Let’s Ask Better Questions About Church Size

Size is a far less important factor in measuring church health and success than we’ve made it out to be. Even this blog, which comes from a small church perspective, isn’t based on the premise that smaller is better. It’s about being a champion for churches that are often marginalized because of their size. Smaller isn’t better. It’s just under-represented. Nevertheless, church size is a major identifier for this blog and, as the subject of this post, I’ll offer some examples of what I think are better questions regarding church size. Instead of asking “what’s the best church size?” we need to ask “what’s the best church size for a given situation?”

October 13, 2017

by Karl Vaters

Size is a far less important factor in measuring church health and success than we’ve made it out to be.

Even this blog, which comes from a small church perspective, isn’t based on the premise that smaller is better. It’s about being a champion for churches that are often marginalized because of their size. Smaller isn’t better. It’s just under-represented.

Instead of asking “what’s the best church size?” we need to ask “what’s the best church size for a given situation?”

Author

Karl Vaters

Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of five books on church leadership, including his newest, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next. His other books include The Grasshopper Myth and Small Church Essentials.
Karl also hosts a bi-weekly podcast,The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry, featuring in-depth interviews about topics that concern pastors, especially those who minister in a small church context.
Karl has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. He and his wife, Shelley have three children and two grandkids.

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