Despite the church’s considerable impact on the city and beyond, however, it has always remained small. And that is by intention. Nine other faith communities have been planted directly out of Church of the Saviour (while scores of other churches around the country refer to themselves as “in the tradition of Church of the Saviour.”) Many who have heard about the church or seen the breadth of its impact are surprised that even at its largest Church of the Saviour never had more than 150 members (though hundreds more attended or were deeply involved). That is due, in large part, to the high commitment required for membership. From the earliest days of the church, after Gordon Cosby returned from World War II, a core assumption has been that the greatest impact on the world comes about by small, highly committed and disciplined communities of people focused on outward mission, inward transformation, and loving, accountable community. Church history, church members point out, shows this to almost always have been true. Gordon is convinced that size actually inhibits effectiveness, that it works against a community of people being truly counter-cultural, to having depth, to breaking addictions to the culture. “Large numbers,” he says, “tend almost inevitably toward depersonalization and institutionalism, toward a lessening of commitment. So we resist the temptation to power that comes through numbers.”

| posted by + Alan | 11:44 AM | 2 comments

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