In the height of the mega-church movement, if you were leading a smaller church in the same area, it was going to be extremely difficult to grow. However, the cultural shift with these last three generations values smaller over large. They are looking for community and they have a natural distrust of anything that is big. So smaller can be the new big, if pastors are prepared to lead contextually. This Rainer post is helpful:
“Smaller churches are poised to make a comeback. I’m serious. I see too many signs and indicators to believe otherwise.
For certain, I know the bad news. The median size of a church has declined from around 100 to 70 in worship attendance in a decade. That means one-half of all American congregations have fewer than 70 in worship attendance.”