When is a Church Too Large?

WHAT is the ideal size of a church? When has it become too big? When should it think in terms of fostering a new congregation in an adjacent territory? These are questions that might bring a variety of responses.

Before addressing ourselves specifically to them we would do well to consider what the church is for. What are its goals? How is its success to be measured?

In the broadest terms the purpose of the church could be laid out in the words of John the Baptist, "To make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

This definition implies both winning people to Christ and aiding in their spiritual maturity. Some would define evangelism as the church's supreme mission. But evangelism sometimes becomes an end in itself, when really it is only the means to an end. Equally important is what happens to the people after they have been evangelized and accepted the gospel message.

Evangelism without a burden for a further work of spiritual growth will likely be oriented toward success. If success-oriented, the goal is productivity. Then what counts is image. When that happens the soul is reduced to just one more person to be counted. Cod's plan for the church is much more than this.

It is most fully outlined by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:11-15. Verse 11 lists the various gifts of the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Verse 12 declares that these gifts are given "for the perfecting of the saints." It is true that one is perfect through the imputed righteousness of Christ the moment the soul is surrendered to Christ. But God's plan is that the new convert, through the imparted righteousness of Christ, become experientially what he is positionally.

God plans for the members of His church to become full grown, mature, complete. He wants them to function to full capacity. The challenge given the ministry is to bring them up to their full potential. To accomplish this, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are poured out on the church (see Gal. 3:3). The achievement of our potential is the purpose of the trials that are permitted to come our way (see James 1:2, 3). Here is the purpose of suffering (see 1 Peter 5:6). It is even stated that the purpose of the Word is that we may grow thereby (see chap. 2:2).

All that is provided for us through the church, as well as all that is permitted in our experience, is designed to lead us to perfection maturity.

This was the great passion of the apostle Paul. To the Colossians his preaching and teaching was "that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus" (Col. 1:28). In chapter 4:12 he says, "that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." To the Corinthians, his final wish was "even your perfection." And he concluded, "Finally, brethren, farewell, Be perfect" (2 Cor. 13:9, 11).

Every one of the early church leaders had this same objective in mind, this same passion. And this is to be the work of church leaders today. We are told, "When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own. It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." --Christ's Object Lessons, p. 69.

It is terrible to think that by our failure to enter into this experience we are delaying the coming of our Lord. In Ephesians 4:12 the apostle Paul uses the key phrase that expresses the whole plan of God for the church. It is "for the perfecting of the saints." It is time that we take this objective seriously, if we are ever "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Having emphasized the purpose of the church, let it now be added that a mature church re produces itself. Babies don't have babies. Mature people do. Furthermore, shepherds don't have sheep. Sheep do. Isn't that what Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:12? The gifts were given "to equip God's people for work in his service" (N.E.B.).*

According to this, who is to do the work of the ministry? The saints! Beck's translation reads, "To get His holy people ready to serve as workers." The pastor-shepherd is to bring the saints to maturity and to equip them that they in turn might effectively carry on the work of ministry.

The leaders of the New Testament church saw the gospel spread and multitudes gathered in as the lay members whom they shepherded and equipped went out with a holy zeal to tell the story of Jesus' love. This clearly is also the pattern for today. When the followers of Christ are mature and properly instructed, ministry is just naturally the burden of every one of them.

We are told, "All must now work for themselves, and when they have Jesus in their hearts they will confess Him to others. No more could a soul who possesses Christ be hindered from confessing Him than could the waters of Niagara be stopped from flowing over the falls." --Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 233.

We often have the whole thing backwards. The minister wears himself out trying to get the lay men motivated to do what he is motivated to do. But if he will give himself wholly to the building up and equipping of the saints, the Holy Spirit will motivate the mature saints to do the work of ministering.

Maturing and Ministry Go Together

It should be emphasized that the work of maturing and the work of ministering go together. The new Christian must begin to share his faith at once, lest it be lost. But he will need spiritual nurture and practical instruction. Note the following pertinent counsel: "Just as soon as a church is organized, let the minister set the members at work. They will need to be taught how to labor successfully." --Evangelism, pp. 353, 354. (Italics supplied.)

"Personal responsibility, personal activity in seeking the salvation of others, must be the education given to all newly come to the faith." --Ibid., p. 354.

"Teach them by giving them something to do, in some line of spiritual work, that their first love will not die but increase in fervor." —Ibid., p. 356.

"Let him seek to keep the church alive by teaching its members how to labor with him for the conversion of sinners. This is good generalship; and the result will be found far better than if he should seek to perform the work alone." --Ibid., p. 357.

This leads us back to our original question. If the work of the pastor is that of building up the spirituality of the church and instructing and organizing them for the work of soul winning, then how large must a church be and when does it become too large? Obviously a church is never too small to enter into this program. But if the plan is followed it will grow. When its growth in numbers begins to inhibit its effectiveness, then it is time for some of the members to form the nucleus of a new congregation.

Whether or not the church is fulfilling its mission according to the New Testament pattern will depend largely upon the nature of the nurturing and training that is given. This Biblical concept is vital to adequate leadership in our churches. A small church of 50 or 100 members, or 250 members, is not, just because of its size, fulfilling its role any better than a church of 1,000 or even 3,000 members. A pastor of a large church with a well-organized program and well-trained staff may be succeeding far better in perfecting the saints and equipping and directing them in the work of the ministry than is the pastor of the smaller church whose main obsession is getting a call to a larger pastorate.

Pastor John McArthur, when called to Grace Community church in Panorama City, California, had many great ideas and almost worked himself to death trying to keep up with them. One day a well-intentioned man said to him, "You know what your problem is, McArthur? Your problem is that you are too immature to do what God has called you to do, and let the rest go." This led him to covenant with God to spend five to six hours every day with the Word of God and forget about much of the trivia. Telling of this experience, he says, "When that began to happen I began to see real miracles taking place."

"I Can't Handle All These People"

During the week he would pore over the Word of God, then on Sundays he would pour out to the people the message God had laid upon his heart. For the first time he began to see the people grow, and as they grew they began to re produce.

It is interesting that those ministers who today tend to down grade the power or importance of preaching are for the most part those who have long since left off preaching the Word and substituted philosophies of their own, social issues, or intellectual dissertations. It is through the preaching of the Word that the spirituality of the congregation is built up and growth occurs.

Pastor McArthur discovered that Biblical preaching with a passion for the "perfecting of the saints" became a reproductive pattern of teaching. Suddenly various ministries began to develop so rapidly he could hardly keep up with them. The members became burdened to get things done. One saw the need for a tape ministry. Others felt burdened to organize Bible-study groups and prayer groups. The pastor did not have to start any of them. He simply fed them with the Word, and the Holy Spirit did the motivating. When he went to the hospital to visit sick members others of the church were already there. Others were taking tapes around to the shutins. Some secured a bus and began bringing people to church. The saints began to do the work of ministering. Within three years the membership grew from 500 to 3,000.

Before this, Pastor McArthur had spent most of his time worrying about the empty pews, and building up the statistics. "Now," he says, "I don't ask God for other persons at least until 1 have done something for those He has already given me. It scares me when so many people come. I say, 'Lord, it's enough. I can't handle all these people. I don't know what's going on and whether or not they are being properly discipled.' " He adds, "I am not interested in having so many people. I am only interested in what God is doing in the lives of those He has already given me."

"Our task is not to put on a program," he points out. "It is not to entertain. It is not to put on a musical extravaganza. Our task simply stated is to equip the saints for the work of ministering."

We marvel at such a program. Isn't this God's plan for every church? Isn't this the way the work entrusted to the Advent Movement will be finished? It happened at the Panorama City church because the pastor caught a vision of what the church is all about, and determined by the grace of God to follow it.

Now what has this to do with the size of the church? We can see that as the church grows, the dangers inherent in its administration increase. Even under the most gifted, dedicated leadership, with consecrated, properly trained lay workers, the task of properly shepherding, nurturing, and training every member becomes more difficult. The work can so easily degenerate into formal organization without the personal intimacy so essential.

In trying to summarize what has been said, let me suggest the following:

1. The ministry needs a clear vision as to what the church is all about, according to the New Testament plan.

2. Every pastor should re-evaluate his program to see how closely it fits the pattern God has given and then do whatever is necessary to bring it into line.

3. When a church reaches the size where individual members could be more effectively nurtured and equipped for service by forming a new congregation in new territory, this step must be taken, no matter how traumatic.

4. An important factor that should help in making this decision, other than that of numbers, would be the nature of the leadership offered the new congregation, whether ordained or lay. Separation from a large church just for the sake of being small may not of itself be an asset. The ideal would be for the mother church to continue a very real personal interest in the new venture until it is well groomed and functioning on its own according to the New Testament plan.

5. When a church reaches an active membership of from 200 to 250, it has reached a growth level where it can function at maximum efficiency and should thereafter think in terms of fostering a daughter congregation. A church of this size is large enough to have every department function effectively. It is small enough to offer the intimate fellowship that every-member participation requires. Also, organizing another congregation will have the advantage of placing an Adventist church in a new geographical area that must be reached with the message.

When this concept grips the hearts of pastors and laymen it should eliminate competition for the greatest statistics. There will be no passion for numbers. Rather, the concern will be for the members how are they growing? How effective is their witness? As the church grows, this concern for the individual will lead the church to encourage members to move to smaller churches, where they can be more useful, or to form new congregations, that the work may grow more rapidly.

Finally, the result will be that set forth in Ephesians 4:13-15: "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. . . . But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ."

In following this suggested program, the pastor will actually be doing "the work of perfecting the saints," the saints will do the work of ministering, the body will be built up, and all will be brought into the unity for which Christ prayed.