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RE: Churches with a couple dozen members? - 8/1/2008 10:23:32 PM
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Roberta_
Posts: 6929
Joined: 9/28/2007
From: East Bay Area
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quote:
ORIGINAL: WhiteRoseBlessings
If a group of believers is doing what Our Lord commanded us, then what does its size matter?
I agree!
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RE: Churches with a couple dozen members? - 8/1/2008 11:03:26 PM
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mushhead
Posts: 512
Joined: 5/29/2005
From: Kearns
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quote:
original: sue244
quote:
Mushhead:
Small churches tend to be what the author calls "Family churches." They are usually governed by a few prominent and long standing members who take it upon themselves to protect the church and its traditions.
You know the instersting thing I find about this statement is that this is how the biggest church in my town is run. The older families and the ones who have all the money run everything.
Now I will agree that some small churches can be run by a few families but I wouldn't limit it to small churches.
Thanks for pointing that out, sue244. I should have said that the author offered his descriptions as general rules, not hard and fast rules.
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MUSHHEAD
Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. Matt. 7:6
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RE: Churches with a couple dozen members? - 8/1/2008 11:57:44 PM
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WhiteRoseBlessings
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quote:
ORIGINAL: DenimDiva
quote:
ORIGINAL: WhiteRoseBlessings
If a group of believers is doing what Our Lord commanded us, then what does its size matter?
I agree!
Thank you . . . So do I!
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RE: Churches with a couple dozen members? - 8/2/2008 9:11:06 AM
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lexie
Posts: 3047
Joined: 6/27/2005
From: Toronto
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quote:
But the super tiny numbers, like I said, have just always made me wonder how they stay that small, not to mention why
If someone you were talking to invited you to church, and then told you that it's 10 people who meet in an apartment, would you hesitate at first? Would you stop and think why they are that way? Probably, considering your concerns you have mentioned in your thread.
That is one issue we face when it comes to growth. There have been numerous times where someone has been talking to a person about our church, the person shows great interest in coming out, and when we tell them where we are located, the person has a reason why they can't come this Sunday. Then a reason for next Sunday, and so on.
I don't blame them. A home church, though Biblically sound, has modern day connotations that people don't want to become involved with. I was hesitant before I joined this church and with the point I was at in my walk, I probably wouldn't have attended if it weren't my husbands church. I'm glad that I did join though!
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I want to be more than an ordinary servant.
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RE: Churches with a couple dozen members? - 8/2/2008 10:55:17 AM
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Covaan_Meshuga
Posts: 3585
Joined: 6/8/2005
From: a mother who let me live
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quote:
ORIGINAL: JimboFletch
quote:
ORIGINAL: timf
Matthew 18:20
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
In context, that verse is about church discipline, not church size.
Do you keep a running count of how many times you have needed to write this reminder?
Suggestion: highlight it, select <control><C>, and just keep it in your computer's memory as you go from thread to thread.
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Abiyah
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are things that you will only be able to learn by the weakest among us, and when you snuff them out, you are the one that loses." ~~Gianna Jesson, 1977 LA, CA, saline abortion survivor
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RE: Churches with a couple dozen members? - 8/2/2008 2:45:55 PM
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isaacsmom
Posts: 1978
Joined: 12/2/2005
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quote:
I know, the "Church" is the people but I'm talking about churches that perpetually have a couple dozen members - or really anything less than 100. Is that for real? I kow churches go through things, transition, upheaval, splits. Unfortunately, that happens, things rebuild...but churches that just stay content, seemingly, with a few people. What's that about? It seems more like a little family reunion or something. These people can't be concerning themselves at all with sharing their faith or reaching out to the community - so what's the point?
I'm kind of dumbfounded by this generalization. 
I have grown up in congregations of less than 100 all my life. My dad was a pastor. My husband and I now attend a church that runs 50 on average. This church was without a pastor for a while and dwindled down to 8 members. Since our pastor has been there (and we came shortly after he did) the attendance has jumped.
The community our church is in has a population of approx. 10,000. There are 62 churches in this community. A few of those 62 churches are very large and have huge youth/children programs, big worship bands, etc. Our church is still building our youth program and we have a piano, guitar and drums-- with no words on a projector *gasp* LOL. You can see why it would be hard to "compete" (for lack of a better term) for attendance in a community with SO many congregations and different programs.
Our church is a Bible believing, solid church that preaches the truth and does reach out to the community. We have a visitation program, held a VBS that was well-advertised, we advertise a monthly singing where ALL are welcome to come eat and listen to or play Christian music, we have a food pantry, etc.
But our numbers are still small. Our congregation is very much unified. Everyone is very loving, friendly, we have wonderful fellowship together. So we do not have an issue with a few members holding things back at all. I have never been in a church with such close unity. We believe the Lord will do big things, and we are openly seeking his direction for reaching out. Yet it has nothing to do with numbers. It has to do with equipping the members we have and being in the place the Lord wants us to be as a congregation.
Other churches I attended growing up were in extremely small, rural communities that were far from any city. A congregation will not have huge numbers in rural, podunk U.S. A.
There, I hope that give you a better picture of your average small church.
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<<< My littlest punkin'
*~*~*Rachel*~*~*
pirtlefarm.blogspot.com
Beware of posing as a profound person -- God became a baby. ~Oswald Chambers
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RE: Churches with a couple dozen members? - 8/2/2008 2:49:40 PM
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WhiteRoseBlessings
Posts: 26211
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Reading this thread again, the thought occurred to me . . . there were only 12 apostles, and look at the results so far of them.
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RE: Churches with a couple dozen members? - 8/2/2008 10:18:52 PM
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Covaan_Meshuga
Posts: 3585
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From: a mother who let me live
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This thread stirred the thought in me, so today, I sloppily counted seats where I attend, to get a basic idea of how many attend. I have always guessed at a number, never being sure, from the first time I attended, when I think there were about 12 of us gathered in a living room of a small house, in about 1995 or so. Today, many years later, there are still only about 190 on a very good day and more like 140 on an ordinary day, maybe.
Bluntly, over the last few years, our name hasn't even been on the building -- for a very good reason. We don't go out and blanket the neighborhood with invitations. We don't hold concerts to which we invite the city. We don't even have a ministry to the poor of the community, other than those contributions we give to Love, INC. We are simply not into building the congregation.
What we do is send missionaries from our own congregation to other areas of the U.S. and to other countries. We give to the needy within our own congregation. We offer online and in-house classes to the congregation.
We really don't go out seeking people to come unless they become believers before coming. If a friend of a member hears about us and starts coming because they are already believers, fine. If someone comes to the classes, fine. They are welcome, and we love them, but if someone comes in while living in blatant sin, they are not going to last in our midst.
Know what? This doesn't bother me one bit. The numbers of our congregation have swelled, and they have diminished, swelled and diminished, and swelled again. But there is a nucleus of quite a large number that have stayed through thick and thin. So be it.
_____________________________
Abiyah
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are things that you will only be able to learn by the weakest among us, and when you snuff them out, you are the one that loses." ~~Gianna Jesson, 1977 LA, CA, saline abortion survivor
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RE: Churches with a couple dozen members? - 8/3/2008 2:42:53 AM
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Roberta_
Posts: 6929
Joined: 9/28/2007
From: East Bay Area
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Tomorrow I am going to visit the church that my dad grew up in. There were eight people in his family. When they moved to this area and started attending this church, the congregation size doubled and they had to build a new church. I don't know what the membership is now, I just know that they now have two services.
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