How Can a Large Church Feel Personal?

Like many of us who grew up in North Central West Virginia, prior to coming to Horizons, I went to a smaller church that was close to where we lived. It was the type of church where over half the members were neighbors. It was convenient and filled the gap of needing a church to attend.

So say you grew up in a smaller church like I did, and you’re new to Horizons. You’re probably overwhelmed at the idea of attending such a large church. You’ve heard the horror stories of the impersonal megachurch where you’re just a number or a nondescript face in the crowd. I’ve talked to folks who are afraid of coming to Horizons because they don’t feel like they can have a “personal experience” at a large church.

So how can you get a personal experience at a large church - one that puts you in mind of that small town, community church that you loved as a kid, where everyone knew everyone and there was always some sort of potluck luncheon after services?

Connect

Now, before you click on to the next article thinking that I’m just plugging “Worship, Connect, Serve,” hear me out.

Connecting is something that we long for. It’s also something that is beneficial to our spiritual health. As it says in Psalm 133:1, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”

Connecting is good.
Connecting is pleasant.
Connecting is beneficial.

Connecting strengthens not just the people around us, but it strengthens us, too. As Proverbs 27:17 states, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

When I was in college, I attended a young adult conference in Atlanta with approximately 50,000 other 18-25 year olds (including my wife, whom I had never met, and wouldn’t meet for another year and a half). It was easily one of the largest groups I’ve ever been in, with the exception of a couple WVU home football games. The most amazing part of being in this large group of young adults was that I never felt like just a number in the crowd. I had an extremely personal experience.

How is it possible that I had a personal experience in a crowd that filled over half of the old Georgia Dome? The same way that we try to help people connect at Horizons:

Community Groups

Community Groups at Passion were advertised as the real meat and potatoes of the conference, but even my group (#glittergreen) had about 5,000 people in it, so we got even more personal with family groups of 10. In our Family Group, we prayed for one another and discussed topics and Scripture that was brought up in earlier sessions. It made it much easier to connect and obtain a personal experience when I was in a group of 10 - which is about the size of a normal Community Group at Horizons - instead of 50,000 of my closest friends.

Next time you come to a service, take a look around the sanctuary. Not only will you see the banners “Worship”, “Connect”, and “Serve”, the pillars upon which our church was founded, but you’ll also see hundreds of folks just like you, looking for that same personal experience that you’re looking for.

At Horizons we have several opportunities to help get you connected with a community of believers that you can grow with. We have Community Groups, Celebrate Recovery, and Intensives like the Academy. If you attend an Intensive then you will be encouraged to join a Community Group at the end of the class.  This is because we know that we can do more in a community than we can on our own.

In our Community Groups, we study Scripture, we grow together, we serve together, we share our sins and struggles, we celebrate and mourn together (Romans 12:15, James 5:16) - we live life together, just as the beginning church did in the book of Acts.

“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 4:46-47).

(And yes, if you just read those verses and thought, “That’s the first time he’s mentioned food since the potluck luncheon,” have no fear; at every Community group that I have attended, including Celebrate Recovery meetings where they have dinner, there are always snacks.)

If you are looking for the personal experience that you received at your Road I Grew Up On Church (with food and snacks included), then visit the Community Groups Directory where you can see all the available Community Groups and Step Studies.

www.groups.horizonschurch.net