PUTTING AN END TO WORSHIP WARS - Elmer Towns

THE STRENGTHS AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE CONGREGATIONAL
CHURCH
The Congregational Church makes a significant contribution to church life in America
especially in the area of lay involvement. A member of one Congregational Church of only five
families commented, "God has really blessed our church in that all our families tithe." The
sacrificial giving of these five families was sufficient to enable this small church to maintain a
church facility, pay a pastor's salary and maintain the home in which his family lived. In a
Congregational Church, it is not uncommon to find every member involved in some ministry.
Often, many members are involved in several, perhaps too many ministries.
The size of the Congregational Church is certainly a factor in the high membership
involvement ratio characterizing these churches, but size alone is not a sufficient explanation for
this phenomenon. Many members of Congregational Churches see their size as a hinderance to
attracting new families to become involved. Members of Congregational Churches are involved
in church ministries because they have bought into the vision of their church and taken
ownership of the ministry. When this happens, people become increasingly more involved in
ministry, regardless of the size of the church.
A second strength of the Congregational Church is the achievement of balance in
ministry. It is true many Congregational Churches are reluctant to try new ministries, but over
the years these congregations have evolved a ministry that balances the worship of God with the
study of the Word of God. A second area of balance developed by these churches is that of
outreach evangelistic ministries with ministries directed toward the members of the church itself.
While balance appears to have emerged without direction in many Congregational
Churches, it has probably occurred because of the blend of giftedness within the church. Unlike
other worship styles, this church is not tied to a single spiritual gift but rather includes members
exercising all the spiritual gifts. Like the church at Corinth, they "come short in no gift" (1 Cor.
1:7). As each gifted member exercises his or her influence within the church, a balance emerges
that makes room for all gifts. The example of the Congregational Church in this area stands as a
challenge to other church types.
THE WEAKNESSES OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
Despite these strengths, Congregational Churches tend not to experience significant
numerical growth. These growth limitations are directly tied to sociological factors which define
the nature of this church type. So long as a Congregational Church remains tied to a single cell
church model, church growth will be limited to the maximum size of that cell, i.e. forty to sixtysix
people. The Congregational Church may work hard to build attendance to a hundred or more,
but without changing the infrastructure of their church, they will experience a decline in
attendance. The key to increasing the size of a Congregational Church is to multiply cells.
In the early part of this century, Arthur Flake encouraged the growth of single-celled
churches through a plan that multiplied cells within churches which tended to be Congregational
Churches. His recommendations called for organizing their programs for outreach, enlisting