Most do not understand my view that big churches are better than small churches. So here is why I believe that.
I went to a mega church for a long time, Mariners in Irvine, CA, for 10 years, from about 16 to 26. Some friends from Biola said it seemed watered down or fluffy. But I did not think so though. I loved that church! :)
The main characteristic of large churches is grace. I think this is why they get so big and stay so big. :)
I have seen a lot more legalism and judgmental attitudes in smaller churches, no matter what the denomination.
This might be the reason for why they are small. Who wants to be judged all the time? Judged about if you are late or if you sit or stand or if you are serving or how many meetings you go to. It can get quite exhausting for sure. :(
There was one smaller church I went to in high school that my mom and I left for that reason; lots of gossip and judging. :( What was really funny was when we said that we were leaving people literally said, "No you can't do that." We were like "haha um watch us." That is a characteristic of a cult, when the church does not give freedom to its church members. "Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom." Not control or judgment etc. People in large churches don't care if you come there or not, it's great! :) lol
Mariners is definitely a mega church, but it is for a reason. People love to be there. :)
They have Bible studies almost every night of the week so people can grow in their walk and knowledge of the Lord much faster.
Small churches are great for community and everyone knowing everyone, but they can be a bit cliquish. This is probably why most don't like going to church, because certain churches aren't very welcoming. :( That is very sad.
Large churches have mastered how to make new people feel welcome. They usually have better worship because of a greater number of people to keep them accountable. In regards to the teaching, if something seems off that the pastor says, you better believe he just might get thousands of e-mails from people challenging him on what he said via verses in the Bible. So it's much more likely that a pastor of a large church would have sound doctrine and would not teach anything that might be off. There is more accountability.
Large churches are also large because they are bearing fruit.
Some say smaller churches are how things were in the early church. But on the contrary, look at how many people were added to the number of the disciples in ONE day, the day of Pentecost, three thousand! Wow! Talk about some huge church growth over night. So the early church was one Very big church from the beginning.
The more people we know in a church the more lives we can touch. The more people we can minister to. The more people we can learn from and be mentored by. I have had several spiritual moms and aunts and cousins along the way in various churches. It has been nice. :)
Cults are generally smaller. For some reason the smaller a church becomes the sicker it gets, or the sicker it gets the smaller it gets, whichever comes first. I saw the decline of one church in this way and it was very sad to see. :(
What makes this happen? Pride is generally the main reason. Pride in the pastor, the worship leader or the people or all three.
What makes churches grow? Humility. "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
When pride sets in a church God will thwart it's growth. When there is humility and accountability and God is the center God will cause it to grow.
When the people are growing more in the Lord they will feel compelled to fulfill the great commission, to go out and make disciples. Thus a church will grow faster the more the people in a church are actively witnessing and serving. :)
Larger churches can impact the community in a greater way. They are more seeker sensitive so people that may not normally go to church would go there. They are more fun. :) They seem to be more safe.
Overall, I just think they are better. But that has been my experience.
May God bless you! :)
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