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jason3477
Guest
So why are some people attracted to meg-churches? I never really was that all that much…
Why do people go to those mega-churches???
Why do people go to those mega-churches???
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Cat
Guest
I talked with a (Protestant) pastor who had a very charitable and insightful insight as to why people attend megachurches.
He said that people go there to heal.
Often people are hurt in and/or by their churches. It may be very serious; e.g. sexual abuse. It may be personal; e.g., an elderly relative who was a faithful member in his/her younger days is consistently ignored in the pastoral visitation schedule. It may be trivial, to us, that is, but not to the one who experiences the hurt; e.g., a woman on the decorating committee has her holiday sanctuary decor ridiculed from the pulpit, or in a meeting.
These are all real situations, BTW. If you are interested in reading about people who were hurt by their churches, look up a book called Exit Interviews. Sorry, I can’t remember the author right now. The book is very difficult to take, as the interviews are heart-wrenching. They are from all different denominations and churches, including Catholic. It’s shocking what Christians will do to fellow Christians. I recommend reading one chapter at a time and then waiting a few days before reading the next chapter.
Anyway, these people do not necessarily lose their faith in God, but they’ve lost trust with His people. Megachurches are a place where these hurt ones can go to worship God and hear the Word of God, but they don’t have to “do” anything or get to know anyone. They can sit and sip their latte and be utterly anonymous and no one will hurt them again.
The healing process might take several years, and then, according to my pastor friend, many hurt ones will be ready to make an attempt to re-enter a traditional church and try again.
He said that people go there to heal.
Often people are hurt in and/or by their churches. It may be very serious; e.g. sexual abuse. It may be personal; e.g., an elderly relative who was a faithful member in his/her younger days is consistently ignored in the pastoral visitation schedule. It may be trivial, to us, that is, but not to the one who experiences the hurt; e.g., a woman on the decorating committee has her holiday sanctuary decor ridiculed from the pulpit, or in a meeting.
These are all real situations, BTW. If you are interested in reading about people who were hurt by their churches, look up a book called Exit Interviews. Sorry, I can’t remember the author right now. The book is very difficult to take, as the interviews are heart-wrenching. They are from all different denominations and churches, including Catholic. It’s shocking what Christians will do to fellow Christians. I recommend reading one chapter at a time and then waiting a few days before reading the next chapter.
Anyway, these people do not necessarily lose their faith in God, but they’ve lost trust with His people. Megachurches are a place where these hurt ones can go to worship God and hear the Word of God, but they don’t have to “do” anything or get to know anyone. They can sit and sip their latte and be utterly anonymous and no one will hurt them again.
The healing process might take several years, and then, according to my pastor friend, many hurt ones will be ready to make an attempt to re-enter a traditional church and try again.
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JustaServant
Guest
Entertainment.
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Samuel63
Guest
Entertainment is right. They are good at it, at least for a while. Some mega-churches are waning and fading a little.
When people new to the organization walk in the door, they are quickly engaged and offered involvement and fellowship.
It is a good model for effective recruiting. It just does not have the solid foundation of the One True Faith. After a while, perhaps a few years, people tend to wander away from the mega-churches.
Thank God for the Catholic Church!
When people new to the organization walk in the door, they are quickly engaged and offered involvement and fellowship.
It is a good model for effective recruiting. It just does not have the solid foundation of the One True Faith. After a while, perhaps a few years, people tend to wander away from the mega-churches.
Thank God for the Catholic Church!
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Tarpeian_Rock
Guest
I think we too easily dismiss the impact “involvement and fellowship” makes in the experience of church, especially when someone can attend the same Catholic parish for 20 years and never get spoken to at all - except perhaps to be told that you’re sitting in “their” usual pew.
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JustaServant
Guest
The young puppy in our office attends a (what passes for in this part of WV) megachurch. I had to chuckle when overhearing a conversation he had with another evangelical “comparing” churches. He said “Oh yeah? Well, our church just put in a million dollar sound system!!!”
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JustaServant
Guest
Depends on what part of the country you are in. In a big city, yeah I can see that. In a smaller city or large town? Not so much.
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Doxiemom
Guest
I would think they go because the preacher is great.
(my priest could use a few lessons from some of these guys. I am getting mighty tired of homilies about eating salami is a bad choice and vegen is closer to God…I kid you not)
(my priest could use a few lessons from some of these guys. I am getting mighty tired of homilies about eating salami is a bad choice and vegen is closer to God…I kid you not)
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Tarpeian_Rock
Guest
Or - based on my experience - all of New England, big city, small town, or everything in between.
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JustaServant
Guest
Nope.
It’s the music that drives these churches. It has nothing to do with the preacher. Every MC I used to come into contact with had rather dull preachers. Because its the music that brings the people in.
Years ago I talked to one of these poor pastors. He complained that he spent years in Bible college only to wind up a booking agent for the hottest acts in town.
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Marie_Gregg
Guest
As one who used to belong to a megachurch, I have to say that there isn’t a clear-cut answer. Some people go for entertainment, yes. Some go for the anonymity aspect. My husband and I went because it was exciting to be part of something so new. We figured that God “must” be in it since close to 10,000 people were part of the church.
When we actually started to pay attention to the things God was laying on our hearts, we ended up in a congregation that numbers 100 on a good day. The music is kinda bland, there’s almost always a technical difficulty, our pastor regularly comes to tears because he is so eager for people to understand the Truth and the sound of kids classes always pierces through to the sanctuary at bad moments. It’s wonderful.
When we actually started to pay attention to the things God was laying on our hearts, we ended up in a congregation that numbers 100 on a good day. The music is kinda bland, there’s almost always a technical difficulty, our pastor regularly comes to tears because he is so eager for people to understand the Truth and the sound of kids classes always pierces through to the sanctuary at bad moments. It’s wonderful.
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Rolltide
Guest
Keep in mind that the Catholic Church “invented” the megachurch with structures like Hagia Sophia, St. Peters, and other medieval cathedrals that could hold 10,000 people or more for a single service! 
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Cat
Guest
Do you always refer to younger co-workers as “puppies?”The young puppy in our office attends a (what passes for in this part of WV) megachurch. I had to chuckle when overhearing a conversation he had with another evangelical “comparing” churches. He said “Oh yeah? Well, our church just put in a million dollar sound system!!!”
Maybe at the megachurch, people treat him like a human being.
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Miriam1947
Guest
So have you said anything? Perhaps if not you then someone who has been a member for a while should?
Plus he needs to now that veganism is very bad for your health. God didn’t make meat for no good reason, you know. We should eat everything except for today’s GM wheat.
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JustaServant
Guest
A “mega-church” has nothing to do with the number of people in it. The Catholic Church certainly did not “invent” it.Keep in mind that the Catholic Church “invented” the megachurch with structures like Hagia Sophia, St. Peters, and other medieval cathedrals that could hold 10,000 people or more for a single service!
The reason being is simply the meaning of the word “worship”.
Large Cathedrals served large cities in which travel was not like it is today. People did not attend to hear the latest medieval christian rock band or hear the most dynamic medieval preacher.
They went there to recieve the Body of Christ.
Evangelical “mega-churches” are a complete and different animal.
When I lived in a much larger city and was still an evangelical myself I remember several mainline Protestant churches in a certain section of town complaining thier memberships were dwindling because the local “mega-church” was stealing sheep.
And they had a right to complain.
These tiny Protestant mainline churches could not afford a “million dollar sound system” nor the “hottest acts in town” with “closed circut TV” and internet streaming.
I knew these men. They served God in the best way possible, they taught the Bible, they served their people. They had a modest choir with a piano and organ, they were not on TV with thier “dynamic preaching”, they taught the Word as best they could. The choir sang the best they could.
I felt so sorry for these men, they watched thier young people leave even though they had a youth group. They watched thier older people hang on as best they could until one day the doors closed.
Sorry if I am a little cynical about “mega-churches”, I have seen first hand the type of damage done by them.
Even though I am Catholic now, I feel these tiny mainline churches were serving God in a far greater way than some smoke and mirrors mega-Churches. What did Paul call them? Clanging cymbals?
If I were Protestant again, give me a tiny church with a modest choir, a old piano and an honest pastor anyday.
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Miriam1947
Guest
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amber_lux
Guest
The “meet and engage” model is one of the most effective, if not most effective way, of both adding new people, and retaining existing people.
The recruiting and retention model that is used, is both independent of, and irrelevant to how well the individual learns, and practices the tenets of their faith and belief system.
More to the point, how solid a foundation in one’s faith one has, depends upon how much time, and study the individual puts into learning about their faith, their beliefs, their dogma, and their theology.
One statistical data point you are missing, is that mega-churches evolved, and grow in places that have a high population turnover. They don’t grow in “settled” neighbourhoods. When five percent of the population within twenty miles of the church moves each year, it isn’t surprising that five percent of the church members no longer attend the church, because they have moved elsewhere.
A second data point you are missing is that mega-churches outgrow their facilities. Due to a lack of stadiums on the real estate market, very few mega-churches can move into premises formerly occupied by an NBA team. It has only been within the last five years, that the idea of a mega-church having satellite campuses has taken off. Prior to that, it was either split into two groups, or move, losing up to a quarter of the membership.
A third datapoint is that small groups meetings can, and do evolve into a group that feels called to do “x”. In following their pursuit of practising “x”, the small group becomes a new congregation located elsewhere. A practice that is not entirely discouraged by the pastors of mega-churches.
All of which is not to say that some people leave mega-churches, because they don’t find the theological meat that they require. However, that phenomena is found within all groups and organizations that seek to provide its members with spiritual growth.
Amber
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JustaServant
Guest
As one who used to belong to a megachurch, I have to say that there isn’t a clear-cut answer. Some people go for entertainment, yes. Some go for the anonymity aspect. My husband and I went because it was exciting to be part of something so new. We figured that God “must” be in it since close to 10,000 people were part of the church.
When we actually started to pay attention to the things God was laying on our hearts, we ended up in a congregation that numbers 100 on a good day. The music is kinda bland, there’s almost always a technical difficulty, our pastor regularly comes to tears because he is so eager for people to understand the Truth and the sound of kids classes always pierces through to the sanctuary at bad moments. It’s wonderful.
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amber_lux
Guest
Part of the definition of a mega-church, is the number of people who attend a single worship service. The figure usually has been 2,000+ in attendance on a Sunday Morning. However, some statisticians have started using 10,000+ at all services on a Sunday Morning. (Cities are increasingly reluctant to allow churches that contain 10,000+ seats to construct a new venue, and existing premises that can be converted are few and far between.)
The statisticians have applied it to Protestant Churches, because that is where the phenomena was first observed.
Church growth in the United States is from getting people at other churches to come to your church. It is not about getting non-Christians into your church.
And now for a history lesson:
- In 1852, for every five Christians in a church, it could expect that one non-Christian would be converted, each year;
- In 1919, for every nineteen Christians in a church, it could expect one convert per year;
- In 1951, for every thirty three members of a church, it could expect to add one member per year. Roughly half the members were non-Christians who converted, and the other half Christians from another church;
- In 2002, for every eighty-five members of a church, it can expect one Christian from another church to join them;
- In 2004, if a church was more than ten years old, the only growth would come from Christians who joined as a result of “church shopping”;
- Seventh Day Adventists;
- Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society;
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints;
To be very blunt:
- How many hours per day does the pastor spend in prayer;
- How many hours per day does each member in the congregation spend in talking to other people about Christ;
If each member of the congregation spends less than four hours a week in outreach — physically talking to non-Christians — they aren’t interested in converting non-Christians.
In both instances, you are looking at a social club, which is precisely what McChurch has become.
Amber
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Kouyate42
Guest
from what I can see, the rise in the megachurch follows a social trend that anything labelled as ‘traditional’ is given the further label of ‘not cool’. Fact is that people now don’t want time-tested Church services with their centuries-old orders of service, prayers of devotion and the preserved beautiful languages such as Latin and medieval English. Society now is more materialistic and often wants things that look good rather than anything that might do good. So the flashy PAs, the big bands, the huge churches with their huge projectors come in and start taking over.
I’d also add a further trend: people now just don’t like the idea that they’re somehow guilty of something, to be told they’re sinful. You’ll notice that many of these churches promote ‘being buddies with God’ but the ideas of Hell, sin and Satan are brushed out of the picture as being ‘out of date’ or ‘not relevant now’. The idea of Confession or indeed any sort of responsibility on our part isn’t an idea that flies in these churches.
These churches are like junk food: they satisfy an immediate need, but they don’t do anything for the body other than making it fat. Good food and good Church teachings make changes to the body that benefit it.
I’ve been to the UK equivalent of megachurches and I didn’t like what I saw. I liked being a worship musician in one of these churches even less.
I’d also add a further trend: people now just don’t like the idea that they’re somehow guilty of something, to be told they’re sinful. You’ll notice that many of these churches promote ‘being buddies with God’ but the ideas of Hell, sin and Satan are brushed out of the picture as being ‘out of date’ or ‘not relevant now’. The idea of Confession or indeed any sort of responsibility on our part isn’t an idea that flies in these churches.
These churches are like junk food: they satisfy an immediate need, but they don’t do anything for the body other than making it fat. Good food and good Church teachings make changes to the body that benefit it.
I’ve been to the UK equivalent of megachurches and I didn’t like what I saw. I liked being a worship musician in one of these churches even less.
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