Mega Churches vs small gatherings

[Shortstop]

Marnie can you show me where you got this information:

The NT church wasn't all home churches! And the early church, some of them, were quite large. In fact, church history is full of very large churches. In the days before there were churches ever few feet, there would be one or two in a community and they would both be full and large.

To comment to a home church being very unappealing because you need structure and accoutabiliy. We are a home church, though I don't speak for all of them but, we do have all that...We have structure, accountabilty and support of an organization with overseers...

forrestkc this can be true that some small home churches seem cultish but look at David Koresh, Jim Jones...They had many members....

Umm...the book of Acts. The Jerusalem Council? Paul telegraphing ahead to various churches to have the offerings ready for him. They ordained elders, deacons, bishops, etc. You have to have some size to do all that. Church history from Polycarp on down indicates that at various times larger churches, cathedrals, were the norm and so-called home churches were the anomaly.

When I speak of accountability, I am referring to a leadership upline as described in the NT. You are telling me you have that in your home church?? You ordain leadership? Who ordains them? Who educates them? Who do they answer to? Do you send out missionaries? A church is more than just a group of people meeting in your livingroom. Nothing personal, but as a relative new-comer to the faith, I am not seeing the concept of the "home church" in the NT at all.

No one does not have to have "size" to do all that. When God ordains a person to step up in their call it is done, so what does "size" have to do with it? God ordains, not a man's pen. The elder who is mentoring my husband was ordained in 1965, he along with other men are elders of the home church that has come together in my home. It was not by our hand that we placed it together. The elders kneel before God and seek His guidance and what His will is for this church and body of Christ that meet in my home. They seek His wisdom...Yes, we support a total of 7 missions and 1 Christian radio station.

So, we are more than just a group of people who met in my living room. We are also a new Host site for Angel Food Ministries. Here check us out: Go to...

www.faithhomefellowship.org this is our church home....We are growing in outreach ministries, we don't care about numbers that site in the pew because we were commission to "GO OUT" and preach the gosepel, not just sit and listen to a message and then the rest of the week do nothing with it...Jesus moved about and was out among the people...He was not confined to 4 walls...

Edited November 1, 2007 by Shortstop

[EricH]

What are your thoughts on mega churches? Do you feel that it is necessary to have a church ministry catering to 3000 people? Do you think it is possible to properly care for 3000 people in one church? Do you think that the amount of offertories/tithes flowing into these massive churches is justified? Are ministers who oversee mega churches paid too much, or do they deserve the money they get. Are they entitled to wear Armani suits and Rolex watches?

Do you feel that smaller churches would be better? Intimate churches where you know everyone and grow together. Are they financially not viable, with many smaller groups having to borrow money from their Parish to survive. Are the ministers making best use of their time catering to smaller number of people?

In short - what are your thoughts on how large a church should be? Do numbers draw numbers, or are large churches too impersonal?

Personally, I have never experienced a "mega church". There are only really two such churches in Australia (that I am aware of, at least), and only one of those is anywhere near where I live (Hillsong), and I have never felt the need to go there for various reasons. By contrast, when I first started going to church, my church was often as small as 18 people (25 was the usual, with as many as 30). A few years ago, something happened and by the Grace of God, he gathered more people to Him. Now, in the space of about 5 years, our church has grown from one service with an average of 25 people, to something resembling 150 regular members (200 on the official books). While it is exciting to see God's words coming alive in so many people, in many ways I also find that I am losing out on a lot of fellowship. When there were 25 of us, we all knew each other intimately. We all encouraged each other together, all prayed together, all had a Bible study together. It was a spiritually enriching time. Now, I often feel that people are getting..... shall I say, lost in the crowd. Whereas once if a new person turned up everyone knew it. Now, a new person can enter and leave the church without notice, often only getting the chance to speak to the welcomer/usher.

In some ways the new larger congregations are good. But in other ways, it feels like our church is missing the unity of spirit that existed before. I guess there are positives and negatives to both large and small churches.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments on this matter.

~ Paranoid Android

The Mega Church has its place, just as the small church has its place. If a mega Church is founded on and teaches sound biblical principals, I think it is awesome they are thriving. However, just as many small churches are nothing but social clubs, many mega churches are likewise nothing but social clubs.

In actuality, assuming there is sufficient population base, all churches should be a mega church in just a few years .

Take a church with 30 members for instance. If this year, each member brings one new member to church, the number is 60 members. Next year they likewise bring one, 120 members. The next, 240. The next, 480. The next 960. The next, 1920. The next, 3840. A church with 30 members could become a mega church in 7 years if every member won one soul every year. So, assuming you do not live in a city with only 100 people, what is your excuse for being a small church? I would say LACK OF EVANGELISM!

Good throughts. No matter what model of church one adopts, there is always potential of going to seed

[TheoMike]

So what your telling us in a nut shell is that neither size church works exactly right! The small one you pastor now has no people to work out side the church and the big one had to much going on? I'm confused!

to meet their needs Maybe your trying to meat their needs when you should be trusting God to meat them.

I have always thought like this! If we only had the 5 fold ministry in churches everything would be perfect. Plus although I am not a pastor I would probably lose most congregations I preached at because I would preach what God wanted me to and not worry about what man thought. So many pastors are limited to what they can say behind the pulpit because the board of members control them and the pastor is afraid of losing the congregation. Now I am no expert but this is my input.

Wow...how did you get that out of my profusion of words? I'm sure you didn't intend your comments to be offensive, but some of them were. Let me try to write slowly and clearly to avoid confusion.

First, every congregation I have served has had its own set of challenges and needs. In one sense, they are all the same in that regard. If you take the time to read Paul's teaching on the church in Ephesians, you would see that God gave pastor/teachers to churches for a reason: to be His instruments to meet those challenges and fill those needs. Of course we rely on the on the Holy Spirit's guidance to do that! But at the same time, there is a reason why some men are called to be pastors and others called to be evangelists; namely, they have been endowed with certain gifts, and many times, abilities to get the job done. I could never be an evangelist, for example. I have a good friend who is an evangelist and for him to stay behind the same pulpit for more than a week would just drive him nuts. Different gifts, different people, yet all doing the work of the Lord through the local church.

Second, I do NOT work for a church nor am I employed by a church board. I work for the Lord but serve in whatever congregation to which I have been called. I answer to NO man for what I preach. However, I am held accountable to the church leadership for how I perform my various church duties. Being held accountable is very important to me, as it should be to all ministers. Our position is one of trust; I have a lot of freedom to come and go as I please. Nobody wants me to punch a time clock and I don't have to check in with the board every night. Because of that freedom, I make a point to be accountable so everybody knows where I am and how to get a hold of me at any given time of the day.

Thirdly, I don't worry one bit about losing a member. One thing about the Gospel, it will either draw a person closer to the Lord or it will push them away. If somebody can't handle the plain Word of God preached in a clear and concise matter, there are 25 other churches within a one square mile radius of my church they can attend. I have never chased after a member who wants to leave. My concern as a pastor is with the people that want to learn and grow. Time is short and I don't have time to waste on somebody who would rather not be in my church.

I hope that clears up any misconception about my ministry. And LadyC is quite right. My wife is small in stature but mighty in the Lord. If I ever stray from God's calling in the slightest iota, it would be curtains for me...I'd be singing Nearer My God To Thee!

[Guest LadyC]

And LadyC is quite right. My wife is small in stature but mighty in the Lord. If I ever stray from God's calling in the slightest iota, it would be curtains for me...I'd be singing Nearer My God To Thee!

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