Megachurches, Mega Reach

MEGA CHURCHES A MEGA REACH A megachurch has more than 2,000 people. About 1,600 churches in the United States fit this profile across all denominations. Here are some more facts about them. WHO ATTENDEES ARE Young and single adults are more likely to be in megachurches FAMILY FRIENDS CO-WORKERS New people come from family, friends, or co-workers NEW! Nearly 1/4 haven't been in any church for a long time before attending 2/3rds have been at YEARS (or less) a mega church for 5 or fewer years AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT ATTENDEES More than 6 million people across the United States attend a megachurch. How they wind up there and who they are both play a big part in how the church operates and continues to grow. 77% have been committed to Christ for more than 7 years EDUCATION STATUS +50% YEARS have college degrees or higher. AGE BREAKDOWN 18-24 25-44 45-54 55-64 65+ 44% 24% 16% MEGACHURCHES 18% 28% 30% 21% ALL CHURCHES 12% 7% 5% RELATIONSHIP STATUS divorced 14% or separated 31% * 55% of MC attendees are single, unmarried. are typically married or widowed. HOW ATTENDEES ARE INVOLVED Attenders report increase in involvement, spiritual growth, and needs being met 55% Hi! actively volunteer at church NEEDS BEING MET SPIRITUAL GROWTH INVOLVEMENT CHURCH LOCATIONS Willow Creek Community Church Barrington, IL 25,743 Life Church.tv Edmond, OK Christ's Church of the Valley Peoria, AZ 30,000 23,395 NewSpring Church Anderson, SC Springlake, TX Saddleback Church Lake Forest, CA North Point Community Church Alpharetta, GA 23,055 22,055 30,629 Lakewood Church Houston, TX Church of the Highlands Birmingham, AL 43,500 Gateway Church Southlake, TX 22,184 Fellowship Church Grapevine, TX 28,000 24,162 LAKEWOOD CHURCH in Houston, TX 43,500 WOOD CHURCH Founded in 1959 by John Osteen in an abandoned feed store in northern Houston. The church has since grown to occupy the former home of the Compag Center. After John's death in 1999 Joel became pastor and has since increased the average weekly attendance almost fivefold. The church curretly holds services in English and Spanish 6 times a week. Pastored by JOEL OSTEEN NORTH POINT COMMUNITY CHURCH in Alpharetta, GA 30,629 Pastored by ANDY STANLEY Founded in 1995, by Andy Stanley the church has transitioned into the flagship for North Point Ministries which oversees 5 other churches in the Atlanta area. North Point Ministries also includes strategic partners across the United States as well as internationally. The church holds 4 services a week at their main campus. LIFECHURCH.TV #3 LIFECHURA 30,000 in Edmond, OK Pastored by CRAIG GROESCHEL Founded in 1996 in Oklahoma City, Lifechurch.tv now has 24 campuses as well as a significant online presence including one of the top rated bible apps, YouVersion. Lifechurch.tv's focus on using the internet to their advantage has produced a large amount of online subscribers who can watch services live or on demand. WAY CHURCH #3 GATEWAY CHURCH in Southlake, TX 28,000 Founded in 2000, Gateway Church has over 23 weekend services throughout 5 different locations in the Dallas area as well as an affiliated church in Arizona. The church has also Pastored by ROBERT MORRIS launched its own accredited university in the Dallas area. 45 WILLOW CREEK COMMUNITY CHURCH in South Barrington, IL 25,743 Founded in 1975, Willow Creek Community Church has expanded to 7 other campuses across the Chicago area. In to link churches with similar purposes together and now includes more than 13,000 member churches. Pastored by BILL HYBELS 1992 the Willow Creek Association was creat FELLOWSHIP CHURCH in Grapevine, TX 24,162 Founded in 1989 as a mission church, Fellowship Church has grown to include campuses across Texas, Florida and London. The church also has a fairly large online following. The church has opened its own leadership college and is committed to trying new unconventional ideas for outreach. Pastored by ED YOUNG 7 CHRIST'S CHURCH OF THE VALLEY in Peoria, AZ 23,395 Founded in 1982 with the first service in a movie theater. The church soon moved through several different local schools. Since that time they have moved to their current facility in northwest Phoenix. The church has expanded to include 5 other campuses in the surrounding area of Phoenix. of the Y Pastored by DON WILSON NEWSPRING CHURCH in Anderson, SC Springlake, TX 23,055 HURCH 23 Founded in 2000, the church has grown to 11 campuses and 8 home campuses across South Carolina. In addition to their physical campuses the church has a large online following as well as a network with resources for other churches. Pastored by PERRY NOBLE CHURCH OF THE HIGHLANDS in Birmingham, AL CHURCH OF THE 22,184 HIGHL s Church of the Highlands has expanded to 10 campuses with 2 sharing the same site. The church has a large online following and considers it their 12th campus. In 2008 the church built the Birmingham Dream Center including a health center to serve more than 30,000 patients annually. Pastored by CHRIS HODGES SADDLEBACK CHURCH in Lake Forest, CA 10 22,055 Founded in 1980, their first service was held in a local high school but they soon grew and now have 9 local campuses and 4 international campuses. Saddleback also holds live services online drawing in many around the globe. The church has a strong HIV&AIDS initiative in the community and throughout the world. Pastored by RICK WARREN CITATIONS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Point_Community_Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LifeChurch.tv https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_Church_(Texas) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow_Creek_Community_Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fellowship_Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ%27s_Church_of_the_Valley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NewSpring_Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Highlands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddleback_Church http://hirr.hartsem.edu/cgi-bin/mega/db.pl?db=default&uid=default&view_records=1&ID=*&sb=3&so=descend http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/megachurch_attender_report.htm http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/definition.html Copyright 2015 ChurchPlaza.com %23