In the book The Small Church Is Different, Lyle E. Schaller wrote: “The normal size for a Protestant congregation on the North American continent is one that has fewer than 40 people at worship on a typical Sunday.” As the TV show Cheers demonstrated, people like a place “where everybody knows your name.” Schaller added: “To have more people means opposing the forces of nature and persistent and continuous effort.”
The number of small congregations continues to grow. First, independent “house churches” with the intention to provide a deeper degree of intimacy, commitment or mission keep sprouting up or breaking off from existing churches. Second, scores of once-larger churches are shrinking into the small category. Third, while a few new congregations explode into thousands of attendees, since the 1980s the average attendance at new church plants has plateaued at fewer than 100.
Importance of small churches
In many communities and neighborhoods, small churches have historically played a vital role in child rearing, elder care, moral development and stability for that locale.
The following words from the cover of Making the Small Church Effective by Carl S. Dudley show how small churches still occupy an important place in society: “In a big world, the small church has remained intimate. In a fast world, the small church has been steady. In an expensive world, the small church has remained plain. In a complex world, the small church has remained simple. In a rational world, the small church has kept feeling. In a mobile world, the small church has been an anchor. In an anonymous world, the small church calls us by name.”
In my next blog I will start a review of some turnaround strategies for churches of all sizes.
