I just watched this video about whether or not the size of the church matters. Kevin DeYoung, Matt Chandler and Mark Dever of the Gospel Coalition discuss this. Chandler pastors a congregation of about 10,000 (he explains the breakdown in the video) where as DeYoung and Dever pastor much smaller churches all of the Reformed denomination.
I think it's hard for us as humans to look at something like that and not focus on the size. We would either say that church A with 10,000 members is being too tolerant and just letting every Tom, Dick and Harry in the door OR we would say that churches B & C with only hundreds of members are not being faithful and therefore God is preventing more people from coming in the door. We find something that we think is wrong and cast blame in accordance with our thinking. In reality all three churches may be living out faithfulness to God and it's showing up in people's lives. If we looked closely, maybe we would see the faithfulness that way. Maybe we wouldn't, but that is God's concern, not ours. "It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge and my job to love." -Billy Graham
The men discuss the fact that different sizes of churches work for different people. They say that as pastors they make it a point to pray for other churches in their community and churches of other denominations so that congregants don't feel pressured to attend just that church. They are not greedy people-hoarding pastors, they are men who have been called by God to shepherd the flock and just want to see God's children being fed, whether that is in their sanctuary or another. Whether it's in a house church or a mega church.
The other main point that stuck out to me was about the rate of growth. All three men agreed that slow, steady growth is better than rapid growth punctuated by loss of members or no growth. Dever noted that his church has seen slow, steady, constant growth over the last 18 years. Chandler noted that he also prefers to see slow, steady growth and that it is difficult to guide the congregation and difficult for discipleship when there is rapid growth.
I grew up at Bethesda Mennonite Church in Henderson, NE. For a community the size of Henderson it is a very large church. Over the last ten years there has been a steady decline of members and over the last four years some significant hurts have come to the surface. These last four years have been a difficult time for the congregation, and a time of learning and growth (spiritually).
Bethesda is still without a lead pastor and as the search continues I believe some of the hurt continues and the doubt of whether or not we will obtain a lead pastor soon, who is good and is willing to take on the problem child that is Bethesda. Bethesda has had a very unique experience over the course of its life as a congregation. The people that darken its doors and rest on its pews each week bring with them a unique set of gifts and hurts. Without going into too much detail and disrespecting the integrity of Bethesda, these gifts and hurts, joys and sorrows, talents and differences among the congregation present a unique challenge to any pastor who would come in. Is it anything that God can not handle? No. Will God abandon his congregation in a time of great need? Absolutely not. But we are human and we are fearful.
"He says, 'Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.' The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress." Psalm 46:10-11 NIV
The Holy Spirit has moved and done great things over the last four years, and God has shown His faithfulness, yet still we doubt. My prayer for Bethesda and for other churches would be to be content with slow, steady growth and that even in periods of no growth to listen to God in the quiet.
A Time for Everything
Ecclesiastes 3 1-8 NIV
"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace."
There is a time for growth, and a time not to grow.
Thanks for reading!
