Christian Schwarz, head of the Institute of Church Development in Germany, is now disturbing the confidence that many of us have in this concept. Schwarz has surveyed 1,000 churches in 32 countries. Through his study he discovered eight principles of church health that apply regardless of size, culture, or denomination. He also found that small churches outpace large churches in all but one of these key areas. Other areas where small churches excel include providing empowering leadership, passionate spirituality, functional structures, holistic small groups, need-oriented evangelism, and loving relationships.
Larger churches do better only in the area of offering inspiring worship services.
One of the reasons we hear so much about only one or two keys to growth is because growing churches tend to publicize their strengths as their key to success. True health, though, is evidenced when all eight areas are balanced. Smaller churches will play a vital role in the future, says Schwarz. While megachurches will still be needed to reach those that smaller congregations could not, the converse is also true. Church-growth literature should concentrate not on building megachurches but equipping small churches to give birth to other small churches.