I was talking about different forms of new church developments at a denominational conference, when someone asked, “Have you studied any Evangelical megachurches? They’re filled with thousands of young adults. Young people are flocking to them!”
I said no, and explained that I was focusing on new movements in ecumenical churches. I gave a few reasons why. I can’t remember exactly what I said, but it was probably something like—
- A lot of people are already studying Evangelical megachurches. That’s a well-worn area of research, but it’s not mine.
- Megachurches are often not sustainable beyond a particular charismatic leader, and in some cases, they’re not able to make it beyond one generation.
- Megachurches have basic culture conflicts with denominational churches (i.e., megachurches are often geared toward seekers, have a celebrity culture, and/or are entertainment focused).
That’s not to say that we can’t learn from megachurches. I grew up in one, and there are things I miss. Especially when I see how painful it is to extract money from our most affluent churches for a bottom-of-the-line website. Or when I see the amount of money that some Evangelicals put into starting and supporting new churches. I wish we had a fraction of the determination to reach out to our communities through the actual means of communication that people in 2016 use.
