The Mustard Seed Initiative
Small Churches Flourish Together.
Your church matters. What may seem small to us is full of potential in the Kingdom of God. Mustard Seed encourages, equips, and connects small churches and their leaders as they make disciples and participate in God's Kingdom in their communities.
Flourishing isn't about becoming a bigger church.
It's about becoming increasingly faithful to the Kingdom work God has given your church to do.
Makes Disciples
People encounter Jesus and learn what it means to follow him in everyday life.
Empowers People
People discover, develop, and use the gifts God has given them to participate in ministry.
Brings Healing and Hope
People discover, develop, and use the gifts God has given them to participate in ministry.
Lives on Mission
People discover, develop, and use the gifts God has given them to participate in ministry.
Encourage • Equip • Connect
We believe flourishing happens when small churches and their leaders are encouraged in their calling, equipped for mission, and connected to the wider body of Christ.
Encourage
Rediscover the significance of what God is doing through your church.
Mustard Seed celebrates the gifts, opportunities, and Kingdom potential of small churches. We help pastors and leaders move beyond comparison and scarcity and confidently embrace the ministry God has given their church.
Equip
Develop the tools and imagination to faithfully join God's mission.
Mustard Seed provides practical training, coaching, conversations, and resources shaped around the realities of small-church ministry—helping leaders move from good ideas to faithful action.
Connect
You don't have to do this alone.
Mustard Seed creates relationships between pastors, leaders, churches, coaches, and ministry partners so we can learn from one another, pray for one another, share what we're discovering, and flourish together.
Find Your Place in Mustard Seed
Whether you're looking for connection, practical help, personalized support, or an opportunity to gather with other small-church leaders, there's a place for you in Mustard Seed.
Mustard Seed Meetups
You don't have to lead alone.
Join other small-church pastors for a monthly one-hour online gathering centered on conversation, encouragement, and prayer. Share what's happening in your church, hear from others who understand small-church ministry, and pray for one another and the churches you serve.
Webinars & Training
Practical wisdom for real small-church challenges.
Mustard Seed webinars tackle specific questions and challenges small churches are navigating. Led by fellow small-church leaders, these practical conversations share ideas, experience, and approaches that can help you take your next faithful step.
Coaching
Someone to walk alongside you.
Through Ascent's coaching initiative, small-church leaders can connect online with coaches who know and serve small churches. Coaching provides space to process challenges, explore possibilities, and discern faithful next steps for you and your ministry.
In-Person Gatherings
Bringing small-church leaders together.
Mustard Seed partners with regional church organizations to create in-person gatherings designed with small churches in mind. Through training, connection, worship, and encouragement, these gatherings create space for small-church leaders to learn from one another and flourish together.
Rural Renewal Podcast
Stories and wisdom from the small-church world.
The Rural Renewal Podcast brings together voices from small churches and churches in small places to share stories, practical insights, and conversations about ministry and mission. Listen, learn, and discover how God is at work through small churches in communities like yours.
Upcoming Events
Connect, learn, and grow alongside other small-church leaders.
Webinar: Raising People Up: Leadership Development for Small and Rural Churches
May 4th, 2026
Mustard Seed Meetup
June 25, 2026
Partner with Mustard Seed
Do you serve small churches? We'd love to work alongside you.
Mustard Seed partners with regional church organizations as they encourage, equip, and connect the small churches and leaders they serve. Whether you're looking for someone to meet with a group of pastors, provide an online training, or help create an in-person gathering, we'd be glad to explore how we can work together.
Our partnerships can be simple or more involved—supporting an existing event or helping coordinate training, programming, and logistics around the particular needs of the small churches in your region.