by Bruno Somerset

Created on: February 16, 2008   Last Updated: July 27, 2008

This is the type of question that could only be asked in a society where the mega-church has become as popular as super-sizing and big-box retail stores. As with everything else in our culture, we equate the value and success of our churches with size. We think that growth is a sign of God's favor and blessing, and that conversely a lack of rapid growth signifies a lack of God's blessing. This is a completely wrong view.

It is true that the first chapters of the Book of Acts tell of very rapid growth in the church, but this occurred as people were hearing the Gospel for the very first time. You can see similar explosive growth anytime the Gospel was proclaimed in areas where it had not been heard before, such as Eastern Europe after fifty years of communist rule. But in Romans 16:3-5, Paul sends greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and the "church that meets at their house." Obviously the Apostle Paul saw no need for a small congregation to disband.

Furthermore, Jesus himself gave us the minimum size for a congregation: two or three. In Matthew 18:20 He said: "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." According to Jesus, a congregation should disband when the membership drops to one. In America, and particularly in the Bible Belt, we have come to think of a congregation of less than one hundred as small. Under this way of thinking hundreds, possibly thousands, of churches would have to close their doors simply because they reside in towns and villages with populations that can't support a church with thousands of members.

A church cannot be judged by its size, but by the heart of its members and their impact on the world. A small congregation gives more opportunity for close fellowship, allows for access to the pastor that is impossible in huge churches, and brings together all age groups in one setting. This last point is critical because in the large churches people are assigned Sunday School or Bible Study classes by age group or marital status or gender. This segregation prevents the intermingling of the excitement and energy of younger or new believers with the wisdom and experience of the senior adults. Singles don't get to hear the problems discussed by married couples in their classes, and thus are surprised when they encounter these same problems after they get married.

I think we should look at this question from the opposite viewpoint: should a church disband when the congregation gets too large? Once a church reaches a membership level that requires spending millions of dollars on a larger building, maybe that congregation should split in half, with one group staying in place and the other moving to another part of the city to minister there. Of course that would mean that we would have no churches with coffee bars, movie theaters, and bowling alleys inside them, but I think we'll survive somehow.

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