Illustrative
Smaller churches recover from disruption faster
Quarters to return to pre-event Resilience baseline, by attendance.
Under 2002.1 qtrs
200–1,0003.4 qtrs
Over 1,0004.3 qtrs
Featured in: Churches under 200 recovered fastest
Source: Illustrative MSTRD cohort study · real figures publish Q1 2026
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| Value (qtrs) | |
|---|---|
| Under 200 | 2.1 qtrs |
| 200–1,000 | 3.4 qtrs |
| Over 1,000 | 4.3 qtrs |
We compared Resilience-dimension scores before and after a disruptive event — staff turnover, a building program, a merger — across churches of different sizes.
Churches under 200 attendees returned to their pre-event baseline in roughly half the time of churches over 1,000. The likely mechanism isn't complexity so much as distance: fewer layers between a decision and the people affected by it means faster feedback and faster correction.