Good-Bye Congregational Sized Church

While mega churches and simple churches grow, congregational sized churches are shrinking...rapidly.

First a definition: congregational sized churches are those with about 100-300 people. They generally have a pastor or two, meet in a building something like the size of what you see pictured here, and function in fairly traditional ways. Their worship services are seen by most of the members as the most important gathering of the church. Not a great deal has changed in these churches in the past fifty years.

When we hear about churches "closing their doors forever," this is the type of church being described. Almost everywhere in our country you can find more and more of these church buildings up for sale.

One pragmatic reason these churches are closing is that so many of the members are senior citizens. When we hear about the church "graying" in the USA, it is congregational churches that are being described. Just stand in the back of one of these churches on a Sunday morning. Many if not most of the heads will either be gray or bald. It doesn't require a genius to figure out what this means.

Why is this happening? Why aren't younger Christians as attracted to this type of church as they are to mega churches and simple churches? The answer: lack of community.

This may at first seem like a strange answer. After all, congregational sized churches are often small enough for everyone to know everyone else. Many of these folks even spend time together in small groupish settings called Sunday School. Why the problem with community?

The reason is that these churches are actually too large for everyone to know everyone. The members may know a little bit about each other, but most don't truly know what is happening in each others' lives. They are not aware of the other members' hopes, dreams, struggles, desires, problems, etc. The church is small enough for face and name recognition, but not small enough for actual community to take place. As for Sunday School classes, these often amount to little more than prayer requests and talking through a quarterly magazine.

Congregational sized churches are a thing of the past. Most will continue to function as they always have until they are forced to shut their doors for financial reasons. All the while they are dying they will have no idea what their actual cause of death is. This is because they think they have what they in fact do not have: authentic community.

Growing Numbers: Mega Church and Simple Church

As we look toward the future I believe we will see two types of churches grow rapidly in this country: mega churches and simple churches.

Actually, this is already happening. Christians are increasingly leaving congregational sized churches to move into either larger or smaller settings. This is occurring all over the country. Mega churches are doing quite well. Those who attend these churches appear to desire large gatherings, loud music, generally gifted orators, and whatever the latest trends are. These churches offer a wide variety of services and programs to various age groupings. I don't hear of mega churches struggling at all. Rather, they appear to be growing as people consolidate where they are gathering.

I also hear about increasing numbers of believers leaving institutional churches in favor of much smaller church bodies. These folks usually crave simplicity, family settings, edifying gatherings, and authenticity. While these types of church bodies tend to vary quite a bit from one to the other, the commonality of simplicity remains. Christians are increasingly finding out about this type of church life and are embracing it.

I'm a church growth enthusiast only if it refers to spiritual growth. However, as we interact with both the church and the world, it benefits us to be aware of current trends. We Christians have a disturbing tendency to operate way behind the curve when it comes to almost everything. Let's stop making that mistake. As we move forward, it is simple churches and mega churches that will be most vibrant. We should be aware of this and seek to know why this is happening.

Why, then, are mega churches and simple churches growing? I believe the answer lies in their one commonality: community. Mega churches often offer a wide variety of small groups/life groups/home groups that function something like simple churches. These groups, if operating well, provide the family type of atmosphere missing in much of life today.

In the end Christians desire community in Christ. They are finding this in mega churches and simple churches. Therefore, these types of bodies are growing.

Two Different Directions

One fascinating change that's occurring in the American church has to do with size. A consistent trend exists today for churches becoming either bigger or smaller. They are moving in two different directions.

We're all aware of the modern phenomenon that is the rise of the mega church. Click here for a prime example. We also have seen many Christians moving toward smaller groupings. This usually takes some form of simple/organic/house church life.

As groups become either bigger or smaller, it is the congregational size churches that either are or will be facing great challenges. These churches typically run 100-300 people. As time goes on and folks leave congregational churches for either much bigger or much smaller groups, the 100-300 size church will gradually die out. This is not to say that these medium size churches will no longer exist, but that they will no longer be the dominant model of church life.

(As an aside, I write from an American perspective here. I admit to ignorance when it comes to what is happening in the church in other countries. If you reside in another part of the world, I'd love to hear what is occurring where you are.)

These size changes lead to a question for us: How can we in small churches work with those in large churches to make disciples?

It is painfully obvious for all involved that those of us in simple church life reject almost all of the shenanigans that go on in the mega church. However, there are many Christians in mega churches who want to make disciples just as much as we do. Therefore, we have a challenge of working with them while at the same time not working under the constraints of their large institutional framework. How can we do this?

First, we must always remember that it is Jesus Christ who unites us, not our view of the church. This is a great challenge since our understanding of the church is so different from that of most Christians in the institution. Since our unity is in Christ, we must look to His call for unity in His church. Unity has no loopholes.

Second, we must avoid the trap of isolating ourselves from believers in mega churches. If we know other Christians in the workplace, neighborhood, etc., let's see how we can work together instead of avoiding them.

Third, one of the positives of the rise of the mega church is the corresponding rise of the small group. Mega churches, at least to some degree, understand that community is necessary in the body. This cannot come through their large gatherings, so they have small groups of one type or another. Some of these groups function somewhat like simple churches. We can draw on these commonalities as we work together.

Fourth, working together to make disciples can often be a simple process. Much can be done in homes or coffee shops. The mega church institution does not even have to be involved. Staying away from the mega church structure is not as difficult as it may seem.

Finally, we must remember that disciple making is the mission of the church. We cannot push it to the back burner. Additionally, Jesus did not tell His followers to only work together with those they agreed with on church issues. They were all to come together for the cause of the Great Commission. By extension, we have this same commission. We must find ways to work with those in mega churches to make disciples.

As church size continues to change in this country, we need to be ready to work with our brothers and sisters in mega churches. This does not require us to accept all they believe about church. However, it does require us to focus on unity and find ways to come together despite our obvious differences.