Why More Churches Don't Become Large Churches

Some of my friends may disagree (feel free to comment; in fact, please do, whether you agree or disagree), but I think the estimable Tim Keller hits the nail on the head (quoting Lyle Schaller) in answering the question why there aren't more large churches than there are:

Schaller shows that the very large church is more accessible and capable of reaching young people, single people, the unchurched, and seekers than smaller churches are. He then poses a question: If the need for very large churches is so great, why are there so few? Why don’t more churches (a) allow the senior pastor to become less accessible, (b) allow the staff to have more power than the board, (c) allow a small body of executive staff to have more decision-making power than the larger staff or congregation, or (d) allow directors more power to hire competent workers and release generalists? His main answer is that the key to the very large church culture is trust. In smaller churches, suspicious people are much happier…The larger the church gets, however, the more and more the congregation has to trust the staff, and especially the senior pastor…ultimately a very large church runs on trust.

I've seen this firsthand, and I've watched, saddened, as churches with huge potential for growth (and for reaching young people, single people, the unchurched, and seekers) are crippled by suspicious and untrusting people IN the church.

You can read the whole article, "Leadership and Church Size Dynamics," here.