Jump Start # 1893

Luke 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the Kingdom.”

The other day I was doing some research on the first church that was established in Sullivan County, Indiana. It happened to take it’s name from this passage. It was called “Little Flock Baptist Church.” It was called that because the group that started that church consisted of eleven people. It was a “little flock.”

Little Flock seems to be a mindset that some have even to this day about the church. “We don’t want to get too big,” I’ve heard some say. Or, others have the idea, “If we get to a certain number, then we will split up and start another church,” thus we can always be a “little flock.” Many who are in small congregations fear larger churches. “You can’t know everyone in a large church,” they often say. “A person just gets lost in the numbers in a large church.” So, the church remains “little flock” both in size and spirit. Little flocks have to be careful about evangelism. Convert too many, and you lose that little flock spirit.

For nearly all of my preaching career I have preached in home congregations that numbered 200 or more. Where I preach now, is about 400 people. And I can hear some folks already saying, “Oh, that’s too big.” And then there are the off the cuff comments. “You can’t be doing right and be that size.” Or, “the preaching must be soft and shallow to have that many people.” I guess the folks that say that forget about Acts 2. With the preaching of the apostles there were 3,000 in that first church. It’d be hard to call that group “little flock.” I wonder if some would declare, “Oh, that’s too big.”

Here are some advantages of a large congregation:

First, more people to draw from. You have a larger pool of people who can serve as leaders. You have more who can teach. You have opportunities to offer several classes. The old one room school house, is how some congregations deal with the children’s classes. Because there are so few children, a tenth grader is in the same class as a third grader. Not the best situation to teach, but few students and few rooms to use makes that a necessity in a small church. Larger congregations can have classes more suited to the age of the child and even offer several adult classes to choose from.

Second, more resources to use. More people means more money. And it takes more money to do things. Small churches are limited by a tight budget. Larger churches can boost messages on Facebook, livestream, use blogs and videos and become global in sending the message out. It takes know-how, a team to manage these things and a budget that can afford to do these things. Larger churches simply have more options because of man power, and more money.

Third, a full church building brings greater encouragement. Not only are there more voices singing in a larger church, chances are there are more people my age and more people that I can connect with. More kids to hang out with each other. More young mothers with babies. More senior citizens. More teens. A person doesn’t feel alone. More people to hug. More people to speak to. More people to invite into your home. More people to help. More people to engage with. You see these same people in schools, in stores and in social activities. More people to become friends with.

Fourth, more people to be involved. A typical day for me down at the church house will find a deacon doing something. Someone stopping by to spruce up the outside. Someone there to do this or that. Instead of everything falling to one or two people, there are dozens and dozens of folks ready to do things. At a funeral, there are dozens making food for the family. When the call is made to do some work, dozens are there to roll up their sleeves and help. If I had to run the website, make the CD’s, run to the store for supplies, I wouldn’t get much done. I don’t do these things. There are wonderful people who do these and they do it well.

Now, there are challenges in a large church.

There is a challenge to know people. A growing church is always bringing in new faces. It’s easy to just stick with the ones I know. It takes effort, but it can be done. When someone says, “You can’t know everyone in a large church,” that’s simply not true. You can. You have to want to. You have to get busy about it. But, you can.

There are more sticky problems in a large church. People have issues and problems. The more people, the more issues and problems. Some are complicated. Some are delicate. Some consume a lot of time. But a great eldership who are devoted to shepherding can handle it. They are busy with people. They allow deacons to do the other things. Elders are planners. They are thinking beyond the current year. They are thinking about new ideas. New approaches. New classes. They are always finding ways to connect the people to the Lord.

There is the challenge of becoming complacent. A large church that is running smoothly can be like a large ship at sea. Everything is running fine. It’s easy for some to just go along for the ride. It’s easy to drift. This is why leaders are challenging the members to find their gift and use their talents in the kingdom. There is always more to be done. There is always more people needed to help.

Little Flock—that’s a cute name, but it’s counter to the Gospel message of going into all the world and preaching to every person. Every Person. Every house. Every street. Every town. Everywhere. Get that message out.

Little Flock is not the way the Lord intended the kingdom to stay. He used the illustration of a mustard seed. The smallest seed became the largest tree in the garden. He used the illustration of leaven. It impacted everything in the bowl. Don’t settle. Don’t be content. Don’t think, “I like the size we are now. I just want us to stay this size.” That means turning our back on the lost. That means we fold up our efforts and go home. That means we stop growing. NEVER.

I wonder if that church that started in Sullivan County around 1820 ever thought, if we get one more family, we’ll have to change the name on the sign. We won’t be little any more. Actually, the Little Flock church doesn’t exist any more. I guess it got so little, they disbanded. That happens even today. We stop our efforts, we quit trying, we flounder because of poor leadership, and before long we wonder if it’s time to close the doors. Sad. So sad.

Go into all the world…

Roger