Posted on 03/31/2006 4:39:47 PM PST by dangus
Yesterday, I posted an article about new data from the National Council of Churches about the decline of mainline Protestant churches. The NCC had no data to report about non-denominational churches. Several posts referred to "non-doms" and megachurches.
Turns out there was a very recent study by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research, that found 1336 "megachurches." (Although the study supposedly defined "megachurches" as having more than 2,000 attendees per weekend, 124 churches did not meet this definition.) This is a substantially greater number than has been tossed bout in research; a 2001 study found only about 800.
Most of these "megachurches" are not non-denominational, although non-denominational churches make up the largest number.
299 churches defined themselves as Non-denominational. 131 simply reported "none" and 58 reported "Christian." (Are these the same people who fill out "human" on their census form when it asks their race? I mean... duh! Or are they calling everyone else non-Christian?) Together, these totaled 1.85 million attendees. (200,000 answered they were Christian; 400,000 did not answer.)
The next biggest numbers were Baptist, with over 1.1 million attendees. Most were Southern Baptist (216 congregations with 692,000 members); with many simply answering "Baptist" (123 congregations with 376,000 members).
Other sizeable groups included Assemblies of God (257,000 members in 90 congregations), United Methodists (231,000 attendees in 68 congregations), and the Church of Christ (108,000 in 29 congregations). And yes, there are Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Seventh-Day Adventist. Only one Catholic church was included, although I know of several which are easily large enough to be included.
I presume "CAL" stood for Calvinist? There were 250,000 attendees in 51 "CAL" congregations.
CAL stands for Calvary Chapel.
Now that I know what to look for, I can plainly see that you are absolutely correct...
So in your view a church of 50 that gave a 1,000 each week totaling 50,000 aweek would be a megachurch? And a church of 1,000 people in a poor area giving 10 a week totaling 10,000 would be a small church?
Church with collection in the thousands would be a kilo-church. Like kilotons and megatons. Verstehen?
How much money do you think the mega chuch is receving each week?
Some (many) Catholics would be inclined to remind that there IS only one Catholic church. And I would add that it is quite mega.
I've never measured my wealth in megabucks. I'd be happy with a few kilobucks.
Well, a kilobuck these days does not go as far as it used to, say, about 100+ years ago. Then $1000 was real money.
Do you have any proof to back this up with? Your saying they take in a million each sunday?
Nope. What i said is that to be a proper mega-church they NEED to be taking in at least a million in one sitting. Otherwise they are not a mega-church but impostors.
Mega-churches are to small independent churches as Costco or Sam's are to the local supermarket or Mom & Pop store.
There were organizational management professionals in the last 30 years who believed a larger number of people could be served in both evangelism and in Bible study via a centralized 'mega-church' vice numerous local churches.
Just as there are small churches that might have drifted away from fellowship, there are more public spectacles of 'mega-churches' that have given 'church' a bad name.
A church is merely a body of believers. A mega-church is a large body of believers, colloquially associated with gleaning from economies of scale.
In either church, the believer only advances in spiritual growth by sanctification from the Holy Spirit, a very personal and equal opportunity for all believers.
Sorry, but 1 Megachurch=1 million CHURCHES.
Larry's right... There is only 1 denomination with a megachurch... and if that denomination has only 1 Mchurch, it would still have at least 1 Kparishioners per church!
That's right folks... Catlicks got a gigaparishioner, worldwide!
(Yes, Larry, I know that's not what you meant!)
... now checking to see if my library has 2 KMockingbird
... The Christian Church, now installing 1 TPacem.
(That would be 1 Terra Pacem... :^D ( ~Peace on Earth))
that's good, 'cause there are a lot of Mlomaniacs out there.
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