Megachurches Break New Ground

By Kent Fillinger

The annual survey of attendance and trends in the fellowship of Christian churches and churches of Christ always yields interesting facts, but our study for calendar year 2013 also identified three notable “firsts”:

“¢ For the first time, three churches averaged more than 20,000 in weekly worship attendance. Joining Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky, and Central Christian Church, Henderson, Nevada, both of which surpassed 20,000 for the third consecutive year, was Christ”s Church of the Valley, Peoria, Arizona.

“¢ For the first time in the 18-year history of this list, Southeast Christian did not have the highest average attendance. Instead, Central Christian grew 7 percent to average 21,562 people””the most of any church in our fellowship. Central”s attendance growth can be at least partially attributed to its multisite approach, as Central has 15 different locations.

“¢ And, for the first time, an emerging megachurch more than doubled in size in a single year. From 2012 to 2013, 2|42 Community Church, Brighton, Michigan, grew 112 percent, to an attendance of 2,935, after moving into a new facility.

This year 336 churches participated in our survey. This included responses from 109 medium-size churches (average attendance of 250″“499) and 103 large churches (average attendance of 500″“999). This article focuses in depth on the 62 emerging megachurches (average attendance of 1,000″“1,999) and 62 megachurches (average attendance of more than 2,000).

In our survey, we asked each church to share one of the best “wins” and one of the greatest challenges from last year. Several similar themes emerged.

 

Local community outreach is a major push.

Community service days, block parties, and backyard Bible schools engaged thousands of people in serving local communities. Eagle (Idaho) Christian Church gave away Bibles in its community. Real Life Christian Church, Clermont, Florida, served more than 350,000 meals to children and families. LifeBridge Christian Church, Longmont, Colorado, served as a hub for area flood relief. One local leader said, “The flood that destroyed our town was an act of nature; what LifeBridge did was an act of God.”

First Christian Church, Springfield, Ohio, introduced a new community family activity called “Hometown Christmas.” The outreach event provided a place for families to enjoy the traditions of Christmas, including a live nativity, horse-drawn carriage rides, cookies and candy making, family photos, and more””all free! The church estimates more than 3,500 attended the three-night event on its campus, and it is preparing for 6,000 attendees this year.

Rainier View Christian Church, Tacoma, Washington, moved its Christmas gift ministry off-site and partnered with local organizations to serve more than 800 people using 200 volunteers, compared with serving 50 people with 20 volunteers in years past.

Megachurches used 14 percent of their resources for ministry outside the walls of the church, while emerging megachurches invested 12.8 percent, the least of any of the four size categories of churches.

 

Many report increased giving and capital campaigns.

Generosity initiatives sparked double-digit increases in giving at several churches. Central Christian Church, Mesa, Arizona, saw a 30 percent increase in giving. Summit Christian Church, Sparks, Nevada, increased giving by more than 25 percent. Pathway Church, Wichita, Kansas, had an 11 percent increase.

Significant one-time offerings were also causes for celebration. Chandler (Arizona) Christian Church set a $1 million offering goal for a December weekend to complete a building project, increase global outreach giving, and reduce debt. The church responded by giving more than $1.8 million. Mount Pleasant Christian Church, Greenwood, Indiana, received a one-weekend offering of more than $1.2 million for its current expansion project. Numerous churches are in the midst of or preparing for a capital campaign. Giving exceeded budget for 55 percent of churches.

Despite these success stories, several churches continued to struggle financially. Giving fell short of budget for 28 percent of the churches surveyed. One church noted its vision is outpacing its resources. Another church expanded its facility but its giving has not grown to match the increased expenses.

 

Debt reduction is a priority.

Northside Christian Church, New Albany, Indiana, and Valley Real Life, Spokane, Washington, both reduced debt by $1 million. Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, Bloomington, Indiana, celebrated its 50th anniversary and the conclusion of a two-year debt reduction campaign that paid off almost $3 million of debt. In addition, many churches are working to build or expand facilities with the goal of completing construction debt-free.

The average megachurch has $8.6 million in debt compared with $4.3 million for the average emerging megachurch. This means, on average, there is $1,768 of debt per person (based on weekly average attendance) in megachurches, while emerging megachurches have an average per person debt load of $3,214. The total estimated debt for the largest 124 churches we surveyed is $715 million. Currently, six megachurches and six emerging megachurches are debt free.

 

Facilities are both new projects and ongoing problems.

Many churches completed facility expansion projects that included new or additional space for children, students, and worship. RiverGlen Christian Church, Waukesha, Wisconsin, doubled its lobby space and seating capacity with a new worship center and grew 14 percent. Several churches are preparing to break ground to build this year.

A consistent challenge faced by many of our largest churches is a lack of space for ministry needs and parking. Making room for more people continues to be an issue.

 

Discipleship efforts are a work in progress.

Many of the churches reported using The Story churchwide study last year or noted plans to feature it this year. Ten Mile Christian Church, Meridian, Idaho, used The Story last fall and grew 31 percent. (Christian Standard reported on use of The Story in Christian churches in its February issue. Search “The Story” at christianstandard.com)

The ongoing development of small groups and the addition of missional communities for some churches drove efforts to improve discipleship. Specialized topical classes and creating a plan for spiritual formation were emphases for many.

Slightly more than half of the megachurches offered only small group Bible studies. These churches grew 8.6 percent on average. The megachurches offering a combination of adult classes and small groups grew only 2.5 percent.

This trend was consistent for emerging megachurches as well. The 46 percent of emerging megachurches with only small groups grew 5.1 percent, while the ones with a combination of classes and groups grew less than 1 percent.

 

Staff changes and challenges prevail.

The transition of a few long-tenured lead pastors impacted churches such as RiverTree Christian Church, Massillon, Ohio, First Christian Church of Huntington Beach (California), and Yucaipa (California) Christian Church. New senior ministers started at churches like First Christian Church, Champaign, Illinois, and Christ”s Church at Mason, Ohio.

Many churches worked through leadership structure issues and reorganized staff and departments. Several churches had to address serious problem issues and even released staff members. On the other hand, many churches searched unsuccessfully to hire new staff to fill open positions.

Megachurches invested the greatest percentage of their budgets on staff salaries and benefits, at 48 percent. Emerging megachurches spent 47 percent.

The majority of megachurches (66 percent) and emerging megachurches (52 percent) increased overall staff size last year. Only five megachurches and 10 emerging megachurches decreased staff sizes.

 

Multisite expansion continues to be popular.

From purchasing new campuses to launching new sites, the trend toward multisite ministry continued to be popular, especially for megachurches. Suncrest Christian Church, Saint John, Indiana, released one of its campuses, and it became a free-standing church. This year multisite leader Community Christian Church, Naperville, Illinois, is working on expansion and construction at multiple campuses. Compass Christian Church, Colleyville, Texas, will launch a new online campus this year. Fifteen churches plan to go multisite for the first time in 2014.

Almost half of the megachurches used a multisite model, compared with only 20 percent of emerging megachurches. The 29 multisite megachurches have a combined 122 locations. The 12 multisite emerging megachurches have just 31 sites. Last year, 16 churches launched 22 new sites. Even with the rapid expansion of new campuses, 74 to 78 percent of the total attendees still attend the original campus.

Multisite megachurches grew 7.5 percent compared with just 4.2 percent growth for single-site megachurches. That was not the trend at emerging megachurches, however, where multisite congregations grew 1.7 percent while single-site venues grew 2.9 percent. Multisite megachurches baptized more people than single-site megachurches.

 

Kent Fillinger is president of 3:STRANDS Consulting, Indianapolis, Indiana, and director of partnerships with CMF International.