Megachurches

“Not dead yet, but megachurches have been tried and found wanting by most Americans.” - MinistryWatch

“A decade after launching his comeback with a new ministry in Scottsdale, Arizona, called Trinity Church, Pastor Mark Driscoll, who is already attracting about 5,000 worshipers each service, is expanding into a new location.” - CPost

“I once paid a visit to one of the most mega of America’s megachurches…. I went into this modern worship situation with as open a mind as I could muster. I left perplexed. I was perplexed not by what was said or done in the service as much as what was left unsaid and undone.” - C.Leaders

“the megachurches that have surpassed Willow Creek have done so by perfecting what Hybels and Willow Creek started in 1975. A good many other megachurch pastors have followed Hybels into ignominy, having broken the trust of people who got them there.” - C.Leaders

“…the elder board exercised deliberate and prayerful discretion regarding the timing, the manner of disclosing specific details throughout the restoration process. This was not done to conceal wrongdoing, but rather to uphold the integrity of the process, to protect the dignity of all involved, and prevent unnecessary speculation or sensationalism” - MinistryWatch

Also…

“Gateway Church and Grace Community Church [John MacArthur] are facing challenges with their long-time leaders missing.” - MinistryWatch

“They currently estimate there are about 1800 megachurches in the United States. Just to give a sense of scale for this, there are approximately 360,000 houses of worship in the United States - so a very large church is certainly not the norm in this part of the world.” - Ryan Burge

“The church has also largely recovered after years of turmoil following the 2018 resignation of longtime pastor Bill Hybels amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Hybels’ handpicked successors and the church’s entire elder board resigned that same year.” - RNS

“Baptism has a marginal role in this picture. Yet baptism is central to the Christian life: commanded by Jesus, taught by the apostles, and honored, practiced, and contemplated from church fathers like Augustine of Hippo and Cyril of Jerusalem through Protestant reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin.

From Chuck Lawless:

• 7 Reasons the Size of Your Church Doesn’t Matter
• 8 Reasons the Size of Your Church Does Matter