Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Your Church is TOO BIG

I was having a conversation with my sister on yesterday. She is currently living in Philadelphia, Pa for work. She is contemplating joining a wonderful church up there, Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church led by a friend and big brother of mine, Pastor Alyn Waller. She told me she enjoyed the worship and the excellent teaching of Pastor Waller. I asked her what was her reservation in joining the church and she said because it was "TOO BIG". I began to ponder this because I have heard this same thing said about the church I pastor. A lot of people I have come into contact with who have enjoyed the worship experience of TAB, but have not made an official connection with our ministry because they think it is too big. With national church demographics suggesting that 90% of churches have a membership less than 90 members. This seemingly new phenomenon is what is called "Mega Church". A Mega Church has a membership of over 2000 members. I believe that there is nothing wrong with a big church. I actually believe that it is biblical. The church of Acts started out with 3000 members. When the church was alive, it grew rapidly. The church in a contemporary context, grows according to the size of the community and the receptivity of the people. I also believe that a Mega Church provides opportunities for fellowship and service on a larger scale and needs more people to get involved in order to propel the ministry forward. I also believe that the large church gives us a picture of what Heaven will be like, according to Revelation 7:9. I believe that the Mega Church has and will continue to be used by God to evangelize the lost, edify the saved, minister to the needy and be the conscience of the community. Ultimately, I believe that people should be where they are comfortable to freely worship God. If that is a small church, then by all means get planted and start serving. But do not allow the size of a church deter you if you feel that that is the place that God is calling you to be.

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