Traditionally (and actually!) we are a convention of small churches. A quick look at the numbers makes that clear.

It has also been observed that some small churches have a feeling of angst about their size. I recall, as a church planter (and thus a small church pastor), that there were days I felt this as our fledgling work simply could not measure up to the programs of the mega churches that were held up as the ideal.

What was ingrained in our heads was that bigger was better. If church were a competitive sport (tragically it can be), those with the most nickels (budget) and noses (attendees) won. It begs thequestion, is bigger better? Christian Schwarz in his research in Natural Church Development found that when you look through the lens of quality that bigger was not better. The graph below gives one example. The bigger a church the less people are involved in using their spiritual gifts to build up the church. 

So is it safe to assume that smaller is better? Absolutely not! Frankly, many of our small churches are small because they are unhealthy and not growing! On too many occasions I have heard pastors talk about all of the ministry they “did.” We not that in a healthy church the pastoral leadership follow the biblical imperative of having the pastor “equip the saints for the work of the ministry.” Not do most of it themselves. Some churches are small because the people form cliques and don’t let outsiders in. Other churches stay small because their focus is all about themselves rather than focusing on those outside of the church.

So if bigger is not necessarily better and small is not necessarily better, then what is? The reality is that better is better!
To begin with, some big churches are big because they focus on mission and health and have experienced growth because of it. Also, there are some marvelous examples of small churches that are incredibly healthy. Some show their health by birthing many other churches. Others show their health by transforming their (global and local) community to reflect Christ’s Kingdom values. Still others show their health by developing and deploying leaders through their church. Truly effective small churches show all of these results and many other tangible markers as well.

Perspectives…   

• Think “David,” not “Goliath.” We know the story, David was small, Goliath was huge, David was effective because of faith in God and innovation, Goliath, not so much! Goliath Churches concern themselves with how big they get (nickels and noses) David churches concern themselves with seeing Christ’s “Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.”
• Think “Baptism Growth,” not “worship attendance.” Believers baptism continues to be rite of passage that has significance for today in fulfilling Christ’s commission to his church. 
• Think “Qualitative Growth,” not “Quantitative Growth.” Thanks to the work of Natural Church Development we can track the health of our church and pursue healthy growth.

Small Church Resources