The World Of Megachurches

to THE WOR LD 0 F MEGACHURCHES Officially, "megachurch" is defined as any Protestant congregation with 2,000 or more members. But the term has come to represent a particular brand of evangelicalism, primarily targeted at young people, that often holds services in auditoriums or theaters instead of worship halls. As many traditional churches lose members, megachurches are growing rapidly both in weekly attendance and annual budgets. Here, we examine the megachurch phenomenon. What Does the Average U.S. Megachurch Look Like? ttttttfffftttffffffffttttffff Average weekend worship attendance: 85% of the average megachurch's 2,000-2,999 members =100 members members are white 48% SENIOR PASTOR'S III| 13 years AVERAGE TENURE AVERAGE NUMBER are located in a young suburb outside a major city 59 OF FULL-TIME AVERAGE 1971 STAFF MEMBERS FOUNDING AVERAGE AGE OF 50 years YEAR SENIOR PASTOR Most Megachurches Are Evangelical Percent of megachurches Fundamentalist 5% Other 2% Evangelical 56% Charismatic 8% Pentecostal 8% Moderate 7% Seeker 7% Traditional 7% Eighty-three percent of megachurches have seen attendance grow since 2009. Cutting staff members 7% Membership Is Climbing Budget Growth Most Plan to Hire More Staff Percent of megachurches Average megachurch's annual budget No change in staffing level 22% All Large Churches Have Grown in Membership Adding more staff 71% Percent of megachurches that grew in attendance (2009-2010) One out of three megachurches approved salary raises of 4 to 10 percent in 2010. How Much the Staff Makes 1=$1,000 100% 88% Average salary (2010) 86% 80% Senior/Lead Pastor 76% =$147K Executive Pastor =$96K Teaching Pastor =$85K Associate Pastor =$82K 2009 2010 Business Administrator 67%: The number of megachurches that increased operating budgets =$78K 2,000-2,999 3,000-3,999 4,000-5,999 6,000-9,999 10,000-15,000 between 2009 and 2010. Worship Programming Director III -- -$75K Church size by number of members Director of Finance/CFO With an average 43,500 weekly attendees, Houston's Lakewood Church is the largest congregation in the U.S. Its senior pastor, Joel Osteen, reaches more than 7 million people in more than 100 nations through his television broadcasts and books. =$71K SOURCES: LEADERSHIP NETWORK | CHRISTIAN POST | FORBES A COLLABORATION BETWEEN GOOD AND COLUMN FIVE $5,440,000 000'069ʻS$