The Mega Church!

Dear Pastors

Since the late 80’s we have seen the emergence of a few so called Mega Churches¹ in New Zealand and Australia, Hillsong perhaps the most well-known. Most would agree that the mega church is a relatively recent phenomena in the light of the grand sweep of church history.

Over the last 15 years or so these same churches have copped their fair share of criticism and negativity from both the media, social commentators and from fellow Christian leaders. Running right alongside this has been a quieter discussion around the ‘validity’ of the mega church. The question at the heart of this discussion is, ‘Is this what Jesus had in mind when He launched the church as we know it today in Acts 2?’ Personally, I think it is an important question and an equally important discussion. What I struggle with however, is that the mega church is invariably in the spot light of this discussion and smaller churches hardly get a mention as if the mega church is the only church that needs the scrutiny of this question. In other words if we are going to express ‘concerns’ about one size of church then we should apply exactly the same measure to all sizes of churches.

The truth of the matter is that most churches by far in the world are under 200 in regular attendance and this includes children. In NZ most churches are under 150, actually nearer 100. Here are two examples:-

• The NZ Baptists² In year ending 2017 had 234 churches of which 50% were U100, 72% were U150 and 81% (189) were U200 in weekly attendance.
• The Presbyterians in June 2017 had 382 churches of which 81% were U100, 91% U150 and 95% were U200 (362) in weekly attendance.

At the other end of the size spectrum it is true that mega churches make up only about 0.5% of the number of churches but have about 20% of the church going attenders in NZ. Or put another way a mega church in NZ has the equivalent of 25 - 35 average sized churches in attendance under its roof depending on how and what you count.

I think there are many issues that drop out of this brief analysis but here are two:-

• When you consider the above numbers coupled with the visibility and influence of the mega church you can be forgiven thinking and feeling that as a pastor in an average size church (U150) you haven’t ‘made it’ even though you are in the majority…………by far.
• There are a lot churches in NZ (and in the world) of ALL sizes that fall woefully short of being a healthy biblically functioning community. Personally, I don’t think the size of the church is the critical issue that determines the health of a church but I know that is a contestable issue. There are in my opinion many factors at play.

There is no doubt in my mind that the mega church is here to stay. No doubt! I think many of us recognise that the mega church has an important and valuable contribution to make to the church scene in a city and nation. It is also true that a mega church is a completely different organisation to even the larger church (say 500+) let alone the medium and smaller churches and further that we should NOT try and copy their models of ministry. It is also true that the mega church faces a massive challenge to find ways to have the ‘Priesthood of ALL believers and the one another’s of scripture’ truly operative day in and day out. And that is just for starters.

My hope for the future is that we learn to appreciate and honour each other irrespective of size of church. That we are careful to deal with the log in our own eye before we criticise the spec in our brothers eye. And above all that our conduct regardless of the size of church we lead is both ethical and God honouring.

Next week, ‘Lost in a Mega Church World’.

Blessings

Alan

¹ For the purposes of this discussion 2000 (incl children) in weekend attendance constitutes a mega church.

² The NZ Baptists are a good benchmark in my opinion. They have a smaller percentage of smaller churches than say the Anglicans, Presbyterians and Methodists but also a smaller percentage of larger churches than the Pentecostals and Independents.

The Independent Advisory Group Report on Bill Hybels and WCCC/WCA was published last week. I found it very hard to read. Sad is an under statement.

Alan Vink is currently the Executive Director for LeadershipWorx. Prior to this role he has been the Executive Director of Willow Creek Association NZ (WillowNZ), a Baptist pastor (23 years), Bible College teacher, and church consultant.