.


St. John's Presbyterian Church
5020 West Bellfort Avenue
Houston, Texas 77035
(713) 723-6262
stjohns@stjohnspresby.org


Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM

Come experience what happens when a small church decides that kingdom impact matters more than institutional survival. Come discover that intimate size is an advantage, not a limitation, for serious mission work. Come find out if you might be one of the people God uses to continue this legacy of small church, big impact.


We're not perfect. But we're real. And we're making a difference that will outlast all of us.


The kingdom advances through small congregations willing to pay the cost. We'd love for you to join us in that work.


Pastor Jon Burnham
St. John's Presbyterian Church, Houston


P.S.


The mission of St. John’s Presbyterian Church is to glorify God by making disciples and meeting human needs.


Our vision is to be a place of healing, compassion, grace and love, where real people can come and share authentically with each other. As we grow in our relationships with God and with each other, we grow in our relationships outside the church and bring healing to the world through living out our faith in Jesus Christ.


We envision our community to be joyful, open and full of grace.


Read our book, Healing Happens Here, to learn more about St. John’s.