The Overlap between Church Size and Business Organizations

Dr. Kelley teaches a course at Grove City College called “Leadership.” It goes through loads of information regarding how to properly lead not just a business, but one’s life, family, and ministry. As a part of the class, I had the opportunity to teach (alongside some other peers) about church-size and business dynamics. We unpacked some really cool ideas regarding the problems that are seen when sizes of organizations grow.

Firstly, the size of a church may communicate (whether directly or indirectly) a superior/inferior complex. I loved the quote that we discussed in class that talked about how small churches are often viewed as something to be FIXED rather than something to be CELEBRATED. Why do we view small congregational sizes as such a negative thing?

We also noticed that as a church gets larger, there is much more difficulty in reaching those who may have more authority within the church. I worked at a church that has a weekly attendance of around 2,000 people among 4 services. Even though I interned there for an entire summer, I spoke to the head pastor a total of two times. This wasn’t because he neglected us or was lazy with his relations. He simply has so many responsibilities and other people to be around. However, this still left a bad taste in my mouth. As organizations get bigger, they also may experience something similar with a lack of boss-employee relations.

Finally, as organizations grow, they may be more results- and data-oriented rather than people-oriented. Duffy tells us to ask the question, “How faithful?” rather than “How many?” When we become to focused on getting butts in seats rather than focusing on the spiritual formation occurring within a church, we lose our aim. The same is true for large corporations. Starting as a small business, they may focus heavily on customer service and community relations, but as they grow, it is very easy to see mission drift towards better product or service results.