— “Helping is love, but help that breeds dependency is not.”
📖 Summary
It is biblically right for larger churches to support smaller or newly planted ones.
However, such support must aim at empowerment, not dependence.
Scripture teaches both mutual care among churches (2 Cor 8:14)
and the importance of self-sustaining faithfulness (1 Thes 4:11–12).
Thus, larger churches should serve not as patrons but as partners and mentors.
1️⃣ Introduction | “Should big churches support small ones?”
Some small-church pastors ask:
“Why don’t big churches help us when they have resources?”
“Isn’t unity in Christ expressed through financial sharing?”
Meanwhile, large churches often reply:
“We’ve tried, but dependency quickly forms.”
“Our help often weakens, not strengthens, smaller churches.”
So the issue is not whether to help, but how to help biblically.
2️⃣ Biblical Foundation | Helping Without Creating Dependency
📘 2 Corinthians 8:13–14 (ESV) — “Your abundance may supply their need… that there may be fairness.”
📘 Romans 15:26 (ESV) — “Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the saints.”
📘 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12 (ESV) — “Work with your hands… so that you may not be dependent on anyone.”
📘 Galatians 6:2,5 (ESV) — “Bear one another’s burdens… for each will have to bear his own load.”
→ Church support must balance mutual aid and personal responsibility.
3️⃣ Theological Insights
📜 John MacArthur — The Master’s Plan for the Church
“Inter-church cooperation is healthiest when it aims at mission,
not maintenance.”
📜 R.C. Sproul — Essential Truths of the Christian Faith
“True unity arises not from money, but from shared truth.”
📜 John Piper — Let the Nations Be Glad
“Cooperation for God’s glory must lead churches toward self-sufficiency.”
📜 Tim Keller — Center Church
“Cities change not through one megachurch,
but through a network of healthy, gospel-centered congregations.”
📜 Westminster Confession of Faith, Ch. XXVI
“It is the holy duty of churches to support one another in love and need.”
4️⃣ False Views vs. Biblical Corrections
| False View | Problem | Biblical Correction |
|---|---|---|
| “Big churches must sustain small ones.” | Fosters dependency | Support should aim for self-reliance. |
| “Financial aid equals mission.” | Material focus | True partnership is truth and discipleship-based. |
| “Small churches can’t survive alone.” | Defeatist view | God values faith, not size. |
| “Refusing support is unloving.” | Emotional reasoning | Wisdom in giving is true love. |
5️⃣ Practical Application | Four Biblical Principles of Church Partnership
1️⃣ Empower, Don’t Enable — Help churches grow in training and leadership, not just finance.
2️⃣ Partnership, Not Patronage — Treat smaller churches as equals, not dependents.
3️⃣ Accountability and Transparency — Define goals, timelines, and outcomes clearly.
4️⃣ Gospel-Centered Unity — Unite around mission, not brand or politics.
6️⃣ Conclusion
It is godly for big churches to help small ones,
but the purpose must be multiplication, not maintenance.
True partnership raises new laborers, not new dependents.
“Real love strengthens others to stand,
not keeps them kneeling in need.” — Revito
Faith. Unity. Renewal. — Revito
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