Karl Vaters: Big Cities Need Great Small Churches, Too

Small Churches aren’t just for small towns.

There are thousands of Small Churches in big cities and sprawling suburbs, too.

But there aren’t enough of them.

Yes, you read that right. The problem with the church in big cities isn’t that we have too many Small Churches, it’s that we don’t have enough of them.

Big churches in big cities are great. But big cities don’t just need more big churches, they need a lot more healthy, innovative, outward-reaching, God-honoring, neighborhood-blessing Small Churches.

Why? Because big city people like Small Churches, too.

Some people love being in a really big room for really big church services. The size of the crowd inspires and encourages them. When they worship Jesus, they see that they are a part of something far bigger than themselves. The crowd helps draw them into a deeper place of faith. And that’s great.

But a lot of people worship and minister best in smaller settings. They’re drawn into a place of deeper faith through a worship experience that is more intimate and relational. The size, structure and spectacle of the bigger church is a distraction to them. It doesn’t draw them in, it puts them off.

And that doesn’t change just because they live in a big city.

In fact, people are lonelier in big cities and sprawling suburbs than they are in small towns and rural areas. The bigger the city, the lower the depth of individual relationships. So they’re looking for connection and intimacy. They’re looking for family.

They don’t get that in their cubicle at work, on the freeway drive home, as they punch the remote control on their garage, or in front of their television all evening. Keep reading