Small Churches or Large Churches?

 Over the years I've had the opportunity to serve in small churches and in large churches and I've noticed they each have their strengths and weakness . . . along with their similarities. Consider the following . . . 

Small Churches tend to -

• Have the potential for giving a "family" feel . . . pretty much everyone knows everyone 
• Have the potential for "church politics" to be a highly negative thing with definite families who "have the power" yet still have the potential for more people to think they should have a "voice" in deciding what happens

Large Churches tend to -

• Have to be much more intentional about creating opportunities for people to know others and connect . . . to create the "family feel"
• Have less opportunity for there to be certain families with the "power" as most people tend to accept there will be people who make the decisions and not everyone has a "voice"

Both Churches tend to -

• Struggle with budget issues . . . large churches do have larger budgets since they have more people who give, but they also have larger expenses
• Struggle with recruiting volunteers . . . again, while large churches have more people who are potential volunteers, they also have more children in their ministries and therefore need more volunteers to achieve appropriate child/adult ratios

Both Churches have the same needs . . . 

• For the people in their churches to feel connected and like they "belong"
• To be on guard and watching for any "power plays" which destroy ministry and damage individuals
• For the resources to accomplish the ministry they are called to do
• For the people to serve in their ministries

So . . . whether you are a small church, a big church, or somewhere in the middle, pray for your church. Pray for your church leaders. Pray for the ministry your church provides to the people in your church and community!