megachurch

The term megachurch describes a group of very large Protestant congregations that share several distinctive characteristics and form a particular style of religious congregation. These churches generally have: Not all megachurches are identical and do not always resemble the nontraditional and seeker-friendly style of a church like Willow Creek Community Church . However, their large numbers of attendees shape their functioning in distinctive and often uniform ways. The majority of megachurches (over 70%) are located in the southern Sun Belt of the United States, with the highest concentrations in California, Texas, Florida, and Georgia. Most megachurches are in suburban areas of rapidly growing “sprawl cities” such as Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Orlando, Phoenix, and Seattle. Many of these large churches occupy prominent land tracts of 50 to 100 acres, often near major traffic thoroughfares. Generally, these congregations have significant parking lots and sanctuaries that can accommodate the large numbers of worshipers they attract. However, the increasing use of multi-site campuses has decreased the average size of the primary sanctuary seating space. The average megachurch has a weekly attendance of 4092 persons. There are also significant numbers of megachurches worldwide, especially in Korea, Brazil, and several African countries, although no exact count exists for this phenomenon. Visit Warren Bird’s global megachurch list for more information on these. The largest megachurch in America averages 75,000 in attendance; however, many global churches are much larger, with several claiming over 250,000 attendees. While size is the most immediately apparent characteristic of these congregations, the Protestant megachurches in the United States generally share many other traits. Virtually all these megachurches have a conservative theology, even those within mainline denominations. Many are nondenominational, but the majority are affiliated with a denomination. The groups in the table below account for 80% of all megachurches. Megachurches tend to grow to their great size within a very short period, usually in less than ten years, and under the tenure of a single senior pastor. Nearly all megachurch pastors are male, and almost all are viewed as having considerable personal charisma. The senior minister often has an authoritative style of preaching and administration and is nearly always the singular dominant leader of the church. Supporting these senior pastors are teams of 5 to 25 associate ministers and often 100 or more full-time staff. In 2005, the 406 megachurches surveyed averaged 20 full-time paid ministerial staff members and 22 full-time paid program staff members. The average number of volunteer workers (giving five or more hours a week to the church) was 284. Megachurches host a multitude of social, recreational, and aid ministries. Likewise, most employ intentional efforts to enhance congregational community, such as home fellowships and interest-based small group meetings. Contrary to expectations, these congregations promote intense personal commitment in a majority of their members but also contain a large percentage of anonymous spectators and marginal attendees. There are many very large Catholic churches, and if we extended our interest in megachurches from just the Protestant megachurches to very large Catholic congregations with attendance over 2000 on average weekly, we would add roughly 3000 additional Catholic churches to the 1200 or so that are over 2000 in attendance. Our studies and readings of worship and the congregational life of Catholic churches have not convinced us that most very large Catholic churches really function like Protestant megachurches. There are a few that we have come across that do. Still, most don’t have strong charismatic senior ministers, many associate pastors, large staff, a robust congregational identity that empowers hundreds to thousands of weekly vo