There are a lot of small churches in the world.

By most estimates, over 90 percent of churches are under 200, and over 80 percent are under 100. In fact, it’s not unusual for half of the congregations within a denomination to have 50 or fewer people in attendance.

So why ...

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There are a lot of spiritual seekers and spiritual orphans around.

And there are more every day. Including those who seemed to be firm in their faith.

Many long-time believers, even church leaders, are making statements questioning their faith. Others are taking a break from church ...

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...because Jesus.

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Image: Cristofer Jeschke | Unsplash

Last week, I came across a wonderful Twitter thread. I asked the writer, Matt Henslee, if he would edit it into a blog post that I could use here. He had just done so for his own website, but he also gave me permission to pass it along to you. (Karl Vaters)

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What is the minimum viable size for a church?

It’s a big question. One that pastors, denominational leaders and church planters ask a lot.

But the truth is, there is no minimum viable size for a church.

None.

What We Need A Minimum Size To Be Viable For

So why do we think there ...

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The body of Christ is made up of many parts.

Various denominations, liturgies, styles, and sizes.

And nowhere is that variety more evident, more delightful or (let’s be honest) more frustrating than in the amazing menagerie of small churches.

Big churches matter. Medium-size ...

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For many years, church growth experts taught pastors how to do ministry by demographic groups. Decide the type of person your church is targeting, then design everything you do to reach that kind of person.

There were a lot of big churches built that way. And a lot of small churches ...