By Bob Rogers
I sometimes hear people say, “Our church is small.” Their tone of voice seems to imply that they think they are unimportant because they are small.
I love to remind them that the greatest Baptist preacher of England, Charles Spurgeon, was converted when he wandered into a small Methodist church with about a dozen people in attendance. Due to a snowstorm, the pastor didn’t even show up, so a layman stood and read Isaiah 45:22. Spurgeon looked to Christ in faith and was saved. He went on to lead thousands of others to Christ.
Small churches don’t have to look to England for inspiration; we can see the value of a small church in the story of a Baptist preacher named Dan Moulder from Lorena in Smith County, Mississippi.
The impact of Dan Moulder
Daniel Wesley Moulder was never pastor of a large church, he never preached the annual convention sermon, and he was never on TV, yet he touched thousands of lives. Born on November 26, 1867, Moulder was in his 60s at the time of the Great Depression, yet “Brother Dan” was still going strong. At that time, most rural Baptist churches only met for “preaching” once a month, so he preached at different locations every weekend, multiple times every Saturday and Sunday, and even occasionally on Friday night. He eventually served 42 different churches in Smith, Simpson, Jones, Rankin, Hinds, Covington and Scott Counties, 16 of which he organized.
Mississippi’s greatest country preacher
In 1932, Moulder preached 330 sermons in churches of which he was pastor, and 40 more sermons in other churches. He baptized 117 people in 1932, received 75 other new members, conducted 70 funerals, and performed six weddings. In 1933, Moulder was already serving 10 different churches at once as pastor when he organized another at Lorena in Smith County.
When he died in 1953, Moulder was buried at Goodwater Baptist Church in Smith County, the church where he had been ordained. The Mississippi Baptist Convention annual honored Moulder as “one of Mississippi’s greatest country preachers,” and the Smith County Baptist Association remembered him as “Mississippi’s most widely known and best-loved minister.”
“Get your Bible and go among your people”
“Brother Dan,” as he was called, understood that people are just as important in a small church as in a large church, so he dedicated his life to serving them. While we may not be able to do all that he did, we can all do something where God has placed us.
Dan Moulder once told a preacher who said he had nothing to preach, “Get your Bible and go among your people. You’ll receive more than you’ll ever be able to preach.” His words are still true today, and the eternal rewards are great! As Jesus said in Luke 19:17 (CSB), “Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, have authority over ten towns.”
Rogers is a member of Temple Baptist Church, Hattiesburg, and author of “Mississippi Baptists: A History of Southern Baptists in the Magnolia State.“
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