“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:19-20).
We are so used to thinking in worldly terms that we read right over the plain meaning of Jesus when He tells His disciples where He will meet with them. We are so caught up with the idea that church success means large congregations that we interpret Jesus message about two or three Christians meeting together to mean that such a meeting constitutes a minimum sized group, that Jesus was providing hope and encouragement for small churches just starting out, as if He was saying that all churches begin with two or three people.
But that’s not what the verse actually says. It simply says that Jesus meets with Christians who gather in groups of two or three. It could even be translated as When two or three agree together in my name, I am with them. People don’t tend to gather with people they disagree with.
This is the Christian model—very small groups of people meeting with Christ. Such groups model maximum personal involvement and interaction. Indeed, such groups provide the foundation for interpersonal conversation. The larger the group, the less interpersonal communication. So, it seems that Jesus was saying that He expects Christians to meet regularly in such configurations.
But the norm today is for Christians to meet in large groups at the church building. Nothing wrong with that, but are Christians (you) ignoring His direction to meet in small groups?