Why are small churches 16 times as effective as large churches - these are the surprising results of a worldwide church growth study.
In 1995, the German church growth researchers Christoph Schalk and Christian A. Schwarz of the Ecumenical Church Institute (Emmelsbull bei Niebull, Germany), completed the first phase of what they call the largest church growth research project in history.
In the 150,000 DM project (which they financed themselves), over 1,000 churches in 32 countries on all five continents answered 170 questions. For the first time, the 4.2 million answers enable empirical statements about worldwide principles, and reasons why churches grow. We list below the four that we found most significant.
1. The end of church growth myths
According to Schwarz, many statements and so-called principles about church growth are not scientifically demonstrable, rather the result of wishful thinking. He says that many much-loved theories and principles are nothing more than the self-protection mechanisms of stagnant churches which have developed their own theology and theories in self-defence. He adds that some of these baseless theories have already attained untouchable status in many circles. Anyone who appreciates scientifically sound work can put these myths aside as a result of the study which will soon be published.
2. Quality is measurable
Decades of church growth research have brought eight areas or elements of every local church to light, by which the quality of churches can be readily compared. The so-called eight basic principles, which interact strongly with each other and should not be viewed singly, are:
1. Goal-oriented leadership
2. Gift-oriented teams
3. Passionate spirituality
4. Functional structures
5. Inspiring services
6. Holistic house groups
7. Needs-orientated evangelism
8. Love-filled relationships
Here are some of the first results of the study. Small churches are on average better churches. The study shows small churches (less than 100 members) to have a quality factor of 52 (50 is the overall average), whereas large churches (more than 300 members) have an average quality factor of 48. That means that small churches are significantly better than large ones in terms of the quality of church life.
3. Theological training is a distinct hindrance to church growth
The study shows that 40% of all pastors of good quality but stagnant churches have studied theology; 42% of them in good quality churches with growth of over 10% per year; 62% of them in bad quality but growing churches and an amazingly high 85% of them in bad quality declining churches.
4. Why small churches are evangelistically 1600% more effective than mega-churches
Church size new believers
No % No
50 38 32
100-200 23 32
200-300 17 39
300-400 7 25
2,856 4 112
Small churches with less than 100 members (average in the study: around 50) have won on average 32 new members in the last five years (which makes 38% of the total membership), large churches of over 1,000 (average of the study: 2,856) have won an average of 112: 4% of their total membership.
The studied large churches are on average around 57 times the size of the small churches (2,856/50 = 57), which gives the following incredible result: 57 churches of 50 members -giving a total of 2,850 - have won not 112 members in five years, but 1,830!
That shows that, statistically, small churches are 16 times as effective at winning new members as mega-churches. Two 200-member churches generally win twice as many people for Jesus as a single 400-member church.
Conclusion
We need to distance ourselves from our false fixation with the model character of large churches. Large churches are not only evangelistically less effective than small ones, but also hinder long-term initiative ('Just do it like us, and you'll see the same results!').
It is much more important to observe the principles which function worldwide and can be locally applied. The study shows that the best evangelistic strategy is the co-operation of large and small churches with the aim of multiplying mostly small churches with a balanced measure of quality and quantity..
Source: Christian A. Schwarz (Fax: +49 4665 252 and Christoph Schalk (Fax/Tel: +49 931 29110, CompuServe 100045,1626). Operation Mobilisation
Small church = large world
I resist the trend toward mega-churches, preferring smaller places out of the spotlight. I never fully understood why until I came across this paradoxical observation in G.K. Chesterton's Heretics: 'The man who lives in a small community lives in a much larger world ... The reason is obvious. In a large community we can choose our companions. In a small community our companions are chosen for us.'
Precisely! Given a choice, I tend to hang out with folks like me: people who have college degrees, drink only Kenco dark roast coffee, listen to classical music, and buy cars based on environmentally sound MPG ratings. Yet, after a short while I get bored with people like me. Smaller groups (and smaller churches) force me to rub shoulders with everybody else.
Henri Nouwen defines 'community' as the place where the person you least want to live with always lives. Often we surround ourselves with the people we most want to live with, thus forming a club or clique, not a community. Anyone can form a club, but it takes grace, shared vision and hard work to form a community.
The Christian church was the first institution in history to bring together on equal footing Jews and Gentiles, men and women, slaves and free. The apostle Paul waxed eloquent on this 'mystery, which for ages past was hidden in God'. By forming a community out of diverse members, Paul said, we have the opportunity to capture the attention of the world and even the supernatural world beyond (Ephesians 3.9-10).
The smallest units in society, families, offer an ideal laboratory in which to test Chesterton's principle that 'the smaller the community, the larger the world'. Thinking back to family reunions, I must quickly agree that the institution of the family forces me into close contact with characters I would otherwise avoid. I have no choice about such encounters; we share a gene pool.
Several of my family members have served stints in prison. Some carry on feuds that go back generations. A few spin elaborate tales to cover up unwed pregnancies. Geographically, my family extends from Philadelphia to Australia. It includes a professional football player and a PhD in philosophy, as well as some who never graduated from high school. Methodists, Unitarian Universalists, Independent Baptists, atheists - they all come together at our reunions.
It is safe to say that I have learned more about grace, forgiveness, diversity - and, yes, original sin - from my family than from all the theology books I have read. Chesterton's point, exactly.
Extract from The Briefing
(reprinted with permission)
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