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Many UCC and “mainline” churches feel themselves to be weak and powerless. Even when the problem isn’t defective theology, it may entail a decided lack of faith in God’s power to work through such a small number. The sense of futility is heightened whenever small, struggling (for now) churches, compare themselves to mega churches. After all, weren’t the Mega Churches doing everything right? Weren’t the Mega Churches better than everyone else because they geared their services to “seekers” instead of mature believers? That was always the “failure” of the traditional church we were told.

The trend seems to have megashifted in the Mega Church however according to Christianity Today:

After modeling a seeker-sensitive approach to church growth for three decades, Willow Creek Community Church now plans to gear its weekend services toward mature believers seeking to grow in their faith.

The change comes on the heels of an ongoing four-year research effort first made public late last summer in Reveal: Where Are You?, a book coauthored by executive pastor Greg Hawkins. Hawkins said during an annual student ministries conference in April that Willow Creek would also replace its midweek services with classes on theology and the Bible.

Call it “Back to the Future of Church” … Mega Churches everywhere are trying to put back “relationship” into a “relationship with Jesus Christ.” While small churches have rightly been criticized when they act like dysfunctional families they at least still remember what it may be like to be a family instead of a faceless crowd.

There IS hope for the small mainline church if they seek to identify the “unreached people group” God has placed at their door.  There IS hope for the small mainline church if we will renew our faith in the Sovereign God. Our forebears in the faith were Pilgrims, Puritans, and Reformers who faced death. Making friends with people who don’t go to church shouldn’t be that hard in comparison. As the descendants of  deaconesses who served the sick, missionaries who braved fever and wild animals, helping people in our communities in the Name of Jesus Christ shouldn’t be such a big deal either.

But the myth that we must be a “Mega Church” to have a “real ministry” is a convenient lie we embrace to justify doing nothing.

Probably there will be MORE mega churches. One trend that seems to be appearing though is that people will choose to attend EITHER a mega church or a “mini church”. So it’s quite likely smaller churches will always be with us because they provide something the Mega Church - after half a generation - only now realizes it lacks as much as “old, dead, mainline churches”… real disciples instead of just pew sitters.

So it’s time to stop moaning about our smallness.

It’s time to recognize that they Mega Church insiders themselves are saying “The Emperor has no clothes”.

It’s time to renew our commitment to discipleship and reaching the unreached people God has sovereignly put at our fingertips.

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