Vol. 36, No. 5 _ May 2005
by Charles W. Martin

In his January 14, 2005 report, George Barna reported on "Pastors Reveal Major Influencers on Churches." In the study 614 senior pastors were asked to identify up to three individuals whom they believe have the greatest influence on churches and church leaders in America. While the pastors named more than 300 different individuals, only 10 leaders were listed by 4% or more of the clergy. Among the top ten were the seeker-sensitive pastors of several megachurches churches, including Rick Warren and Bill Hybels. Although Barna did not choose to emphasize it in his report, it is noteworthy that only 6% of the "influencers" of the larger churches are Christian educators or theologians.

The term "megachurch" generally refers to any congrega-tion with a sustained average weekly attendance of 2,000 persons or more in its worship services. In the United States there are presently about 800 Protestant megachurches, and another 1,700 Roman Catholic megachurches. There are also megachurches located throughout the world, especially in Korea, Brazil, and several African countries, although no exact account exists for this worldwide phenomenon. The largest megachurches in America average 20,000 in attendance, and several churches in South Korea claim over 250,000 attenders.

In his January 14, 2005 report, George Barna reported on "Pastors Reveal Major Influencers on Churches." In the study 614 senior pastors were asked to identify up to three individuals whom they believe have the greatest influence on churches and church leaders in America. While the pastors named more than 300 different individuals, only 10 leaders were listed by 4% or more of the clergy. Among the top ten were the seeker-sensitive pastors of several megachurches churches, including Rick Warren and Bill Hybels. Although Barna did not choose to emphasize it in his report, it is noteworthy that only 6% of the "influencers" of the larger churches are Christian educators or theologians.

The term "megachurch" generally refers to any congrega-tion with a sustained average weekly attendance of 2,000 persons or more in its worship services. In the United States there are presently about 800 Protestant megachurches, and another 1,700 Roman Catholic megachurches. There are also megachurches located throughout the world, especially in Korea, Brazil, and several African countries, although no exact account exists for this worldwide phenomenon. The largest megachurches in America average 20,000 in attendance, and several churches in South Korea claim over 250,000 attenders.

Although large congregations have existed throughout Christian history, there has been a rapid proliferation of churches with massive attendance since the 1970's. Some researchers suggest this church form is a unique collective response to distinctive cultural shifts and changes in societal patterns throughout the industrialized, urban and suburban areas of the world. The megachurch and church growth movements have long been criticized as being a secularized evangelicalism that prizes success and worldly acclaim over theology and biblical fidelity, although not all megachurches categorize themselves as "evangelical."

However, most of the Protestant megachurches in America do have a "conservative" theology." This is true even of those within mainline denominations. Not surprisingly, the majority of Protestant megachurches are affiliated with either the Southern Baptist Convention, the Assemblies of God, or they are nondenominational. Recent research completed in March 2001 by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research and Dr. Scott Thumma on megachurches in America indicates that in terms of the theology of the megachurch congregations, the term their leaders selected to best fit their membership’s orientation are as follows: Evangelical (48%), Charismatic (14%), Pentecostal (11%), Moderate (12%), Traditional (8%), Seeker (3%), Fudamentalist (2%), and "other" (3%). Thumma noted that roughly 25% of the megachurches are Pentecostal and Charismatic, with 26% reporting they regularly use speaking in tongues in their services.

In terms of location, over 60% of megachurches are found in the southern Sunbelt, 32% in the West, and 21% in the Midwest, but only 6% in the Northeast. The states with the greatest concentration of megachurches include California, Texas, Florida, and Georgia.

Thumma observed that megachurches are predominantly a phenomenon of the suburbs of very large and rapidly growing cities, such as Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Orlando, Phoenix, and Seattle. He found 63% are located in or around cities of 250,000 or more, and only 23% are found in cities between 50,000 and 250,000. These large churches often occupy prominent land tracks of between 50 and 100 acres near major traffic thoroughfares, and generally they have sprawling parking lots and sanctuaries that are able to accommodate the vast numbers of worshipers they attract. The average megachurch has a weekly attendance of 3,857.

Thumma says that megachurches are both an old and new phenomenon, as 57% of the churches he surveyed were originally founded before 1961. On the other hand, nearly two-thirds of the congregations moved into their current locations after 1970, with 20% moving in the last decade. Even so, the fact of the megachurch is largely recent, as the majority of these congregations report that their tremendous growth has taken place in the past 25 years. In fact, 70% reported that their rapid growth came within the tenure of their current pastor, with 1987 as the average year the current pastor was called.

All the megachurches surveyed offer an opportunity for worship on Sunday mornings, 20% also have a Friday service and nearly half have a service on Saturday. Sixty-five percent have a Sunday evening service. The average attendance on Sunday mornings is 2,913 people. Ninety-three percent offer two or more services on Sunday morning, 48% have three or more.