I would even argue that there is a reason you don’t see theologically liberal churches busting at the seams and going multi-campus. When we stop believing in inerrancy, and heaven and hell, and the exclusivity of Christ to salvation, we lose all sight of our missional mandate and our motivation for growth in the first place.
So how large should a church be? I’m not sure why we think there’s a ceiling, other than the surrounding lost population. Is there a person in your community who doesn’t know Jesus yet? Then, larger, at least by one. When people visit our young church plant that meets in a local movie theater and shares that they’re currently part of a church that has “just gotten too large” and are “looking for something a little smaller” my response is always the same. If God leads you here, we trust Him, but we also hope to disappoint you as soon as possible.
If reading this post has conjured images in your mind of a “Six Flags Over Jesus” movement of enormous high-tech cathedrals filled with thousands of people who only show up for the the show or the sermon with no intention of deepening their walk or engaging others in ministry, you have a seriously flawed picture of what megachurches are actually like. In reality, larger churches typically work very hard at also becoming smaller, getting people into small groups, making disciples, developing leaders and deploying tellers of the good news. When they don’t do these things intentionally, they usually don’t stay large for long.
If you’re part of a small church (say, 100 or less-ish), that’s great. You’re in a sweet spot. Support your pastor, join a team and serve, and seek out the next lost person and thank God for the large church across town. If you’re in a medium or large church (relative to the typical congregation), that’s great too. Support your pastor, join a team and serve, and seek out the next lost person and thank God for all the smaller churches that are also working hard in the harvest.
But either way, regardless of where you are, growth is a good thing. When we grow without compromising our message or mission, the Kingdom wins. I celebrate both timeless biblical theology and innovative strategies for reaching unengaged people. How large should your local church get? That’s really the wrong question. The right question is, how do we make disciples of everyone we possibly can?
