Both Have Reach15

When I am downtown, I see them coming together and having meals 3x a month on Sundays for free and helping each other out if someone else is struggling with money or job or anything. Sometimes I feel I don't deserve it because I am not living there or I have plenty of food at home, but when I get in that funk, that may as well be me saying I don't deserve God's gift of grace. So the people in the inner city are a serious gift from God.

I've gone to big churches and small churches my entire life. However the past 6 years its mainly been big churches and they've been great. I've grown alot through them. I've been very active the church and gotten to know people through that and make a church family. However, in the past few months, God put it on my heart to volunteer in the inner city with a church that is much smaller than what I've been going to and my view has changed dramatically. I still care about my church family at my big church but the new view that I have is that in a bigger church sometimes we make plans to go out to eat or do something that costs money and being in the economic times, we don't necessarily consider those that have less, even ourselves who are going through job loss.

I grew up in a BIG church. Granted it was not a stadium sized church. But, the largest in our city. It did not seem big to me, at the time. It was what I knew. Since my family was so active in the church, we knew many people. Not strangers, just a large sense of community with many opportunities for ministry, missions, study, etc.
Now, as an adult, I have moved away, married and found a new church home. It was be considered small to many people. We love it. We are active in this church, and feel real sense of family. There are new faces joining, and our small church is growing, each week. That is exciting, to meet the new people.
I think both size churches are good. The main thing.... the WORD OF GOD is proclaimed and preached. Also, you have to get involved, in the church. Then you will feel a sense of community and family, no matter the size of the church.

awesome stuff there

Great point! God uses all kinds of vessels to glorify Himself.

amen

Our church is probably a bit of both. Our campuses have buildings that can't seat more than 1200 people at a time, but on the flip side, we have 18 campuses around the world, and we are growing at an amazing pace. So we have the good structure of big churches, as well as the resources, but we focus on the community aspect of the small church at each campus, which is the main thing that pulled me to the church in the first place.

wow thats just awesome

Thanks for bringing this topic up. The whole which is better, big or small, has kinda been a sore spot in the church. I think we forget that no matter the size of the building we cant cram God into it. He is bigger than any building we can put him in, yet amazingly can fit inside of us. So I guess the optimum size of the church is soul sized.

I hate it when I go on a tangent in a post.

good answer

I love churches of all sizes! Each are called to unique ministries as long as they really embrace what God has called that assembly to. I connect with churches of all sizes across America and love to retweet what's going on at each one and pray for them. We are all in this together and not in competition. I've felt both a welcoming spirit at both kinds and also coldness from both kinds, so it's all about the Spriit in the church.

amen brother

Big churches have an amazing amount of resources and ministries.

Small churches have a great sense of close relationships, real caring for one another (prayer, meals ministry, etc), and fellowship.

You're right though; small groups bridge that gap between the two.

yep seems to do the job

I like big churches for more ministry opportunities. I like small churches better for the community. Big churches are getting better at bringing the church together with small groups though.