Worship Size

I was meeting with a parishoner today and was struck by something that he said. As we were talking about our church and our hopes for it, he mentioned that while it was tempting to want the church to grow to have hundreds of members and a huge sanctuary, there was also something appealing about simply having several smaller services and focusing offerings not on the cost of the building and expanding it, but instead on mission, "which is what being Christian is really about." (Not perhpas an exact quote but close to what was said.)
I find the idea of several smaller services to be highly appealing to me. I have a lead worships of many different sizes, never more than a 250 or so, but I know that while there can certainly be more energy at a larger service, there is also something powerful about even just a service of 10-20 people. There are challenges to creating a church that has lots of smaller services. Building connections between individuals at the services is important. There is also more work required of a the pastor to lead so many services. People also prefer larger services at times, it lets people drift into the background more.
All of these are excellent concerns, but I also like the point that having more services allows a church to better use a smaller space. Rather than needing huge sprawling campus, churches can make do with a much smaller area. Instead of pouring all its money into building campaigns, people can be spending more money on mission instead. Most churches have building funds, which often have amounts in the tens of thousands of dollars, if not more. How many churches have similar funds for missions, or even given an equivelant amount to missions?
I also like the idea of the smaller, more intimate worship experience as a way to emphasize that worship is a community experience and a participtory one. Worship is not meant to be observed, but taken part in. Smaller services help to create a stronger connection within the church. I think an emphasis on smaller size helps to increase what can be done in worship, since smaller size tends to allow for more flexibility with space.
As I reflect on all of this I realize that part of what is at stake is how worship seeks to live out the mission of the church. Different styles and such are certainly useful, but we should not be concerned with models and styles so much as whether the worship service is moving the church forward in its mission.