Articles for tag: Kent Fillinger

April 13, 2008

Christian Standard

By the Numbers (Megachurches and Emerging Megachurches)

By Kent Fillinger and Ben Simms WHAT IS “AVERAGE”? The 52 megachurches” average size: 4,019 The 61 emerging megachurches” average size: 1,441 All 113 churches average size: 2,628 Total attendance of all 113 churches on an average weekend: 296,926 Total attendance for Easter 2007: 486,677 Total baptisms for all of 2007: 19,107 STATE BY STATE Number of churches reported in each state: 17″”Indiana 11″”California, Ohio 8″”Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky 6″”Florida 5″”Colorado, Texas 4″”Missouri, Nevada 3″”Idaho, Kansas, North Carolina, Washington 2″”Georgia, Oregon, Wisconsin 1″”Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia 26 states have a megachurch listed FASTEST GROWING Fastest-Growing Churches

April 13, 2008

Christian Standard

Multisite Momentum

By Kent Fillinger The second coming of the megachurch appears to be the multisite movement””or perhaps the next generation of multisite ministry arrived before you were even introduced to the original version. Dave Ferguson, lead pastor of Community Christian (Naperville, Illinois), is an often quoted and passionate proponent of multisite ministry. He introduced a new concept””the “polysite church”””in an article in the February 24 Christian Standard. He described the polysite church as the next wave in church reproduction. A recent article in Rev! magazine titled “Mega, Schmega” (March/April 2008) described multisite ministry as the answer for the future church. Some

April 9, 2008

Christian Standard

About Megachurches, for Every Church

By Mark A. Taylor There”s much to feel good about in this year”s annual megachurch issue. Read through these reports carefully. Look at all the numbers in the small-print sidebars. The statistics indicate many victories won, many reasons to celebrate what these churches are accomplishing. There”s Hillside Christian Church, Amarillo, Texas, for example, the fastest growing church (62 percent in one year!) reported here. Or Christ”s Church of the Valley in Peoria, Arizona, whose growth rate since 1997 is a whopping 451 percent! With 700 baptisms in 2007, Christ”s Church of the Valley was one of five churches from our

April 9, 2006

Christian Standard

MEGACHURCH PROFILE: Pantano Christian Church

By Kent Fillinger Located in the picturesque desert city of Tucson, Arizona, Pantano Christian Church has increasingly touched the local community through a series of strategic changes that have moved its ministry forward over the last several years. The most significant shift started almost five years ago, when executive minister Glen Elliott approached senior minister Tim Coop to ask about his future role and the process of creating a succession plan. Through these early conversations and the assistance of an external consultant, Pantano established a three-year transition plan. The first step was taken in 2004, when Coop and Elliott introduced

April 5, 2006

Christian Standard

Calling All Leaders, Announcing All Megachurches

By Mark A. Taylor When we say CHRISTIAN STANDARD is a magazine for leaders in the local church, immediately we create a problem. Just who is a leader? At no time is that question more clearly answered than when we consider the Leaders in Christian Service program cosponsored by Milligan College and Standard Publishing. Leaders in Christian Service recognizes men and women who have discovered the beauty in the paradox presented by Christ: “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26, New Living Translation ). Those who have received this reward in the past

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