How big should a local church be? Can it be too big? Or too small? Is bigger always better? Or is there a size that’s just right? In this episode, we’ll discuss these questions, along with some of the natural barriers that impact the size of a community, along with some tips for overcoming them.
It is good to have a diversity of sizes of churches. There are pros and cons for each. There is too big and there is too small. There does seem to be, however, a natural size that is just right.
Natural Limits
British anthropologist, Robin Dunbar, pointed out that most people can only maintain about 150 relationships. This can be seen in the earliest hunter-gatherer tribes, Amish communities, Native American groups, and even Marine companies.
150 seems to be the magic number. Beyond this point, humans seem to struggle to manage meaningful relationships.
This can also be seen in the increasing abstraction that occurs alongside the growth of groups and communities.
For example, in a school project with 5 classmates, it’s pretty obvious when someone doesn’t do the work since they’re responsible for ⅕ of the work. What happens when there are 20 people? Or 100 people? Or more?
As the size of a group grows, the weight of an individual’s responsibility seems to diminish.
What about Churches?
The average church size in the United States is actually about 100 people. Even when considering larger churches with thousands of people, there are still only around 100-150 people/families that are truly connected and engaged.
This doesn’t mean churches shouldn’t exceed 150 members/families. But, there are things that need to be done to successfully surpass that number AND keep more people engaged.
Three Practical Tips to Successfully go Beyond These Limits
Culture of Communicating a Big Vision – Larger churches will naturally have subgroups that know each other. Having a big vision is what unifies the many groups and ties them all together. This includes concrete goals, traditions, and organizing principles.
Nourish the Smaller Groups – There needs to exist small groups and communities to help scale the size of the church. A community within a community. These can easily be formed around ministries and should be nourished and supported by the church.
The Leadership Skills Need to Evolve – Leaders need to train other leaders to guide these smaller communities within the church. Leading other leaders is a unique skill set, but is necessary to grow a group of leaders to successfully guide these smaller groups.
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