The number of very large churches has increased dramatically over the last 50 years, as the graphic powerfully illustrates. As stated in the recent ECFA co-sponsored report, “The Changing Reality in America’s Largest Churches,” megachurches are pacesetters. We see this unfolding as megachurches continue including multiracial worship, developing special needs programs, and developing a lay leadership infrastructure. In the past, I’ve written about other megachurch unique qualities from: sanctuary sizes (very few new ones over 5,000) to the first megachurch (start with Pentecost when “about 3,000” were converted, per Acts 2:41) to global megachurches (Nigeria and Korea are currently leading).
But what about the
people who attend really big churches? Fellow researcher Scott Thumma and I surveyed
some 25,000 of them, with some fascinating discoveries:
1. Nearly two-thirds of megachurch attenders have been at these churches 5 years or less.
2. Many attenders come
from other churches, but nearly a quarter haven’t been in any church for a long
time, before coming to a megachurch.
3. New people almost
always come to the megachurch because family, friends or coworkers invited
them.
4. Fifty-five percent
of megachurch attenders volunteer at the church, in some way (a higher
percentage than in smaller churches).
5. What first attracted
attenders were: the worship style, the senior pastor, and the church’s
reputation, in that order.
6. These same factors
also influenced long-term attendance, as did the music/arts, social and
community outreach, and adult-oriented programs.
7. Attenders report a
considerable increase in their involvement in church, in their spiritual
growth, and in their needs being met.
8. Attenders can craft
unique, customized spiritual experiences through the multitude of ministry
choices and diverse avenues for involvement that megachurches offer.
9. In many ways, large
churches today are making good progress in reaching people and moving them from
spectators to active participants to growing disciples of Jesus Christ.
Why does ECFA take such a strong interest in
larger-attendance churches, such as by publishing “The
Changing Reality in America’s Largest Churches”? Answer: to serve these larger churches, since so many are ECFA members. ECFA membership starts with a church
wanting to live by ECFA’s seven
integrity standards. To learn more, see ECFA.church/join.
