More Flock to Megachurches, Report Says

When it comes to churches, the big get bigger. A recent report that analyzed growth trends in megachurches shows that Protestant congregations with weekly attendances of more than 2,000 showed an average growth rate of 50 percent over the last five years. Around 20 percent reported growing by 100 percent, or doubling in size, over the same time period. Only 10 percent reported stagnation or decline.

The study, titled “Changes in American Megachurches: Tracing Eight Years of Growth and Innovation in the Nation's largest-Attendance Congregations,” also revealed the average weekly attendance for a megachurch grew to 4,142 per weekend in 2008. The average worship center capacity remains modest at 1,794.

Before reaching too many conclusions about the data, however, analysts acknowledge that many megachurches have sprung up in the past five years, some of them starting from zero. Additionally, the multisite revolution, as well as church planting, makes it difficult to determine whether people are truly attending the original megachurch or are attending at spinoff campuses or church plants. In 2008, 37 percent of megachurches use multisite ministries, which is significantly higher than 6-10 years ago, when only 8 percent used this strategy. An additional 22 percent reported this year that they are considering going multisite.

The labels megachurches give themselves are also changing. In 2000, only 48 percent identified themselves as “evangelical,” but that number has risen today to 65 percent. Separate from this study, mainline Protestant denominations have reported a steady decline for the past decade.

Source:

The Christian Post: Report Tracks Megachurch Growth, Changes

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