Mega-Church Vs Small-Church

[TechWord]

The Bible teaches that when you are saved, you are changed by the Holy Spirit, as Titus 3:5 says, “he saved us... by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” This happens the moment you trust in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9), making you a new person (2 Corinthians 5:17). But the idea that your spiritual growth depends on finding the right place, people, or books isn’t fully supported by Scripture. The Bible says growth comes from reading and obeying God’s Word with the Holy Spirit’s help. Psalm 119:105 calls God’s Word “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path,” and 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says Scripture is all you need to grow and be equipped for good works. Bibles are easy to find and read, and free audio Bibles are available anytime, so everyone can access God’s Word. While meeting with other believers is helpful (Hebrews 10:24-25), your growth mainly depends on how you respond to the Bible, as shown in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-23). The Holy Spirit works in you (Philippians 2:13), and God’s Word is enough to make you grow (John 17:17). So, while Christians grow at different rates, you don’t need special places or people, just stay in the Bible, which is simple and always available.

We are on the same page. Of course anyone can grow spiritually, if they seriously study the Bible, but my response was directed at the statements on this thread, that some churches lack solid teaching.

 

[TechWord]

Yes, 1 John 1:9 is true. God forgives us when we confess our sins. But that verse is not a free pass to keep sinning over and over. The Bible never says a saved person can live in sin and stay that way. It says the opposite. Romans 6:1–2 says, “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.” If someone is truly saved, they don’t live in sin anymore. They might mess up, but they don’t stay there. They feel convicted, they repent, and they want to change.

1 John 3:9 says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin,” meaning they don’t live in sin as a lifestyle. If someone keeps going back to the same sin with no real change, then they were never born again to begin with. Hebrews 10:26 warns that if we sin on purpose after knowing the truth, we’re in serious danger. Jesus also said in Luke 6:46, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” You can’t say Jesus is your Lord and then ignore Him.

Real salvation changes you. You become a new person (2 Corinthians 5:17). If there’s no change, no conviction, no desire to obey God, then there’s no salvation. Saying sorry over and over without turning from sin is not repentance. It’s just playing games with God. And that won’t end well. So let’s be honest. If someone keeps living in sin, they need to examine whether they’re truly saved. This is serious. Eternity is on the line.

Once again, we are on the same page. It goes without saying, that salvation changes a person, for the better, but humans will never be perfect, that’s why God in advance, created a way to deal with human stumbles and falls.
While trying hard to stay on the straight and narrow path, some times humans wander off, without intending to.

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God - Romans3:23

 

[Big Boy Johnson]

some churches lack solid teaching.

That should read the majority of churches not only lack solid teaching, they are instead teaching false doctrine.

 

[Davy]

I belong to a mega-church, but I am always amazed by the number of people, including fellow Christians, who hold very strong negative opinions about every mega-church, without any knowledge of how any of those individual churches are run or operated.
No church is perfect and no church is good or bad , because of it’s size. Mega-churches, because of their large size tend to be well-known, therefore any misdeeds in them, real or imagined, spread far and wide, as opposed to a small-church, that is less known. The wrong things can happen in any size church, but the bigger you are , the more and bigger the publicity.

....

Nothing wrong with a mega-church, if it is in accordance with God's Word, particularly per Apostle Paul's Epistles. And since it is a large congregation, it ought to be able to afford having a Bible scholar of the Hebrew and Greek as a Teacher as their sole duty, for that was one of the main jobs of the Hebrew priest, to go through all of God's Word line upon line, reading it, and giving the people the meaning. That means chapter by chapter, line upon line Bible teaching. Where can one find that today? Some churches, but not that many.

Small country churches are pretty much left on their own, they will have preachers picked from their organization denomination if they belong to a denomination. And most often, they only fit the evangelist role, which is not a scholarly Bible teacher, but one mainly called to preach The Gospel. This is why those churches struggle when it comes to teaching the congregation that had already heard and believed The Gospel, many, many years before, and over time are supposed become Bible teachers themselves (Heb.5).

There's a mega-church near my sister's house. Its buildings are HUGE. I know several brethren that go there. The main thing I get from them, is the church attracts all this entertainment from Country music stars out of Nashville. It's like they are using entertainment shows to attract followers. I don't know if they have Biblical scholar teachers, because none of that was mentioned to me, only how great the music and entertainment was.

 

[TechWord]

Nothing wrong with a mega-church, if it is in accordance with God's Word, particularly per Apostle Paul's Epistles. And since it is a large congregation, it ought to be able to afford having a Bible scholar of the Hebrew and Greek as a Teacher as their sole duty, for that was one of the main jobs of the Hebrew priest, to go through all of God's Word line upon line, reading it, and giving the people the meaning. That means chapter by chapter, line upon line Bible teaching. Where can one find that today? Some churches, but not that many.

Small country churches are pretty much left on their own, they will have preachers picked from their organization denomination if they belong to a denomination. And most often, they only fit the evangelist role, which is not a scholarly Bible teacher, but one mainly called to preach The Gospel. This is why those churches struggle when it comes to teaching the congregation that had already heard and believed The Gospel, many, many years before, and over time are supposed become Bible teachers themselves (Heb.5).

There's a mega-church near my sister's house. It's buildings are HUGE. I know several brethren that go there. The main thing I get from them, is the church attracts all this entertainment from Country music stars out of Nashville. It's like they are using entertainment to attract followers. I don't know if they have Biblical scholar teachers, because none of that was mentioned to me, only how great the music and entertainment was.

Thanks for your insights and honesty.

 

[Ezra]

I belong to a mega-church, but I am always amazed by the number of people, including fellow Christians, who hold very strong negative opinions about every mega-church, without any knowledge of how any of those individual churches are run or operated.
No church is perfect and no church is good or bad , because of it’s size. Mega-churches, because of their large size tend to be well-known, therefore any misdeeds in them, real or imagined, spread far and wide, as opposed to a small-church, that is less known. The wrong things can happen in any size church, but the bigger you are , the more and bigger the publicity.

if you belong to a mega church and you have your needs met so be it... i prefer smaller churches but thats me

 

[MatthewG]

Neither one of them really matter.

It's the relationship with Yahavah, in and through Yeshua that truly matters. Living by the Spirit to love your neighbor as yourself.

Just cause ya go to one church or another, doesn't mean anything.