So what is the flippin’ answer to size today?

There has been lots written about church size and growth over the last 20 years or more and many models put forward, but many observers use market place strategies and very few seem to begin with the biblical model as though the bible had nothing to offer the church today.

I hope that you agree with me that a group of Christians assembling together for worship on Sunday mornings and maybe trying to keep a building going as well as looking after any children and youth work hardly measures up to the ekklesia we have seen earlier. Even if you add a full time worker to the plot, that person is likely to try to be all things to all men and is hardly likely to be able to minister in his/her gifting and calling. Funds will be insufficient to pay other ministries and so the poor worker will be burned out or will move on in an average of 4 years. An honest conclusion would be that ‘its a good job that Jesus is building his church because we aren’t building anything’.

At the other end of the scale, a mega church of a thousand or more tends to end up with a large staff but a congregation of pew fodder. One friend of mine working in a church of over 1,000 marvelled when I told him that 90% of our adults serve in the community through the work of the church. He reckoned that it was reverse for him in that 10% of the church he served were active members.

Another phenomenon today is that of church planting into cities whereby a movement or large church will release a few families to move to a town or part of a city where that group isn’t represented. Whilst church plant leaders have good hearts and are often very well trained and motivated they are rarely welcomed by the existing churches in that city and are seen as poachers of their flocks. 

Because church plants have energy, often they grow very quickly, but all too often this growth comes through attracting members of other congregations who are tired of belonging to something which is wearing them out. Most church plants don’t grow and so after the energy runs out, they become like all of the other small churches, often with the initial leadership joining the 7 year itch to leave full time church service. Those plants which grow usually have their sights set on becoming the latest mega church and have little time for church unity.

If we look at the problem from that of an individual living stone, a local Christian, he goes to a small local church because he likes the worship and teaching and makes some friends there. Maybe he gets to serve within the church and go to a midweek fellowship group. Cushty! No not really. The chances of that person being able to minister in the gifts and calling on him are very low indeed. If he has been given a passion for those who have alcohol addictions he is highly unlikely to find an outlet in his local fellowship and that group is unlikely to have great trusting relationships with a nearby mega church who may have that ministry, so the guy sacrifices what he is looking for in his weekly church to join the big thing where he can minister. Here he can fulfil his calling, but only if he is confident to put himself forward and now he isn’t worshipping where he lives and hasn’t got a small fellowship around him who know him well. The danger is that his ministry becomes all about his gifting and little is known of his on going character - the very thing which is seen in scripture as the main requirement for ministry.

I want to suggest to you that the Ephesus model worked because it was the church Jesus was building. The model looks like this:

Sorry about the screen shot but I couldn't draw the diagram any other way.

More next time