Musings on Spiritual Matters

It is almost hard to believe that there are magical numbers in congregations.  How could there be a mysterious size plateau?  But over and over again people have noticed a certain dynamic at the 200 attendance mark.  Congregations all over America seem to stagnate at this level.  The reason for this phenomenon is two completing narratives in a congregation.  One is the need for added complexity and the desire for maintained simplicity.  Both of these elements seem to go to war against one another in the church.  Ultimately, whatever element wins will dictate the future direction of the size of the congregation.  No church will stay within the same size level for too long until the church grows or declines.  Often churches will desire to have homeostasis but this delicate balancing act is almost impossible to continue over the long run.

1. Complexity.  Shockingly this element in a congregation is resisted tremendously, especially if the congregation has a past of being smaller.  If the founding members of the church remember the days in which the congregation was smaller, there will be extreme resistance to added complexity.  The problem is that all living things must become more complex in order for them to grow.  A human is definitely more complex than a single cell organism.  In order for a congregation to grow past the 200 attendance mark, the church must increase the level of structure.  Practically, this means that a congregation must define roles, communicate better, and have more specialization in operations.  Instead of everything happening spontaneously, there must be a well thought-out flowchart for how work is going to be accomplished.
2. Simplicity.  This is the most comfortable style of operations in a congregation.  But with growth, there is an increased need for structure.  In Acts 6, there was a need to add structure to the church because of the increased workload.  Often members will enjoy the haphazard style of functioning because there was no need to seek permission and the leadership will enjoy simplicity because there is less accountability.  Often simplicity is a way for the leadership to maintain a center role within the church.  Everyone is centered on the minister or one key individual in the congregation.  This is why this size dynamic is called “the pastoral size” church, in reference to the denominational concept of the lead minister.

This shift from simplicity to complexity is one of the most debated changes in a congregation’s life.  These two completing forces are constantly jockeying for control and influence in the congregation.  Often whatever side is most influential will typically dictate whether or not the congregation will grow or decline.

Related posts:

1. Complexity Leads to Growth

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This entry was posted by Matthew on Monday, October 24th, 2011 at 11:55 am and is filed under Church News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.