Megachurches, part of the problem???

Today I read in the Raleigh News and Observer that there’s a new study on the types of people who attend megachurches in the U.S.  It’s an interesting article but, as usual, I think they are casting the findings in the worst possible light.  I think there is some very good news in this study and some room to grow as well.  If you want to read the article click here - http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/1562002.html.

 

“Conducted by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford Seminary and Leadership Network, the survey of nearly 25,000 people who attend 12 U.S. megachurches was conducted from January through August 2008. It is billed as the largest representative national study of that religious demographic to date.”

 

The study found that 5 million a week attend one of 1300 megachurches.  (Churches with over 2000 attenders.)  They tend to be younger, wealthier and better educated than the numbers you see across the board for Protestants in America.  Also, more of them are single.  Almost a 1/3 are single as compared to 10% in the average congregation. 

 

The bad news is they also tend to give less and volunteer less than people in smaller congregations.  Now that’s going to spark some comments I’m sure.  All my life smaller church advocates have told me that those people at those big churches are just there for the show and are not committed to building the church. 

 

I always find that unusual since I’ve never been in a small church that didn’t have to beg for volunteers.  Instead of suggesting that megachurch attendees aren’t engaged could it be that megachurch attendees are just a different demographic of people. 

 

Almost a 1/3 are single.  Now who is single in America today?  Young people and single parents, that’s who, exactly the kind of people who don’t have lots of money and may be short on time as well. 

 

The study also pointed out that nearly a ¼ were new to or returning to the church after a long time.  Also many other said they were attending more than one church.  These are not people who give and volunteer as they change churches or just try to learn what church is all about.

 

If you really want to gauge the health of a megachurch go and observe their programming.  Are they adequately staffed?  Are they working in inventive ways to reach stated ministry goals?  Are those who are volunteering growing in the Lord?

 

What’s better, 80 beleaguered volunteers struggling to keep open the doors of a church that is no longer reaching the community?  Or 1000 volunteers who are so slammed with new Christians and families in need that they can’t get a breath?  I’m guessing the second one will look and feel more like they are serving a living, active God who is on the move in this Earth today.

 

A few months ago I tried to tell a friend about a great new church in her community.  She stopped me and said they are going to go to Grandma’s church until she died; then her daughter piped in “and after that we aren’t going anywhere!”  That was the end of that conversation.  Obviously this small church was not making its point very well.  I wonder if that pastor gets mad when people head to the new megachurch instead of staying at the burial grounds?

 

I’m going to adopt different viewpoint.  Several Sundays back Perry Noble told his congregation at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC he hated it when people called NewSpring a megachurch. (NewSpring is one of the fastest growing churches in the state.)  He said there are 2 million people in upstate South Carolina who need to hear the gospel.  As far as he was concerned their church was a microchurch!

 

He’s got the right idea.  Jesus is creating one megachurch here on earth and instead of measuring the haystacks we need to start measuring the fields.