Church Size

One of the initial questions that I wanted to explore about the mission of the church was: how does church size affect its role? Recently, in class, we have been discussing church size and the various biases for or against small and large churches. I would like to think about the roles of small and large churches a bit further. I grew up with a church plant that, over the past 16 years, has grown from about 10 people to, now, roughly 300. In the grand scheme of churches, this is still a small church (although we recently switched to two services). We have enjoyed a great community, and that has been part of what caused us to grow. Throughout the years, we have remained faithful to hosting small groups to keep that intimate community going. But the reality is that when a church grows, things must be optimized, and structures must be put in place that make things more efficient and thus possible. One idea I have entertained is that when a church reaches about 150 members, it ought to plant another church. While this may be a good system, there are also benefits of larger churches. One of these foremost benefits is a larger church’s ability to produce resources. A prime example of this is Coram Deo Church in Omaha, Nebraska. I came across this church through the Apple Podcasts app, listening to their Daily Liturgy Podcast. Because of their financial support through many members and their larger staff, they are able to produce resources such as the Daily Liturgy, various podcasts, a variety of essays and pamphlet-sized resources, as well as many books written by the pastor. But while these things are blessings to the immediate and broader church community, the tight-knit, intimate community of a church <150 is unmatched (in the sense that larger churches simply cannot have the same thing). There are pros and cons to both sizes, and I believe a place for both in the kingdom of God on earth.