It’s the time of the mega church. Heck, even emergent churches are only successful if they’re mega! Well, at least that’s what general opinion would have us believe.
I don’t believe it for a minute… OK, you’ve got me… Sometimes I believe it, then I argue myself out of it. But then I wonder if I’m only doing that because I’m either jealous or even simply at a loss as to how some churches can grow just so quickly. But that’s not really the issue.
You see I know that mega churches are neither good nor bad because of their size. Likewise, smaller churches can’t be categorised so simply either. However, in the Western world The Salvation Army, (and other traditional protestant denominations), are declining in numbers of disciples and converts. At the same time, mega churches appear to be growing.
So the real question is this: If, (and that’s a big word), mega churches are the way of the future how can we respond?
You see, The Salvation Army is, by definition a “small church” model. We have congregations very close to others. In the church I’m blessed enough to lead with Raewyn (The Salvation Army Johnsonville) we have other Salvation Army’s north (7 minutes drive), south (10 minutes) and east (12 minutes). And each of those churches are in similar positions.
Obviously there are benefits to this model:
- As a “social justice/incarnational” organisation we are closer to the coal face and to those we are called to help; and
- It is much simpler to look after people pastorally (to name just a couple).
However, there are negatives too:
- It’s easy to get stuck in a comfortable mode where we are all inward focused and the great commission gets forgotten; and
- It isn’t always particularly good use of Kingdom money to pay officer couples to run smallish churches. (once again to name just a couple)
I’d absolutely love to hear people’s views on this matter (approach it from any angle you like!)
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New Post: whr 2 4 The Salvation Army – small vs mega model http://bit.ly/4v21r3 pse comment ur thoughts #leadership #TSA #Salvationarmy
Aren't we missing the point when we talk about church size & models and don't focus on bringing the kingdom everywhere we go? The kingdom should be with me when I ride by mountain bike, or sit at work, or eat dinner with family & friends.
If the kingdom is the focus does the size, model or even the tag church actually make a difference? In fact by having the term church and all the connotations that go with it aren't creating a 2nd hand faith which is religion at it's worst?
Aren't we missing the point when we talk about church size & models and don't focus on bringing the kingdom everywhere we go? The kingdom should be with me when I ride by mountain bike, or sit at work, or eat dinner with family & friends.
If the kingdom is the focus does the size, model or even the tag church actually make a difference? In fact by having the term church and all the connotations that go with it aren't creating a 2nd hand faith which is religion at it's worst?
Twitter: PGardnerNZ
on 08.12.09 at 4:00 pm
Hi Mark
No, I don't think we're missing the point. You see, I don't think this is an either/or situation. In fact I think it's imperative that we think of these things being complementary.
What is “church” for if its not for the purpose of equipping the people, that actually ARE the church, to take the kingdom wherever they go?
Twitter: PGardnerNZ
on 08.12.09 at 4:00 pm
Hi Mark
No, I don't think we're missing the point. You see, I don't think this is an either/or situation. In fact I think it's imperative that we think of these things being complementary.
What is “church” for if its not for the purpose of equipping the people, that actually ARE the church, to take the kingdom wherever they go?
to me the issue is less about size or type, and more about mission
whether you are talking about “church” as an organic faith community, or a local church with a building and a programme, or a denomination
for each the challenge is to keep a focus on the mission of bringing more and more people into a relationship with christ
for the organic faith community and the local church the challenge is that if you want to stay at or below a certain size I struggle to see how that reconciles with always trying to bring more and more people into community
for the larger local churches, and demonations, the challenge is that as you grow bigger the inherent need to focus on keeping the machine running can suck out the energy needed to keep a missional focus
to me the issue is less about size or type, and more about mission
whether you are talking about “church” as an organic faith community, or a local church with a building and a programme, or a denomination
for each the challenge is to keep a focus on the mission of bringing more and more people into a relationship with christ
for the organic faith community and the local church the challenge is that if you want to stay at or below a certain size I struggle to see how that reconciles with always trying to bring more and more people into community
for the larger local churches, and demonations, the challenge is that as you grow bigger the inherent need to focus on keeping the machine running can suck out the energy needed to keep a missional focus
Twitter: PGardnerNZ
on 08.14.09 at 5:26 pm
I agree with you Gavin.
My query on large vs small relates to the fact that mega churches appear to be bringing more people into faith. (Though appearances may be deceiving!)
Hmmm.. None of these questions have easy answers but I find it useful to have the discussions, even if we seem to end up going around in circles sometimes.
Twitter: PGardnerNZ
on 08.14.09 at 5:26 pm
I agree with you Gavin.
My query on large vs small relates to the fact that mega churches appear to be bringing more people into faith. (Though appearances may be deceiving!)
Hmmm.. None of these questions have easy answers but I find it useful to have the discussions, even if we seem to end up going around in circles sometimes.
Hi Anonymous_NZ
I wanted some clarification on your comment before approving it for publication but your email address supplied was unfortunately false. If you want to re-comment with a way to contact you we’ll get it sorted.
God bless
Hi Paul
The comment was for what I thought was a public forum.. I no longer have a copy of that comment and I’m not wasting time to re-write
Thanks for the censoring
No, I won’t censor it. Simply recomment with a legitimate email address and I’ll publish your original comment uncensored… I assume you’re happy to stand behind your own comments?
I agree – the mission is the essential component to an effective church – it should be founded in God and annointed so that it will always be feed by the Him
I have found the “mega” churches started off a lot smaller than all of their fellow faithful churches.. I think their key difference is that people are captivated and compelled by the vision of that church… Their mission is contageous and passionate.. These so called “mega” churches are bringing so many people into a relationship with Jesus Christ and many of these new believers will go on to serve at other churches – the thing I love about “mega” churches is that it's not about growing themselves but rather the kingdom of God… It's that bigger purpose that draws so many new children of God into a relationship with him
And note that the “mega” churches pasters are too busy working with God and his mission/calling to get caught up writing blogs about whether a church should be “mega” or not – they wouldn't care if they only had 15 people serving – they're all about fulfilling the vision God has annointed!
So – I love what you refer to as a “mega” church – it's not the size, it's the spirit and culture that sets them apart!
Twitter: PGardnerNZ
on 09.11.09 at 11:06 am
Thanks for your thoughts anonymous_nz. I'd like to discuss them further with you but commenting under as anon with a fake email addy tends to make me think you're trying to just make a point without wanting real discussion??
That said, I agree with a lot of what you say, though I'm sure most mega-church Pastors spend time thinking about the best way to reach more and more people for God (which is what this post is about). Blogging is simply one of my communication methods.
God bless you.
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