Does size matter?

[bpayton]

Day 34 addresses the idea of reproduction. I agree wholeheartedly that believers are tasked to reproduce themselves and grow the Church (big C). I struggle with how to equate true reproduction and church size. Yes I've been in churches that grew because big things were happening for God. I've seen these same churches that lost memberships and gained empty seats because the leaders started going off course. so size and growth (or (diminishment) can certainly be a useful metric.
But what are other factors? I think a church that focuses on making believers (seeker-sensitive?) have their place. They might be more palatable entry points for the wounded, the skeptical, and the new. yet their "keep it to the basics" approach doesn't necessarily feed the long time believer. in this case, such a church might ebb and flow attendance-wise as people mature and move on to a church which might have weightier material. I don't think that's a bad thing: no one church truly offers something for everyone, at least not with excellence. So a church "losing" people may not be a negative, aespecially if it's part of a deliberate feeder system for churches to informmally (or even formally) partner to pass people back and forth. A "winning" church might partner with a number of "building" churches to send maturing beleivers one way, and teachers and leaders the other way. in such a plan, the churches would certainly gain and lose in different seasons. In this case, the gain or loss would actually be a sign of health.
also, church size can be an issue of geography and demographics. A 50 person church in a 200 person community may be incredibly healthy and spiritually vibrant, while 1000 person church in a large suburb could be an empty tomb where people go to be entertained.
I'm just concerned when we start talking about size as a metric of success. define success. Dr lanai talks eloquently about al the different ways sheep are used in day 33. and here he talks about reproduction. key questions are "what is the church (audits members) producing?" and "What is our church reproducing?" As always, the answers must relate back to scripture and good theology. if we are producing 50 small groups a week, without any real growth or change, is our productivity productive? if we claim to have raised up 50 new Sunday school teachers, but these teachers can't inform their students about God with authority because they have no idea what the Bible says, have we really reproduced leaders?
all that to say that reproduction needs to be deliberate, with planning and forethought, the opportunity to adjust along the way, an honest assessment of what our metrics really mean, and a keen eye toward keeping the main thing the main thing. it can't be only about numbers, it has to be about spiritual growth and health.
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Bill Payton