When is a Church "TOO BIG"
I was reading the blog over at "church marketing sucks" and they point to this NPR Article. It pulls out the eternal debate inside the church community; Big or Small??? Essentially there are pro's and con's to each side as in any situation.
With a large church you are almost automatically set as far as resources. If the church is big enough you will have a range of people from those willing to commit time to those with the ability to commit money. The down side to a large church is it's all to easy ability to create apathetic christians--"they won't miss me if i don't go this week" etc...
With a small/medium sized church you are more likely to produce either a primarily HOT congregation or a primarily COLD congregation. Jesus spoke to this in Revelation 3:16 The downside to a smaller church is that you are more likely to lack the ability to produce high quality worship/programming/outreach due to the lack of resources available.
I have always appreciated Pastor Bob Shirock's view's on keeping a small church feel. Oak pointe keeps emphasis on small groups and community that makes you feel less like you are going to a large church (for reference oakpointe is in the 1600-1800 range of attendance). The article points out that even larger churches are attempting to solve this problem by creating 'satellite campuses' and manufacturing a weekly dvd to provide the on stage ministries.
I have to give mad props to churches like willow creek based on the influence that they have on churches around the country. I also have to applaud their effort in this area, however i don't think that this situation will be without problems. as in the article i think that this may create a further disconnect between the people in the church. You may end up feeling more like you're going to a movie with a bunch of people rather than really fellowshipping with other and truely worshipping Jesus.
The Flip side is that you may be able to interface with those around you, returning some of that small/medium church feel. . .
so whats the right answer?
not my place to say--- let me know what you think
With a large church you are almost automatically set as far as resources. If the church is big enough you will have a range of people from those willing to commit time to those with the ability to commit money. The down side to a large church is it's all to easy ability to create apathetic christians--"they won't miss me if i don't go this week" etc...
With a small/medium sized church you are more likely to produce either a primarily HOT congregation or a primarily COLD congregation. Jesus spoke to this in Revelation 3:16 The downside to a smaller church is that you are more likely to lack the ability to produce high quality worship/programming/outreach due to the lack of resources available.
I have always appreciated Pastor Bob Shirock's view's on keeping a small church feel. Oak pointe keeps emphasis on small groups and community that makes you feel less like you are going to a large church (for reference oakpointe is in the 1600-1800 range of attendance). The article points out that even larger churches are attempting to solve this problem by creating 'satellite campuses' and manufacturing a weekly dvd to provide the on stage ministries.
I have to give mad props to churches like willow creek based on the influence that they have on churches around the country. I also have to applaud their effort in this area, however i don't think that this situation will be without problems. as in the article i think that this may create a further disconnect between the people in the church. You may end up feeling more like you're going to a movie with a bunch of people rather than really fellowshipping with other and truely worshipping Jesus.
The Flip side is that you may be able to interface with those around you, returning some of that small/medium church feel. . .
so whats the right answer?
not my place to say--- let me know what you think
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posted by Peter Webber at 12:36 PM
1 Comments:
I think different sized churches serve different purposes. Some people do not "grow" in small churches, others do not benefit from large churches. I think that it is wrong to hope that your small church will not grow; as the bible says that God adds to your numbers (so essentially, you're telling him, no thanks-- "us four and no more")... but at the same time, I do not think that every church should aim for the "super church" size. Maybe we should leave church development and growth to the One in charge :)
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