By Warren Bird, Ph.D.
Next month this blog will begin to unveil the findings from
the survey itself. Forecast: The fascinating trends uncovered include
dramatic growth in the number of multiracial megachurches and in the role of
small groups. Church mergers and multisite expansion are likewise experiencing
a dramatic increase among megachurches. We also asked questions about
megachurch financial accountability and boards, issues of particular concern to
ECFA. Much news to come!
For now, let me put the idea of megachurches
in context, drawing from research I did during my days at Leadership Network
(see the collection of articles at leadnet.org/megachurch):
What is a
megachurch? The widely accepted definition is a Protestant church
with a weekly attendance of 2,000 or more adults and children.
How many
megachurches are there? The United States has roughly 1,750 megachurches. That’s only 0.5%
of the total number of Protestant churches, and yet among Protestants who physically
attended church prior to the pandemic, almost 1 in 10 went to a megachurch.
Are
megachurches like other Protestant churches, where 4 in 5 are plateaued or
declining? No. It’s just the opposite. The vast majority of
megachurches are growing, many at a very fast clip.
Are
megachurches fading away as a Baby Boomer phenomenon? No. Not only do
megachurch pastors span several generations (currently from ages 33 to 88), but
the numbers of younger attenders and single adults are quite impressive. The
larger the church, the greater the percentage of young adults who go there on
average.
How new
is the idea of a megachurch? History has known of many churches that
drew thousands, such as the congregations led by Charles Spurgeon in London or D.L.
Moody in Chicago. What’s new in the last few decades is the reality that they
are now widespread and far more common, found in most large cities and in many
suburbs.
Are
megachurches unique to the United States? Definitely not. The
megachurch movement first took off in Korea. The world’s largest megachurch
sanctuary is in Nigeria, seating 50,000. Dozens of countries have megachurches,
many with megachurches far larger than the largest U.S. megachurches.
Why do
people study megachurches? Larger churches are often innovation
leaders and they also tend to be disproportionately influential over churches
of other sizes. They also tend to be the churches that the public media
highlights—for good or for bad!
Are
megachurches members of ECFA? Yes. Around half of the 100-largest
U.S. churches have been ECFA accredited, which means the church has agreed to
follow ECFA’s integrity standards for churches, known as ECFA’s Seven Standards of Responsible
Stewardship™. (Other-size churches are also among ECFA’s more than 2,400
members.)
Is a list
of megachurches available? Yes. I’ve compiled a list of global
megachurches at leadnet.org/world.
It contains a link to a list of US megachurches that I also helped compile. To
learn if a specific church (megachurch or otherwise) is an ECFA member, see ECFA.org/members.
Stay tuned … and look for “Part 2” of this blog, with
specific findings from the research, slated to be posted by the end of August
2020.
