Recently, someone asked me as to why
Pacific Northwest churches plant other churches when they reach a
congregational size of about 250. “Why is it,” the person asked, “is there this
obsession with smallness?” I have no answer other than the fact that I am sure
that it does not come from the Bible. The Bible never addresses the subject of
church size. We are told to preach the gospel, and allow God to give the
increase (I Corinthians 3:6).
Some people are afraid of large churches.
They are afraid that they will get lost in them, and that they will be cold and
uncaring. Large churches are actually nothing more than a gathering of small
churches. The key to a healthy spiritual life in a large church is to get
involved in a small group where all of the benefits of the best small church
are available.
Some people are afraid of small churches,
because they have a tendency to be cliquish and closed. Small groups, however,
do not have to be cliquish or exclusive when their primary focus is fellowship
and accountability. The purpose of our gathering is to glorify God; that should
be our preoccupation. How many of us there are should not be significant.
There is one place in the Old Testament
where worship size was very significant; that was in the observance of the
Passover. The Passover was to be an annual event (not every week and not once a
month). This rare observance was to be done with precision and care. It was
done in remembrance of the Exodus.
One of the instructions was that
families that were “too small for a lamb” were to gather with other families to
observe the Passover. Whenever you are getting ready to go on an extended
vacation, you reduce the amount of food you have in your refrigerator so that
it will not spoil while you are gone. The Jews were not going on vacation. They
were leaving town for good. They were to travel light and leave quickly. This
was no place for leftovers.
Eventually, this instruction evolved to
the number ten. The Passover was to be
observed in groups of tens. This convenient number, however, misses the whole
point. The Passover was to be a celebration of fellowship. There is no magic
number! Just as big churches can be
bad, and small churches can be bad, size should be a providential by-product.
The issue is not quantity, but rather quality. The issue is not how often we
remember the Lord’s Supper, but rather how we do it.
At Christ the Rock, we have decided to
never “tack on” communion at the end of a service. Periodically, we pause in
our verse-by-verse study of Scripture and devote ourselves entirely to the
remembrance of who we are, and how we became who we are, by remembering the
Lord’s final evening before the crucifixion. Today is that day. We invite you to
join us if your heart is trusting exclusively on His grace for salvation.