A number of churches I know started with a reaction against being a ‘mega church’. They wanted an authentic expression of the faith, a community of believers living out the gospel in their local context and a rejection of program-driven plans. Unfortunately, a number of these now are mega churches!
How can a church guard against dilluting the preaching, teaching and community as they grow from a small group of dozens to large churches of hundreds and thousands?
One church plant model [Harbor here in San Diego started by Dick Kaufman who helped Reedemer in NY think through this] has decided in a multi-site model that really limits each location to about 150. They believe 150 is a magic number that has a great impact on serving, community and outreach. A site pastor is set for each location, but whoever preaches would serve the same message at 3 different locations. Often these locations are only 5-10 minutes apart. Their expectation is a pastor should be able to plant 2 to 3 locations each. “The harvest is ready but the workers are few,” commented Dick to me over lunch.