Ministry News

Believing Big (and Small)

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Tuesday, 11 August 2009 12:15

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine there are major differences between a church of 1,000-plus people and another with 100 or fewer. But apparently, it took a research guru to prove the beliefs in those churches are vastly different as well.

According to The Barna Group, those attending larger churches are more likely to line up with Scripture in their beliefs than those attending smaller churches. Of the 3,000 adults surveyed, 74 percent of large-church attendees agree that Jesus didn't sin while on earth, compared to a surprising 49 percent of small-church members. Only 30 percent of small-church members think Satan is an actual living being, and 33 percent believe a good person can't earn a place in heaven. That's compared to 51 percent and 55 percent, respectively, of those in churches with more than 1,000 people.

When it comes to sharing the gospel, only 41 percent of congregants in a church of 100 people or fewer say it's a personal responsibility to evangelize, while 61 percent of large-church attendees believe this to be the case. And three-quarters of those going to a large church agree that the Bible is completely accurate in all its principles (60 percent of small-church regulars said this).

Overall, the recent Barna report indicates that the major belief differences between small and large churches is most evident at the threshold of 200 attendees. Interestingly enough, only 9 percent of American churchgoers attend a church of 1,000 people or more, while a whopping 41 percent go to churches of 100 or fewer.

An additional note for those involved in house churches: Barna says the beliefs and behaviors of those involved in house churches (average attendance: 20 adults) are actually more aligned with those who attend larger churches (500 or more adults) than with the conventional small-church crowd. [barna.org, 8/10/09]