Does size matter with respect to a local church? Well that is a great question and likely there are just as many that prefer a small church as those that prefer a large church. Larger churches or “mega Churches” often get criticized (often by smaller church pastors) for a lack of spirituality, or a “watering” down of the message or being too concerned about growth and not about the gospel.
However, a relatively new study by the Barna group supports the idea that the size of the church is related to spiritual beliefs and behavior. The bottom line however is that contrary to some opinions, the difference between the smallest and the largest of the churches gives a distinct advantage in spiritual maturity and belief to the larger churches.
The survey showed that the attendees of larger church were much more likely to give more theologically conservative responses to questions about the affects of sin and the nature of God. Attendees were also much more likely to be active not only in worship but in serving as well as attending a small group. Smaller churches attracted an older crowd (adults in their sixties or older), were more likely to home-school their children and were less likely to attract college-educated younger adults.
Perhaps the study partially can be explained more by demographics than behavior.Most of the larger churches tend to be in the suburbs and in the larger population centers of the Mid-South and the South. Evangelical Christianity continues to remain strong in the Bible Belt.
