What a beautiful question. I ‘stole’ it from our recent membership meeting (it was one of the post-it notes stuck on the wall). So whoever wrote this question … thanks!
Putting it another way, Won’t people get lost in the ‘crowd’ if we continue to grow? What do you think?
Let me now introduce you to a church and as I do, invite you to consider whether you would want to be part of a church like that.
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They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.
Everyone around was in awe… And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.
They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.***
You’ve probably guessed it but this is the description of the Church in Jerusalem found in Acts 2:42-47. Every time I read these words, they make me long for, dream about and pray towards a church like that. What about you?
I want to be part of a devoted church. Don’t you? I want to be part of a maturing church. Don’t you? I want to be part of a church where fellowship is deep and real. Don’t you? I want to be part of a church where needs are not neglected but seen and then sacrificially met. Don’t you? I want to be part of a church where God is so evidently building a living and breathing community of people (not a faceless crowd). Don’t you? And guess what, we’re told that this church started with at least 3120 people and was growing daily as God added those who were saved. Yikes!
What does this mean for us?
Firstly, as reflected in Acts 2, God was building a community that was both large and small. What I mean by this is, here we see a large, growing church where people didn’t fall through the cracks and become neglected but where they found the intimacy of a real, tight community! That’s amazing and I want us to embrace and be encouraged by this biblical example, to fight our understandable fears of getting lost in the crowd of an impersonal and large church and to always work together to connect with one another at a deep level at every given opportunity
Secondly, if God did it in Jerusalem (and he did), and the same Spirit is working amongst us today, (isn’t that wonderful) why can’t we also believe in a growing church that doesn’t neglect people?
And finally (and slightly provocatively), I’ve been in a number of very small churches that have been unfriendly, insular and cold. I’m guessing I’m not the only one! So I suggest that size has little to do with that sense of belonging and much more to do with seeing sacrificial fellowship as something central to what it means to be the people of God. This is not an optional extra!
So, if we continue to grow (which is a work of the Spirit), will people get lost and neglected (definitely not a work of the Spirit)? Only if we neglect being devoted to fellowship (which is a work of the Spirit)!