Large congregations

I write from the experience of belonging to a community with perhaps 40 people in it.  There is a core of about 20 of us and then people who are linked in some way - usually attending services or walks when they can but they have busy lives, are too far away or not well enough to attend frequently.  Within this size of community we can see how we could shape and develop community.  But a posting on Facebook has made me wonder if this could be done with say a community of 200+.


The idea of engagement groups is a way of facilitating deeper relationships within large congregations.  Here between 6-10 people agree to meet up as a minimum monthly to develop closer relationships with others - this may be through a shared activity or through spiritual practice or exploration.  However it appears that this is outside of the main worship activity on Sundays.  So is it possible to create community in large communities during Sunday services?  


I would love the opportunity to view congregations where this works to see how it works. I would love even more if this was our own community.

This posting has led me to think about how our own services are developing but have decided to make this the next posting.