| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 706.1 | | CSC32::J_CHRISTIE | We will rise! | Fri Jun 11 1993 19:15 | 15 |
| In the United Methodist Church of this region (Rocky Mountain Conference),
smaller churches dominate in the number of persons who become clergy.
I think a contributing factor is that smaller churches tend to offer
more opportunities for leadership; sometimes a depressingly overwhelming
number of opportunities. It's not unusual for individuals to carry out
multiple roles in smaller churches.
I like a smaller, more intimate church. I like to get to know people
on a personal level. I like to be able to call people by name and have
them call me by name. I like to be able to phone people in my church
and not have them be someone I don't know.
Richard
|
| 706.2 | | WELLER::FANNIN | | Fri Jun 11 1993 22:44 | 12 |
| I think I'd like to be a part of both a small church and a large
church.
I like the small church because of all the reasons Richard listed;
knowing people on a first-name basis, feeling like my contributions to
the group really matter. I have a chance to create and let my light
shine.
Ruth
|
| 706.3 | Intimacy and inclusivity | AKOCOA::FLANAGAN | honor the web | Mon Jun 14 1993 19:52 | 15 |
| There are 110 members of my church and it is wonderful. I know most of
the people who attend the church and we work hard on creating a feeling
of intimacy. We have personal relationships with each other and with
our minister. About 60% of our members volunteer to participate in
some capacity such as on one of our committees. Our board of
Directors includes relatively new people as well as seasoned veterans.
We have settled a new minister this year and are actively planning for
growth. We all want qualitative growth and we are experiencing
quantitative growth as we develop more and more new programs. Many of
us share the concerns regarding how to stay an intimate community as we
grow. In my opinion the feeling of intimacy and inclusivity is the
biggest benefit of a small church.
Patricia
|
| 706.4 | | CSC32::KINSELLA | Boycott Hell!!!!!! | Mon Jun 14 1993 22:50 | 19 |
| Hmmm...I've been to both and feel I'm in one now that has a mix of
both.
A small church can promote intimacy but I find that burnout is a
big problem.
A large church can be impersonal and it's hard to find a place to
serve.
My church has about 400 in attendance each Sunday in 2 services.
A common Sunday School and Wednesday discipleship training. In
the fall we're going to 2 Sunday Schools. Our church's motto is
"Growing smaller as we grow larger." We realize you can lose
the personal interaction as a church gets larger and we are working
hard not to succumb to that. Discipleship and activities cross
many age boundaries to help get to know each other. I can't say I know
everybody, but the scope of people I know is broadening all the time.
Jill
|