Quality Vs. Quantity
June 3rd, 2008
One of the themes that I have repeated time and again since coming to Park View is the notion that a successful church has more to do with quality than quantity. It is an idea that bears repeating because I think we have been trained to believe just the opposite. American society today teaches that bigger is better. We are constantly bombarded with advertising meant to convince us of that very idea. We upgrade our medium fries to jumbo size. We exchange our small sedan for a new luxury towncar. We move from a modest “starter home” to a mini-mansion in a suburb. Why? Because bigger is better.
That mentality carries over to the way we think about church. So, we have come to believe that the churches with the most cars parked out front, and with the most crowded pews, and with the fullest offering plates are automatically the churches that are the most successful. Those must be the “best” churches. Why? Because bigger is better.
But when it comes to churches, I don’t believe that bigger is necessarily better. Part of the reason I don’t believe that is because of the biblical witness. Although the Gospels record that crowds followed him, Jesus focused the bulk of his attention on just twelve individuals. Jesus knew that the quality of those disciples would in the long run be more important than their quantity. And he was right. Because Jesus took the time to shape them in an intimate setting, the disciples were able to experience Christ in a way that no crowd could ever have done.
Here’s the truth--Park View Baptist Church is no longer a big church numerically. We no longer have a full parking lot, or crowded pews, or an overflowing offering plate. And we have the option to wring our hands and lament that fact. But instead of longing for the bygone days, perhaps we can learn to see that there is a better standard of measurement for our success as a church. Instead of worrying about why we only have 70 people in worship, maybe we can celebrate the fact that those 70 people are learning and loving and experiencing Christ. Instead of buying into the myth that bigger is better, maybe we can focus our efforts on helping one person at a time come to a closer understanding of God.
Giving up the “bigger is better” mindset will not come easily. But if we do, I believe it will allow us to see the good things that are happening in our midst. We are growing at Park View Baptist Church. It’s not always a growth in size, but it is frequently a growth of spirit. And as far as I’m concerned, I’ll take that quality over quantity any day.