How much does size matter to you?

I am aware of many Christian friends of mine who love the BIG church vibe. There's always loads to do and friends are always around the corner for you to socialise with and chances are there will be a regular calender of social events related to church which you can all go out together to and have a great old time together. I am familiar with the buzz you get when you walk in on a Sunday morning and the floor is thumping before you get through the doors. It's exciting, it's fun and things always seem to happen in churches like that. After all they must be doing someting right to get all those people through the doors!!!?

Or are they??

There is no such thing as the perfect church and regardless of the size of the congregation or the hall or the bank balance, most of the time it is the same problems. So ask yourself how much the size of the church matters to you. What is it that you love about your church and do you love it because of the size. If you go to a church that is one of these massive churches, would you behave the same in a smaller church? Would you be jumping about, getting all enthusiastic, going up the front and sharing things and all that? Would you really? Or would a smaller church intimidate you? Do you know how to worship God without the amps and the drums? Can you feel close to God in the silence?

It works both ways too. If you are a person who goes to a small intimate church, do you love it because of it's size. Could you relax in a big church with everyone jumping about and going a bit mad? Would you go to the front for something in a church of a couple of hundred? Or would you cower at the back staring at everyone, afraid to move?

I realise that everyone has a comfort zone and we all get used to how we like to do things. Hense why regardless of the size of a church there is always an epidemic of pewitus (always sitting in the same spot). But I think that too much of either is actually detrimental to a person's growth and development. Ideally a person can praise God in any environment. Ideally a person can worship God in any environment. Lastly, ideally a person can equally praise and worship God in any environment. In this country we are lucky to have the facilities we have, even in the poorly equipped churches that I have been to. It is no wonder that for many, once we get home after church and we're on our own, we struggle to focus.

At the end of the day there needs to be a balance in order to have a balanced Christian life and faith. Church is not for taking relentlessly so that we can survive the week without God until the next booster on a Sunday. Church is also not for giving relentlessly so that we are never able to relax and focus on our own plight with God. Again, there needs to be a balance. Church is also not a quick fix for a tragic social life. How do you expect to lead those around you to Christ if you only have friends who go to church? As with everything in life, there needs to be a balance.