This brief review is over the revised edition of The Strategically Small Church by Brandon O’Brien, but Goodreads did not have the revised edition listed. I also did not read the first edition of the book, so my thoughts and considerations will not touch on what was added or removed between this and the first edition of the book.
The Strategically Small Church by O’Brien is a proud call to provide dignity to the strength that smaller faith communities are capable of. The basic premise of the book is simple. O’Brien is committed to the idea that small churches (churches under 300 people) are uniquely situated to carry out the missional activity of Christ in their communities due to being more authentic, easier to mobilize, and having organically grown connection with their communities. O’Brien then explores this thesis through eight chapters each reflecting and providing strategies for smaller churches to utilize their mobility effectively for meaningful ministry. This reflection is mostly the result of anecdotal data from O’Brien’s own experience in church and parachurch organizations and interviews with other church leaders actively ministering in small churches.
O’Brien does provide a convincing and helpful advice and models for small churches to follow, but ultimately, this book was disappointing. O’Brien often falls into the harmful “pastor as CEO” attitude, in which he seems to view the churches (especially small churches) as microbusinesses more flexible than large corporations. There is little theological and or meaningful biblical reflection on the role of pastoring or pastoring in small communities provided. O’Brien is convinced that small churches are uniquely situated to operate and share the message of Christ, but fails to connect this conclusion to any theological or biblically based reasoning. In 2025, I would hope that more Christian writings would have abandoned the “pastor as CEO” leadership model that treats the church as a small business with religious flavoring. As a firm believer that any writing on the church must first begin with thoughtful theology and solid biblical study, this book was a non-starter for me. O’Brien does provide some helpful models and thoughts, but ultimately, this book felt largely superficial and lacking.
I received a free ARC of this book via NetGalley, but all opinions and views expressed are my own.

A solid defense of churches not prioritizing numerical success at the expense of strategic mission

(I received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)