From a pastor-friend:

Re: http://www.utne.com/webwatch/2005_201/news/11673-1.html

I’ve been thinking about church size in the light of a book I read recently called “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell. He talks about the “Rule of 150″ – basically, that 150 is the limit of the amount of people humans can have genuine relationship with. Studies of hunter-gatherer societies show that 150 is usually the largest those societies get before establishing new ones, and he gives numerous other examples of this principle. His point (in this particular case) is that above that ‘tipping point’ of 150, you begin to lose a sense of cohesive community. “The Rule of 150 says that congregants of a rapidly expanding church, or the members of a social club, or anyone in a group banking on the epidemic spread of shared ideals needs to be particularly cognizant of the perils of bigness. Crossing the 150 line is a small change that can make a big difference.” (p.182-3)

I wonder if, as the article suggests, mega churches combat this by establishing small groups, or whether there are other ways they deal with it.

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