The Washington herald., 1912-05-05

Inc LouNrtEAtluud4l1L 1tAuuuooh Aot
llsle REPORTS twenfy-one Congregational
! churches having each a membership Of
over LOO, the three largest OF which are
all IN Brooklyn. n. Y. These are the
Tompkins Avenue Church. with 3,1f
members: the Central. with 2s7i. and
Plymouth. with 2.26s. OF the first. Rev.
was pastor for many years. and Ply
mouth Is well known as the church Of
which Henry Ward Beecher, Lyman Abb
bott. and Newell Dwight Hills have
been pastors.
A writer IN the Boston Transcript
notes that Congregationaiists. however,
I By no means excel In having large
churches. The Methodists and others
have a larger number Of clutches whose
membership runs over a thousand. The
First Presbyterian Church OF Seattle re-
ports f576 members, while 81. Georges
Protestant Episcopal Church, New York.
records SIS commandments fremont
Temple IN Boston has more members
than any Massachusetts, CONGREGATIONAL
Church, though not reaching the two
thousand mark The enrolment OF the
Christian Science Church, OF course. sur
passes all the New England Protestant
churches. but II Is hardly to be called
local church. including In It's member
ship many from other communities. All
4
munlcants counted In their constituen-
cies many Roman Catholic churches far
exceed the largest Protestant churches,
several thousand being a common rec
ord.
when sIse Is an Advantage.
The question Of the relationship OF size
10 efHciency Is debafable one in church
as wen as in business circles. The posi-
ton taken depends on the view OF the way
in which the church should do its work
II the one supreme purpose u worship,
and that led BY ritual. which IL familiar
20 All the conversation. or which Is in
its hands in a book, there Is prac-
ticaliy no limit to the size OF the as
sembly. In fact the larger the better.
This applies 10 such bodies as the
Roman Catholic and Christian Science
churches The acquaintance Of the MEM
bers with each other, and their mutual
relationship Is so far a minor matter,
that the fact that they cannot know
each other because OF the great size OF
the congregation Is no serious objection.
This Is more than balanced by the quick
enlng which comes from the great as
sembIy itself. The same in a measufe
applies to the churches whose influence
springs from the educational and inspira-
tional message OF the preacher. There
Is OF course here limit. because when
the building Is too large the voice OF
the preacher cannot reach all with physl-
cal and spiritual effectiveness. The limit
OF such churches should be two or three
thousand members The best illustra-
ton OF this type Is Plymouth Church,
Brooklyn. where for over half century
muitItudes have assembled Sunday after
Sunday 10 receive instruction and spirit
uaI uplift from the preacher. In both
Of these types Of churches size is a great
advantage. II Is no reflection on Or.
Hills nor upon the stately liturgy OF
the Roman Catholic Church. nor upon
the mystical messages OF Christian
Science TO say that they are far more
impressive with a vast congregation
than where a few people are gathered
together The glowing spirit OF great
assembly greatly increases their en-
cheney.
Another View of EHiciency.
One who considers. however. the church
as more than an inspirational fountain,
ana feels that il should train its MEM
bers for Christian service. and then as
sign an supervise their work. must take
another view Of the relationship Of size
and efficiency. He viii hold that either
the church should be very much smaller.
or should have large stan OF paid
leaders, each in charge OF a department..
making practically several little churches
grouped together with the main body
as a sort of holding company. The ad-
vantage OF this plan Is that IL makes
possible a great congregation. and an
especially gifted preacher. with the sub
divisions for training and guiding work |
ers. The disadvantages Is that the
preacher seems apart from the people, |
not being the one who enters their |
homes, sharing their joys and sorrows
and winning their. love. He Is voice
rather than a heart whose throb they |
have felt. But such churches must DE |
rare, and the man who believes that |
the church should train and lead its
members in Christian service. throwing |
some responsibility on each one, viii |
stoutIy stand for the small church.
All will agree that the presence of
many churches in a small community. |
although thereby there are more office |
positions and points OF service, results
IN a loss OF efficiency, because the enthu-
siasm that numbers alone can supply /
is absent. the financial struggle Is so
great as to divert the attention from the 1
spiritual work. the compensation for
pastoral service and music is inadequate, /
and the cost OF maintaining so many es-
is wasteful. BY the reduc-
ton OF the number OF churches there Is
a gain in efficiency until you reach a
stituency OF about 1,500 souls. Up to this
point the ordinary minister can do the
preaching, knowing personally every |
member OF his flock. visit their homes 4
as need arises, and personally supervise /
the work OF the various departments. II /
Is possible for the members OF the church !,
to be fairly well acquainted with each /
other. so that the church is not simply
an aggregation of individuals. but uni
fed body whose cooperation secures the
maximum efficiency.
As the ordinary working church be-
gins to increase beyond this point. II
loses In some directions as much as 1t
gains in others The increase in eff
cheney does not correspond TO the in
crease In size. As It grows up toward /
a membership of 1.500 instead Of 500, with II
a constituency of 5000. the pastor finds i
It impossible to maintain the same real
personal relationship with individuals
The number Of workers does not increase
with the number OF members A larger
per cent are mere hearers OF the word
The drones multiply. The waste is
greater