Smaller Doesn't Always Mean Unhealthy

I saw a post earlier today that talked about a conference at an unnamed church that was geared towards smaller churches (under 500 in attendance) and how they could "get healthy". Now I really do understand this conference would be a great thing and that smaller churches carry a connotation that they are unhealthy. However, that isn't always the case. Believe me when I say that I have seen my share of unhealthy small congregations. However, I have also seen my fair share of healthy ones too. I have seen my share of unhealthy large congregations and my share of good, vibrant healthy large churches.

However, it is time that we stop associating healthiness to size. Is there a correlation? Depends. Actually, it depends on a lot of factors. Demographics play a role for sure, but so does financial issues, history, etc. There are some churches in demographical areas that would do well to get to 150, let alone 500-1000. However, if we are basing success on numbers, we might not be getting the whole picture.

What defines success is discipleship...is your church affecting the lives of the people in the community and the congregation? Are they coming to faith and growing closer to Christ in their relationship? If the answer is no, no matter the size, I'd venture a guess that unhealthiness is an issue.

The reason America is in the shape we are in is that we have churches who are: 1. Baptizing people and not discipling them or 2. Not baptizing or discipling people. I've seen huge churches great at baptizing people but discipling them horribly...which is bad news because then we have baby Christians with no direction, still acting like the world with nobody showing them the right way. Fortunately, I have seen this trend begin to correct itself a little, but more work needs to be done. We need to stop theorizing on how to approach it and actually get active, dirty and downright mud-wallowing messy in other people's lives. Theorizing doesn't do a thing. The Bible gives us plenty of direction to follow, the basic of which is Matthew 28:18-20...go...make disciples...baptize...teach.

Healthy churches aren't always big. Sometimes healthy things come in smaller packages.

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