April 28, 2011
This listing of 47 churches that averaged 250-499 for worship in 2010 includes church name, city, senior minister, Web site, average attendance, and number of baptisms. (This is not a complete listing of such churches; it is a listing of Medium-Sized Churches that participated in our survey.) Click here to look at the chart of 2010 MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES.
April 21, 2011
This listing of 74 churches that averaged 500-999 for worship in 2010 includes church name, city, senior minister, Web site, average attendance, and number of baptisms. (This is not a complete listing of such churches; it is a listing of Large-Sized Churches that participated in our survey.) Click here to look at the chart of 2010 LARGE-SIZED CHURCHES.
April 6, 2011
By Kent E. Fillinger A Dilbert cartoon recently featured Dogbert, the consultant, standing in front of a projection screen asking, “Where does your company fit on this comprehensive list?” The list on the screen included, in order: “Facebook, China, Irrelevant.” The next frame showed three bug-eyed employees, followed by a third frame in which Dogbert says, “Now let”s form breakout groups to fantasize about being relevant.” Just as Dilbert”s mythical company is identified as being irrelevant in the business world, the church has been declared irrelevant by our culture, and even by other Christ followers for decades. A quick scan
April 6, 2011
By Mark A. Taylor “I”m an editor. I work with words.” I”ve used that excuse more than once when I”ve miscalculated or misunderstood or misapplied some list of numbers. (My wife says she hopes I don”t die before her, because it would take her a month to figure out what”s going on with our checkbook!) So if you prefer ideas and expressing them over numbers and analyzing them, I understand. But I urge you not to ignore all the facts and figures in posts we”re planning for the next few weeks. Here”s why: We serve a God who keeps track
September 28, 2010
By Jennifer Taylor “His Heart, His Hands” began with six people buying breakfast sandwiches at McDonald”s to distribute to the hungry and homeless of Chandler, Arizona. Today more than 35 volunteers serve hot breakfasts every Sunday morning to 60 homeless men and women from around the city. One reason for this rapid growth is obedience. Sharon Bouchard, a volunteer leader and a member at Chandler Christian Church, felt God leading her to the ministry. “Just a short time later, two other people told me they wanted to do something for the homeless,” she says. “I hadn”t mentioned it!
September 17, 2010
Walking Through the Wilderness By Kent E. Fillinger Faithfulness leads to fruitfulness, but this process requires patience. Ron Mobley and Northwest Christian Church, Acworth, Georgia, have experienced this truth over the last two decades. When Mobley arrived as senior minister in 1989, he found a very established, inwardly focused church that had alienated several ministers and many members of the community through the years. In spite of the church”s poor track record, Mobley saw potential for growth. Mobley spent his first five years establishing relationships and serving the church. There was an effort to build a family life center on the church”s
September 8, 2010
By Kent E. Fillinger What”s in a name? Abram became Abraham and Sarai become Sarah in the Old Testament, and Simon became Peter and Saul became Paul in the New Testament. Name changes were common in the Bible when God altered the purpose or role of an individual. Christian Standard has reported the average weekly attendance and the total number of baptisms annually for churches that average 1,000 or more in weekly attendance since 1997. Several years ago, the size designation of a megachurch shifted from 1,000 to 2,000 in attendance. Therefore, the term emerging megachurch was developed for churches
By Jani Lewis Anyone sitting outside a strip club on Wednesday nights in Lexington, Kentucky, is likely to see three or four women piling out of a van with armloads of food and being welcomed by bouncers who yell, “Here come the church ladies!” For five years the managers and owners of these establishments have allowed us to serve a warm, home-cooked meal to the dancers and staff weekly. Not everyone “gets it”””there are folks in our church who don”t understand why we go, and many people inside the clubs who are just as confused by our presence. We go
April 11, 2010
By Kent Fillinger The 2000s were a turbulent decade. We went from Y2K to 9/11 to H1N1. We had a housing boom followed by an economic bust. As we came to experience the world in high-definition, the sights were often scary and unpleasant””wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina, the Boxing Day Tsunami, AIDS, and global poverty. “Hanging chads” made one president”s election controversial, and then the first African-American president won by a clear majority. We went from watching Friends to drinking Starbucks to opening coffee cafés in our churches. We went from church in one location to one church in
April 11, 2010
By Kent Fillinger An average of 317,003 people attended the 114 megachurches and emerging megachurches every weekend in 2009. If these people extended hands and formed a human chain along Interstate 90, it would stretch from Chicago to Cleveland. Likewise, if these 317,003 people stood on top of one another, the human tower would stretch 350 miles above the earth (the International Space Station orbits 200 miles above earth). Three churches have grown 10 percent or more each of the last three years and “Cross” is in all of their names: The Crossing, Quincy, IL; The Crossing, A Christian Church,
April 11, 2010
By Kent Fillinger In business and in politics, much is made of a leader”s first 100 days in a new role. With 25 years of ministry experience, Gene Appel had a plan as he transitioned from Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago to Eastside Christian Church in Southern California on October 1, 2008. Appel”s plan was simple: focus on getting to know his new staff, their strengths, and the key influencers in the church; preach well; and prepare for a fantastic Christmas. Catalytic Appel really wanted Eastside”s Christmas services to be a catalytic energizer for the church. In those
September 13, 2009
 by Kent Fillinger/Ben Simms This is our first Medium-Sized Churches chart for churches that averaged 500-999 for worship. This listing of 66 churches includes church name, city, senior minister, Web site, average attendance for 2008, and number of baptisms. (This is not a complete listing of such churches; it is a listing of Medium-Sized Churches that participated in our survey.) The chart/pdf that is accessible below contains the entire 66-church listing. Click here to look at this chart of the 2008 MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES.     This listing is part of The 2008 Medium-Sized Church Report: Deluxe Edition, which is available as a
November 19, 2008
Ralph Eichelberger of Round Lake Christian Assembly reflects on Christian camping, youth discipleship, missions, specialty camps, and why churches should keep camp central to spiritual formation.
September 7, 2008
Dave Ferguson challenges church leaders to move beyond attendance and offering by developing a dashboard that measures discipleship, baptisms, leadership, artists, services, and sites.
April 13, 2008
Baptisms reveal whether churches are reaching the lost or just shifting believers. This article examines megachurch baptism ratios, giving-per-baptism figures, and why retaining new disciples matters for long-term growth.
April 13, 2008
Northside Christian Church, Yorktown VA, Larry Jones, 2007 Megachurches, megachurch list, emerging megachurches, weekend worship attendance,
April 15, 2007
Download a PDF featuring statistical breakdowns of megachurches and emerging megachurches, including fastest-growing churches, most baptisms, services offered, and “greatest Easter multiple.”
July 19, 2006
A church locator can help travelers and researchers—but only if listings are current. Mark A. Taylor urges churches to verify and update their Christian Church Today Locator information and highlights other site features that serve the Restoration Movement.
November 27, 2005
Even thriving church plants can swallow up the planter. Jim Tune shares hard-won principles for endurance—certainty of calling, freedom to be yourself, and boundaries that protect marriage, home, and long-term ministry.
August 21, 2005
Church planting momentum is building in Central and Eastern Canada through rapid growth, intentional giving, national-level collaboration, and creative multisite experiments that open new doors for gospel ministry.
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