One place – multiple places, it is not either-or.
Even the smallest congregation benefits from letting people gather in subgroups and friendship circles. In fact, people do it anyway.
Large or small, congregations must actively encourage dispersion, because they lack the ability to meet people’s needs in mass gatherings at one place.
Only some of our faith development, for example, can happen at large worship events where we sit as an audience and follow along a planned journey. Some of faith requires spontaneous exploration, face-to-face intimacy, talking and sharing.
It is good to be with the whole and to see how varied it is. But it is good also to sit with one’s neighbors and to experience God in their midst.
It is good to make the extra effort to drive across town to worship. But it is also good to walk out the door and take a short stroll or ride that enables us to sense the faith community not only as a destination, but as an active player in one’s world.
Many congregations think they will lose cohesion if they encourage neighborhood gatherings. Actually, I think they will gain loyalty and find that people who have bonds close to home will be more likely to brave the relative anonymity of the plenary.
Many leaders think their congregation is too small to do anything except Sunday all-togethers. In fact, that narrowness of opportunity keeps their congregation small.
Leaders fear losing control. Again, so be it. It is true that dispersing activity will tend to disperse leadership. But congregations don’t benefit from being controlled by a few; anything that breaks that control will be a blessing.
Ministers wonder how can they handle multiple venues. The answer is: stay away. Recruit, train, and administer local leadership, but then let them lead. Ministers should leverage the time they have, rather than constrain church ministries to fit their schedules.
Having struggled to build audiences on Sunday, some church leaders wonder how dispersed gatherings on weekdays could succeed. Sunday audiences remain small and inconsistent because of the day itself and what is offered. Add days, add offerings, be more attuned to what people yearn to receive, and watch participation grow.
Finally, money. Can a church afford to have multiple regional gatherings, such as neighborhood church suppers, happening simultaneously in four to ten locations, with duplicate leadership cadres and the extra marketing and communications expenses that are required to support multiple offerings? In a word, yes. Dispersed ministries will more than pay their way. In fact, it’s difficult to imagine today’s congregations being able to survive changing conditions unless they disperse.
I have anticipated only some of the objections that will be raised. Church folks are inventive when it comes to resisting change. Congregation leaders simply need to push through those objections. Study them, take the people seriously, but in the end, if the congregation doesn’t engage in regional non-Sunday gatherings, it will die.
