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Developing a Structure for Growth. Dr. John P. Chandler The Ray and Ann Spence Network for Congregational Leadership. 4 Sizes of Churches. Patriarchal/Matriarchal (<50) Pastoral (50-150) Program (150-350) Corporate (350+). Growing Into a New Size.
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Developing a Structure for Growth Dr. John P. Chandler The Ray and Ann Spence Network for Congregational Leadership
4 Sizes of Churches • Patriarchal/Matriarchal (<50) • Pastoral (50-150) • Program (150-350) • Corporate (350+)
Growing Into a New Size • Patriarchal -> Pastoral: pastoral tenure • Pastoral -> Program: restructuring interpersonal life of the church • Program -> Corporate: restructuring decision-making mechanisms
“C-C-C” • “Celebration” (100+) • “Congregation” (25-75) • “Cell” (12 max)
Celebration (100+) • Main purpose: corporate worship • secondary purposes: mutual identity, counseling, youth development, Bible study • Anonymity is necessary for abandon • beyond 75 names we can call • % of people we do not know • A venue for … prophetic preaching and teaching
Congregation (25-75) • Main purpose: social fellowship • secondary: Bible study, Christian growth, gift discernment/utilization • Small enough to know names, large enough not to confront publicly • A venue for … intercessory prayer
Cell (<12) • Main purpose: interpersonal discipleship • secondary: prayer, Bible study, personal healing, pastoral care • Informality (i.e. home) allows for depth • A venue for … personal transformation and decision
Purposes of Church Structures • Celebration • “face to face” • Congregation • “hand to hand” • Cell • “heart to heart”
Growth from patriarchal or pastoral church to a program church requires… • Creating multiple congregations • Creating multiple cells • within the celebration-sized church
The Price for Growth • “Intimacy” • yet a church can be more intimate by rightly matching purpose with structure • “can get bigger as long as we keep getting smaller” • Control (diffusion of power)
Celebration ---------------- --------------Cell Congregation ---------------
Developing a Structure for Growth Dr. John P. Chandler The Ray and Ann Spence Network for Congregational Leadership john.chandler@vbmb.org Copy right John Chandler, 2000