Do you find this surprising?
Christian Schwarz, with Natural Church Development, led the most comprehensive research project of the causes of church growth ever undertaken. They looked at over 1,000 churches on six continents. At least 30 members of each church were surveyed regarding 170 variables relating to church life and health. Since then the same research has been carried out with over 45,000 churches and all the initial results were consistently confirmed. When asked what surprised him most in his research he said this:
That, on average, the smaller churches are the better churches. To say it in a simplified way” ‘The larger, the worse.’ This pattern is so significant that it is difficult to see why no one else has come across this pattern. Instead some authors even proceed from the opposite thesis, namely “The bigger, the better.” The Implementation Guide to Natural Church Development.
He wrote:
Those familiar with church growth literature regularly encounter the names of a number of large churches, which are held up as models to be imitated. The presupposition is that large churches are by definition good churches. Is this thesis tenable? Our research revealed for the first time that the opposite is probably true.
The original study looked at these eight indications of church health.
1.) Empowering leadership, 2.) Gift-based ministry, 3.) Passionate spirituality, 4.) Effective structures, 5.) Inspiring worship services, 6.) Holistic small groups, 7.) Need-oriented evangelism 8.) Loving relationships.
Smaller Churches were consistently evaluated as better on all but #5! I guess there’s nothing like hundreds or even thousands of people singing together but isn’t it interesting that smaller churches were evaluated as so much more effective in most areas? Take the evangelism for instance; one interesting observation in this study was that two churches with 200 in worship on Sunday will win twice as many new people to Christ as a church with 400 in attendance.
I believe Scripture and the Holy Spirit are our primary guides when it comes to how we go about the work of the church and the cause of Christ. However I’m not against careful research. I think it can serve us well, even though I tend to be somewhat skeptical of “church growth” studies that are heavily into statistics. What made an impression about this study was that it seemed well researched, very thought provoking and probably for most people, a little surprising. Is it just better to multiply than to supersize?
Larry is the senior pastor at 
Larry,
Rebecca and I have attended other friends and families churches over the last 7+ years we have attended CCC, and without a doubt, we have not liked the larger size churches. Maybe it is personal preference, and maybe just enjoying having a relationship with those in ministry at our church. I think the larger churches do not demand as much of their members, as it is easy to blend in and be a part of the crowd. Smaller churches allow for more ‘community’, thus I think this is why our name has that word in it….. To me a larger church can breed a ‘groupthink’ mentality – but not allowing for others to question/search/grow at their pace.. Just my two cents, hope that was not too postmodern/stream of consciousness for you!!!
In Him,
Roger
You know I have mixed feelings about this post even though I posted it. On the one hand we want to reach people and if a church is healthy it will often grow and eventually it will become a larger church. That’s not bad and it is not my purpose to criticize larger churches. However what I do want to question is the idea, which seems pretty standard even in Christian culture, that larger churches are better. What the study shows is that is not the case not even close. Of course some larger churches are way better than some smaller churches etc. But, in terms of the issues mentioned in the study, it seems that a better strategy is to create multiple healthy communities of committed Christians. I find even in a church our size ( 500+ in attendance each week and 700+ connected in some way as regular attenders) it’s a strecth to feel that we know and are caring for people and connecting them as we would like. Thanks for the comment. Peace LK
This study does not surprise me. In a plastic world I think people want to grasp onto something that is real. They want to know that the leadership are actually people that bleed when they are pricked. Where in a small church they have this opportunity through the community. I have heard in the PCA that if you factor in the deaths, people leaving the church, church’s closing, ect. that we are not experiencing any more growth in numbers than what we currently have. The way that the PCA is sustaining its numbers is through church planting. I think that church planting plays into this study. Most church plants start out small and I believe reach people in a similar manor as this study talked about, there is also the addition excitement of building something new. Whether we are a big church or a small church we must not leave these qualities that are mentioned in this small church study.
Larry- Since you again mentioned that we should get on the blog,I thought I would add my very simplistic two cents to the talk.
Acts 2:41 says that about 3,000 were added that day. I guess that would be a mega church. Also in Acts they talk about meeting in the temple and breaking bread in homes so I guess the early church’s solution to growing bigger and smaller at the same time is similar to what we do at CCC. Also,I think, it goes back to the motivation, particularly of the leadership in a church. If the person who is casting the vision for the church is motivated soley by a desire to glorify God then any and all obstacles can be overcome. Obviously, leaders in any size church can have improper motives. So, I am guessing the fallout from that is bigger as the numbers get bigger. Ok,that’s about a cent and a half. Thanks for listening!
Charla
Hey Charla – that’s a good point, and of course, if God adds 3,000 to the church, there’s no question whether that is good! I think what interested me in the research is that a lot of people today just think bigger is better period! That doesn’t seem to be the case. Good observation on the issue of motivation also. That concern has to be with us all the time. Seek first….