Some prudential thoughts from Mr. (Rev. Dr. Prof.) R. Scott Clark, Professor of Church History, Westminster-CA.
http://heidelblog.net/2013/10/how-large-should-a-congregation-be/
There are several things to think about simultaneously. One way to go at this problem is to ask what is the ideal ratio of pastors to congregants? I was told in seminary that the ideal is one pastor for everyone hundred people. My experience as a pastor over the last 25 years suggests that this is a good ratio. If this is true, then, so long as a congregation is well staffed, theoretically, it could grow as large as it wanted. Others, however, have argued that about 200 to 250 is the ideal number of people in the congregation and that after a congregation reaches 200 to 250 people it should begin daughtering new congregations. There is much to commend this way of thinking too. Let’s call the first approach the centralized model and the second the decentralized model. On the centralized model (with a large pastoral staff), then the idea is that the congregation expects people to commute to church. If the idea is to decentralize and plant smaller congregations in the area then the congregation is effectively taking churches to the people, as it were.
For the rest, see:
http://heidelblog.net/2013/10/how-large-should-a-congregation-be/
http://heidelblog.net/2013/10/how-large-should-a-congregation-be/
How Large Should a Congregation Be?
There are several things to think about simultaneously. One way to go at this problem is to ask what is the ideal ratio of pastors to congregants? I was told in seminary that the ideal is one pastor for everyone hundred people. My experience as a pastor over the last 25 years suggests that this is a good ratio. If this is true, then, so long as a congregation is well staffed, theoretically, it could grow as large as it wanted. Others, however, have argued that about 200 to 250 is the ideal number of people in the congregation and that after a congregation reaches 200 to 250 people it should begin daughtering new congregations. There is much to commend this way of thinking too. Let’s call the first approach the centralized model and the second the decentralized model. On the centralized model (with a large pastoral staff), then the idea is that the congregation expects people to commute to church. If the idea is to decentralize and plant smaller congregations in the area then the congregation is effectively taking churches to the people, as it were.
For the rest, see:
http://heidelblog.net/2013/10/how-large-should-a-congregation-be/
No comments:
Post a Comment