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Small is beautiful
By the
Revd David BurgessThere’s a saying which I find to be very striking and which rings true for me. I don’t know who first coined it, but it’s quite appropriate for our four parishes: “God must love small churches – he has so many of them!”
I happen to think this is true. In any walk of life, from businesses to sports clubs to churches, there are large- and small-scale institutions. And each has something to offer. We don’t always want to shop at the largest and cheapest supermarket; there will be smaller shops which meet our needs when we want something specific. Not all football fans support Chelsea or Manchester United; there are local or traditional loyalties that bind supporters to smaller clubs. Nor will all of us want to worship all the time at St Paul’s Cathedral, Holy Trinity Brompton, or All Saints’ Margaret Street.
There are things to be gained from worship that is at the small-scale level of the local parish. Primarily, there’s the opportunity in a smaller church to build up a community of fellowship. People get to know one another better and more quickly; and there can be more of a sense of shared ministry and mission.
However, there’s a flip side to the “small is beautiful” argument. Building up this type of community takes harder work by a larger proportion of church members than it does in bigger congregations. People go to larger churches half-expecting to be treated relatively anonymously, and there won’t be too much complaint if it happens. But unless you want to be anonymous you won’t be too keen on a small church that passes you over as you come through its doors to worship.
A cold welcome (or no welcome at all) instead of being given a feeling that you matter, dull worship in place of a meeting with the living God, and silence or idle chatter after a service as an excuse for a sense of growing fellowship, are three of the biggest turn-offs that a church can provide – irrespective of size.
Avoiding this takes two things: knowing what’s needed, and working to achieve it. One way of doing both is actually to attend church in the first place – you don’t have to take the “small is beautiful” doctrine so seriously that you promote it by your absence!
God does indeed love His small churches, but he expects a measure of love, care and commitment in return. We need to combine a confident, secure outlook on our faith with an openness to others who don’t share that confidence and security, drawing them in and showing them God’s love in return.
Do we have what it takes to be both small and beautiful?