Whenever discussions steer toward the ministries of mega churches (approx. 2000 or more attenders weekly) I find myself waiting for the inevitable slams against “the machine” or the lack of individual attention found in these large congregations or how seeker-friendly focused they are or something to do with consumeristic approaches to programming.

Over time, I started to think about whether or not these are really the right measures for judging these large operations in the name of Christ.

Lo and behold, I came across some research that revealed religious beliefs of church goers based on what size church they attend.

So do smaller church settings produce better discipleship environments?  And by smaller churches, let’s say with the average Presbyterian church worship attendance of 100 or so.

Do these church members come out as Christians that are more involved in serving and using their gifts?  Where do they fall regarding works righteousness?  What do they think about Jesus…like, was he supernatural and sinless or just a teacher’s pet type-better than average Joe?  How important is the Great Commission regarding their own responsibility as a Christian?

I was surprised to see the results so consistent across all factors measured between the small congregations with under 100 attenders, all the way up to churches with 1000+ attenders.    Perhaps it’s time to let the numbers speak and stop making arguments without real tangible back-up on these issues?

Here’s the data so that you can decide for yourself:

What do you think about the data?

The Barna Group research which was driven by over 3,000 interviews clearly shows to me that congregational size *is* related to the nature of a congregation’s religious beliefs and religious behavior.

It’s one time where  if you “biggie size it” it just might be better.