Debunking the “Bigger is Better” Myth in Christianity
Based upon the hundreds of church growth books, seminars, courses, etc. one may assume that bigger is always better! This seems to make perfect sense. In the context of Christian ministry, don’t we all want to see more people come to the Lord and grow in their spiritual walk? It appears that the amount of people we impact determines how successful our life is.
Using that logic, people leading large ministries must really be hearing from the Lord, while those leading organizations smaller in number are missing the mark. There even appears to be a few Bible verses to back up this claim. One of the most famous parables that seems to hint at the “bigger is better” philosophy appears in Mathew 25.
This parable starts with a man who distributes his possessions to his slaves before heading on a journey. To one slave he gave five talents, to another two, and to the last, he entrusted just one talent. Let’s pick up from there to see how each slave managed his master’s money.
Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, “Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.”
His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”
Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, “Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.”
His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”
And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.”
But his master answered and said to him, “You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:19-30)
Considering Quality & Quantity as Measurements of Success
In this parable, the master rewarded the slaves who could increase the number of talents entrusted to them, while he rebuked the slave who did not improve on his original amount. From this account, it seems fair to conclude that the more we do with what the Lord has commended to us, the more successful we are in His sight. The more we do with what He has given, the more we will be rewarded by Him.
I agree with this interpretation 100%. What I do not agree with is how it is often applied. The most common way this interpretation is used both inside and outside the church is in view of increased quantity over and above improved quality. Larger numerical quantity does not always equate with greater success.
You could look at a church with 5000 members and be tempted to think it is superior to a different church in town with just 50 members. But what if the majority of this 5,000-member church lived lukewarm lives not fully invested in the Lord.
On the other hand, let’s say the 50-member church was full of passionate sold out Christ followers. Without a doubt, the 5,000-member church with its fancy architecture, perfectly manicured services, extensive program list, etc. would be more successful in the eyes of man. But what about the eyes of God?
God is not impressed with our fancy buildings and large service attendance. God is impressed with the man or woman who has fully surrendered their life for the gospel. God can do far more with 50 dedicated saints than He can with 5,000 ambivalent church-goers.
Does this mean that God does not care about numbers? To say that would be to swing too far in the opposite direction. The Scripture declares that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4 emphasis mine).
Jesus himself commanded us to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15 emphasis mine). Notice the emphasis regarding the 3,000 souls that accepted Christ and were baptized in just one day at Pentecost (Acts 2:41). God cares about numerical growth, but it is not His top priority.
The Trap of Defining Success by Worldly Standards
Here is the trap that we as the church have fallen into. We have begun to define success in many of the same ways that the world defines it. This fallacy becomes blatantly evident as you scan the Christian landscape and see many professors of Christ but few disciples.
The church’s primary emphasis has become “get them in the kingdom,” but oh how we have lost our focus on discipleship and spiritual maturation.
In the Great Commission, Jesus commands us to go out and “make disciples of all the nations” (Mathew 28:19). The phrase translated in the NASB “and make disciples” is the Greek word mathéteuó. This word stems from the root word mathētḗs, which means “helping someone to progressively learn the Word of God to become a matured, growing disciple” and “to train (develop) in the truths of Scripture and the lifestyle required.”[1]
This phrase extends to far more than simply getting a person to sign a membership card and start paying a tithe. Authentic discipleship requires diligent and sacrificial relationship with others. This is one of the primary ways profound spiritual formation occurs.
Because of the necessity of deep personal relationships in the process of discipleship, it may be risky to join a large congregation. Without a stable network of smaller group discipleship, a large church can actually hinder a believer’s growth.
Being discipled is not about observing a well-rehearsed performance once a week. True discipleship involves intentionally diving into the Scriptures with other mature believers who can lead and guide you into the truth. This is a situation where the impersonal structure of a “mega-church” stunts many believer’s spiritual lives.
I am not against “mega-churches,” I just think it is challenging within these models to cultivate the deep interpersonal relationships necessary to grow in faith. Ultimately, I am against any hindrance to the spiritual development of God’s children. A church is in great danger when it begins to care more about drawing large crowds than effectively discipling the body’s members.
It was the Father that “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Ephesians 1:4-5). It is now our responsibility as His chosen ones to preach the gospel and make zealous disciples of all those He has elected in Christ.
Faithfulness Over Numerical Impact
One of my missions in life is to encourage those who have a smaller numerical calling to stop feeling like failures. The majority of God’s children fit into this category which makes it so unfair for them to be compared to those with big ministries. If you truly are following the Lord and obeying Him every step of the way, then it does not matter how big or small your ministry is.
The stay at home mom who pours her heart and soul into her husband and children is just as successful as the Reinhardt Bonkes of this world who have led thousands to Christ as long as both are working with their eyes on the Father.
We are many members in one body. It is not our responsibility to be something other than what God has called us to be. He is the perfect architect and has assigned each of the best roles to help in “building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13).
[1] HELPS Word Studies - Copyright © 1987, 2011 by Helps Ministries, Inc. https://biblehub.com/greek/3100.htm