Minimum optimal size for a congregation

[R7ehr]

So I think three families is a good minimum... like a three-legged stool. Show me a good 2-legged stool and maybe I'll change my mind.

Obviously, 3 is a MINIMUM. I think a good church should have more than this. 5 families feels like a good minimum for me, personally, where my family is with our spiritual needs. But a church plant can function with 3 families.

Your three legged stool reminded me of our appreciation for a “3-fold ministry”. Which then springboards into the leadership topic. Personally, I would be very slow to start a church with only 3-4 families, because we are talking real life, real people, real issues, and not theory at that point. Theory allows for fewer than real life.

[ken_sylvania]

So I think three families is a good minimum... like a three-legged stool. Show me a good 2-legged stool and maybe I'll change my mind.

Obviously, 3 is a MINIMUM. I think a good church should have more than this. 5 families feels like a good minimum for me, personally, where my family is with our spiritual needs. But a church plant can function with 3 families.

Your three legged stool reminded me of our appreciation for a “3-fold ministry”. Which then springboards into the leadership topic. Personally, I would be very slow to start a church with only 3-4 families, because we are talking real life, real people, real issues, and not theory at that point. Theory allows for fewer than real life.

Start a church with 3 families, and you'll find out pretty quick which two think the most alike and which is the step-brother.

[JayP]

I commend you for navigating through one of life’s great difficulties, when family ties span different religious owes.
I prefer to neither exalt nor condemn the various branches of Christianity, but rather recognize that each person’s journey can be particularly unique. God works with sincere hearts in a lot of different settings, places and times.

[the-real-steve]

So I think three families is a good minimum... like a three-legged stool. Show me a good 2-legged stool and maybe I'll change my mind.

Obviously, 3 is a MINIMUM. I think a good church should have more than this. 5 families feels like a good minimum for me, personally, where my family is with our spiritual needs. But a church plant can function with 3 families.

Your three legged stool reminded me of our appreciation for a “3-fold ministry”. Which then springboards into the leadership topic. Personally, I would be very slow to start a church with only 3-4 families, because we are talking real life, real people, real issues, and not theory at that point. Theory allows for fewer than real life.

Start a church with 3 families, and you'll find out pretty quick which two think the most alike and which is the step-brother.

This made me laugh. And yet, I totally understand your point

[temporal1]

I commend you for navigating through one of life’s great difficulties, when family ties span different religious owes.
I prefer to neither exalt nor condemn the various branches of Christianity, but rather recognize that each person’s journey can be particularly unique. God works with sincere hearts in a lot of different settings, places and times.

i’ve read and been encouraged like this by CMs on forum, i believe with scriptural basis.
our special Lutheran pastor believed similarly. he and the Catholic priest, about a block away, were close friends and did a lot of shared work in the community.

Matthew 24:40
https://biblehub.com/matthew/24-40.htm

sometimes it’s very hard and even privately agonizing. i try to weather storms without “outward” protest. i’ve had a lot of practice in my life. i had good role models in both my parents and inlaws. God love them.

i’ve had so many smiles with my grdaughter’s experience. she taught herself to read before (Catholic) kindergarten.
As she progressed, her teachers and Sunday school teachers would sometimes remark, “she knows her Bible!”
i would just smile and nod. hoping for it to stay with her and protect her for her lifetime.

children do things in innocence. without guile. no wonder Jesus loves them so.

[the-real-steve]

Another reason for 10, is for working out fights disagreements. It is nice to have enough men to adjudicate it. Imagine that when I get in a fight with another person, and we each have a teammate in our fight supporting us. That is 4 people. There are still 6 people left, to offer a reasonable path to peace. And if the fight involves 2 combatants + 4 biased supporters, you still have someone to offer cooler viewpoint.
The fewer the people, the more say each has. But there are also fewer people to fix it when things have gone gunny bags.

I could watch me a good boxing/MMA match

[R7ehr]

Another reason for 10, is for working out fights disagreements. It is nice to have enough men to adjudicate it. Imagine that when I get in a fight with another person, and we each have a teammate in our fight supporting us. That is 4 people. There are still 6 people left, to offer a reasonable path to peace. And if the fight involves 2 combatants + 4 biased supporters, you still have someone to offer cooler viewpoint.
The fewer the people, the more say each has. But there are also fewer people to fix it when things have gone gunny bags.

I could watch me a good boxing/MMA match

Long beards, long skirts, coverings, black hats and suits flying,

[the-real-steve]

Another reason for 10, is for working out fights disagreements. It is nice to have enough men to adjudicate it. Imagine that when I get in a fight with another person, and we each have a teammate in our fight supporting us. That is 4 people. There are still 6 people left, to offer a reasonable path to peace. And if the fight involves 2 combatants + 4 biased supporters, you still have someone to offer cooler viewpoint.
The fewer the people, the more say each has. But there are also fewer people to fix it when things have gone gunny bags.

I could watch me a good boxing/MMA match

Long beards, long skirts, coverings, black hats and suits flying,

Count me in!

[R7ehr]

I could watch me a good boxing/MMA match

Long beards, long skirts, coverings, black hats and suits flying,

Count me in!

Alright. Should I put you down as a combatant, or a ticket holder? Fighters in one match, get to watch the other fights for free.

[the-real-steve]

Long beards, long skirts, coverings, black hats and suits flying,

Count me in!

Alright. Should I put you down as a combatant, or a ticket holder? Fighters in one match, get to watch the other fights for free.

Can I choose who I fight?