Thank you for tuning into Pew Talk on The E.A.R. Podcast! In this episode, host Brandon Queen continues his conversation with Rev. Bill Crawford on survival strategies for the small church. From fostering tight-knit communities and leveraging creativity to adaptive leadership and forging strategic partnerships, we’ll unpack the resilience and resourcefulness that define small churches. How do they overcome obstacles and remain faithful to their mission? We’re bringing real storie,s actionable insights, and celebrating small churches' enduring impact. Tune in for a 25–45 minute deep dive that inspires and equips small church leaders, members, and supporters alike. Whether you’re part of a small congregation or simply curious about their unique strengths, this episode will encourage you to embrace the power of community, leadership, and faith. Meet the Guest: Reverend Bill Crawford is the pastor at Bayou Christian Church and has been for the last 23 years. He and his wife Julia are the parents of three children: Timothy, Deborah, and Benjamin. Please listen to Episode #1 of this season to learn more about Reverend Bill Crawford. Don’t miss this engaging conversation—grab a seat and join us as we celebrate the mighty mission of small churches! Call to Action: Share, subscribe, and connect with us on social media to join the conversation. Let’s celebrate the big impact of small churches together!
Full Episode
The Ear, Evangelical and Reformed, Christian Podcast. Welcome to The Ear, the Evangelical and Reformed, a Christian podcast that urges you to think deeper and draws you closer to God through faith. Through powerful sermons, teaching segments, and discussions, The Ear hopes to give you a different perspective on secular topics from a Christian worldview. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Please welcome your host, Brandon Queen.
Good morning, everybody. Welcome back to part two of surviving strategies of the small church. Today, we're going to dive right into the conversation with Pastor Bill Crawford to continue what we started last week. Join in.
you know, God moments. I found myself with the opportunity to begin a committee to found a charter school here in Thibodeau, and that was back in 2007. The school was actually chartered in 2010. I really can't fully express to you how difficult it was. We had a... would put together a team and they would disappear and I put together another team and they would disappear.
Got to the point where we were down to approval and I had to take out a $35,000 loan to make the first payroll payment with my own credit. And we were able to do that. We were able to pay everybody's first round of salaries and finish out the process. And today, I think it's 13, 14 years later, Bayou Community Academy is the 27th highest rated school in the state of Louisiana.
We are an open enrollment school that competes with closed enrollment schools for that ranking. And so it's quite, quite an accomplishment. So that's not a Christian school. It's a public school. And we have leaders in that school that are Christian and non-Christian.
But I believe we've attacked, back to your questions about ethnicity and inclusion, what I perceive as a systemic evil here in the state of Louisiana is that our education system stinks. It's not because the people are awful. We have wonderful educators. We have wonderful administrators here in Lafourche. We are blessed with incredible leaders in the school board system.
I'm not criticizing them, but we're just not where we should have been. And so Bayou Community Academy gets founded. Our church supported that. They have endorsed that as a ministry of my faith. My presence here is a teaching elder, so it's something I can, you know, write off the expenses. I can take work time to go and do this. And that's been a commitment for many, many years.
And I get more, I promise you, I get more hugs on my neck and more comments on the street about that school than I do most any other role in my ministry. And so, yeah. Being a small church pastor, you can engage your community in very serious ways. We're not a rural town, but we're a smallish town. A pastor is often, a Presbyterian pastor especially, is often an educated person.
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