III. CHURCH SIZES: GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Reading books on church sizes can be confusing because everyone breaks down the size categories somewhat differently. This is because there are many variables in a church's culture and history that determine exactly when a congregation gets to a new size "barrier."  For example, it’s easy to recognize that at some point a church becomes too large for one pastor to handle. People begin to complain that they are not getting adequate pastoral care, and the time has come to add staff. But when does that happen? In some communities that may happen when attendance rises to 120, while in others it does not happen until the church has nearly 300 regular attendees. It depends a great deal on expectations, on the mobility of the city, on how fast the church has grown, and various other factors. Despite the variables, the point at which a new pastoral staff member must be added is usually called “the 200 barrier.” While this represents a good average figure, keep in mind that your own church might come up against that threshold at some different attendance figure.

Following are some general trends that occur as a church grows in size:

A. Increasing complexity.The larger the church, the less members have in common. The congregation experiences greater diversity in age, family status, ethnicity, etc., and thus a church of 400 needs four to five times more programs than a church of 200 (not two times more, as one would naturally project.)  Therefore:

1. Larger churches are disproportionately more complex than their smaller counterparts. They have multiple services, multiple classes, multiple groups, multiple tracks, and eventually they really are multiple congregations.
   
   
2. Larger churches require more staff per capita. Often the first ministry staff persons are added for every increase of 150 to 200 in attendance. For example, a church of 500 may have 2 to 3 full-time ministry staff. But eventually ministry staff could be justified (even if you don’t have the money for it!) for every 75 to 100 new persons. Thus, a church of 2,000 may have 25 staff. This creates a great burden on large churches, because unless you have a wealthy congregation, you can’t add staff as fast as you need to. And, therefore, a very competent volunteer recruitment, support and deployment program becomes critical.

B. Shifting lay-staff responsibilities.

1. On the one hand, the larger the church the more decision-making falls to the staff rather than to the membership or even to the lay leaders. The bigger the church the more items have to be given to the staff to determine or execute on their own. The elders or board must increasingly deal with only top level, big-picture issues. So the larger the church, the more decision-making is pushed up toward the staff and away from the congregation and lay leaders. Needless to say, many lay people feel extremely uncomfortable about this.
   
   
2. On the other hand, the larger the church the more the basic pastoral ministry (hospital visits, discipleship, oversight of Christian growth, counseling) is done by lay leaders rather than by professional ministers. So the larger the church, the more shepherding, teaching, and discipling are pushed down toward the lay leaders and people and away from staff. Pastors must teach lay shepherds and teachers how to fulfill this role.
   
   
3. In summary, in small churches policy is decided by many, and ministry is done by a few. In large churches ministry is done by many, and policy is decided by a few.

C.  Increasing intentionality.

1. The larger the church, the more it needs systematic and redundant communication. Without multiple forms and repeated messages, people will feel left out and uninformed. Informal word-of-mouth communication loses efficacy the larger the church grows.
   
   
2. The larger the church, the more it requires systematic and deliberate assimilation of newcomers. Newcomers are less visible in larger churches, and new people are not spontaneously welcomed or invited in. Assimilation must become systemic, and pathways must be identified by asking, “How will newcomers get here?," "How will they be identified by the church?," and "Where will unbelievers learn Christianity's relevance, content, and credibility?"
   
   
3. The larger the church, the more it needs well-organized volunteer recruitment. Generally, the larger the church the harder it is to recruit volunteers. The difficulty lies in that it is much easier to say no to someone you don’t know than to someone you know well, and the likelihood of an unknown person approaching you to volunteer is much more likely in the big-church setting. Secondly, it is easier to feel less personally responsible for the ministries of a larger church and to think the church has lots of people and “they don’t need me.” Therefore, the larger the church, the more well-organized and formal the recruitment of volunteers must be.

D. Increasing quality of production.

1. The larger the church, the more it requires formal and redundant communication. You know when you’ve crossed into a higher size category when you get constant complaints that people feel left out and uninformed. Informal communication networks (pulpit announcements, newsletter notices, and word-of-mouth) are insufficient to reach everyone. It also means that decisions have to be made in a more deliberate and formal way to ensure that timely and important information is reaching its proper recipients.
   
   
2. The larger the church, the more planning and organization goes into its events. In general, a higher quality of production is expected in a larger church, and therefore events cannot be thrown together willy-nilly.
   
   
3. The larger the church, the more it requires high-quality aesthetics. In smaller churches worship is based mainly on horizontal relationships with the other people present. For example, musical offerings of singers who are novices are nonetheless appreciated because "we all know them and they are members of our fellowship.” But in the larger church context, worship is based on the vertical relationship, on a sense of transcendence. If an outsider comes in who doesn't know the musicians, mediocre quality of production will distract from their worship. (They don't have a relationship with the musicians which, for those who know and love the ones presenting the music, off-sets the lack of giftedness.) So, the larger the church, the more the music becomes an attractor on its own, an assimilation measure on its own.

E. Increasing openness to change. The larger the church, the more it is subject to constant and sudden change. There are a couple reasons for this:

1. Smaller churches do not change rapidly and experience less turnover because individual members feel powerful and necessary.
2. One of the reasons that decision-making moves away from the congregation to the staff in large churches is because too much is going on for lay people to stay on top of. Only the full-time staff are informed enough (about who is out in the congregation to be recruited, etc) to make good decisions. And when decision-making power moves toward staff members (away from individual members), change happens more quickly. 

F. Losing members because of changes.  The larger the church the more it loses members because of changes.

1. Smaller churches seek to avoid losing members at all costs, thereby allowing individuals and small groups to exercise power far greater than their numbers.  Someone always experiences change as loss, and since the smaller church has a great fear of conflict, it usually will not institute a change that may result in lost members. Thus smaller churches do not lose members very often.
2. But in larger churches individual members or smaller groups have far less ability to exert power or resist changes they dislike. And (as noted above) since larger churches experience constant change, they regularly lose members who feel overcome by church growth or upset with the changes. Leaders of churches that grow large are more willing to lose members who disagree with procedures or philosophy of ministry.

G. Shifting role of the ministers.

1. in small churches policy is decided by many, and ministry is done by a few. In large churches ministry is done by many, and policy is decided by a few.

   The larger the church, the less available the main preacher is to do pastoral work. In smaller churches the pastor is available at all times for most all occasions and needs to any member or unchurched person. In the large church, there are sometimes more lay ministers, staff, and leaders than the small church has people! So the pastors must recognize their limits and spend more time with staff and lay shepherds, and in prayer and time with God.
   
   
2. The larger the church, the more important are the minister's leadership abilities. Preaching and pastoring are sufficient skills for pastors in smaller churches, but as a church grows, the minister’s leadership skills become critical, especially those of vision casting and strategic planning.
   
   
3. The larger the church, the more then ministry staff moves from being generalists to being specialists. Everyone from the senior pastor on down must focus on certain ministry areas and concentrate on two or three main tasks. The larger the church, the more the senior pastor must specialize on preaching, vision casting, and identifying problems ahead of time before they become disasters.
   
   
4. The larger the church, the more important it is for ministers, especially the senior pastor, to stay put for a long time.  As noted above, smaller churches do not change rapidly and have less turnover. The innate stability of smaller churches can thus absorb the change of minister every few years if necessary. But in the large church context, the staff in general and the senior pastor in particular are the main source of continuity and stability. Rapid turnover of staff is therefore much more detrimental to a large church.

H. Structuring smaller. The larger the church, the smaller the basic pastoral span of care.

1. In smaller churches the classes and groups can be larger, because virtually everyone in the church is cared for directly by full-time trained ministry staff, each of whom can care for 50-200 people.
   
   
2. In larger churches, however, the internal groupings need to be smaller, because people are cared for by lay shepherds, who can care for only ten to 20 people if given proper supervision and support. Thus, in a larger church, the more groups you have per 100 people in attendance, the better cared for people are and the faster the church grows.

I. Emphasis on vision and strengths.

1. The larger the church, the more it tends to concentrate on doing few things well. Smaller churches are generalists and feel the need to do everything, a result of the power of the individual in a small church. If any member wants the church to address some issue, then the church makes an effort to please them. The larger church, however, identifies and concentrates on approximately three to four major things and works to do them extremely well, despite calls for new emphases.
   
   
2. The larger the church, the more its vision becomes important to members. The reason for being in a smaller church is relationships. The reason for putting up with all the changes and difficulties of a larger church is to get mission done. Therefore people join the church because of the vision, so the particular mission needs to be clear.
   
   
3. The larger the church, the more it develops its own mission outreach rather than support existing programs.
   Smaller churches tend to support denominational mission causes or contribute to other existing parachurch ministries. Larger churches feel more personally accountable to God for the kingdom mandate and seek to start their own mission-ministries or form partnerships in which there is more direct accountability and responsibility.
   
   
4. The larger the church, the more its lay leaders need to be screened for agreement on philosophy of ministry, not simply for doctrinal and moral standards. In smaller churches, people are eligible for leadership on the basis of membership, tenure and faithfulness. In larger churches (as we just noted), the distinctive mission and vision of the church becomes increasingly important. Therefore, it is important to enlist (without apology) leaders who share the philosophy of ministry with the staff and other leaders.