Finding a church home is never easy. In the tenth chapter of Hebrews, the Bible instructs Christians on the importance of gathering together for encouragement and to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds (NIV).” But if regular fellowship with like-believers is so important, how can Chrisitians choose the church that is right for them? More specifically, what size congregation is best?
Here, we consider the greatest benefits of small and large churches so you can decide for yourself.
Intimacy: I grew up in a relatively small church with about 200 members, and I really appreciated the fact that my family had strong relationships with all of the other families that attended there. Elders in the church knew all of the kids by name and we formed lifelong friendships. In contrast, at a larger church it’s highly likely that you may be sitting next to someone you’ve never met on a weekly basis, and for new members it may be especially difficult to forge relationships with others who already have a close circle of friends.
Individual Attention: At some point, even the most active church member and faithful Bible study goer will need an extra level of care, attention or counseling from the pastor or another senior leader. This is relatively easy to facilitate in small churches, simply because of the fact that there just aren’t as many people to make requests. At a large – or mega – church, however, individuals may be members of a church for many years without ever having even met the pastor face-to-face. And, certainly, scheduling a personal meeting may be difficult or impossible.
Freedom to Worship: If you’ve ever attended a Sunday service at a large church and felt as though everything was scheduled down to the second, you were probably right. Ministries catering to thousands of members have lots of moving parts and that means everything has to work like clockwork. For people who enjoy a more organic worship experience, small is definitely the way to go: If the Spirit of the Lord moves and service lasts four hours instead of two, so be it.
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article courtesy of BreatheCast.com
