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Derek Horn hears virtually no talk about "numbers" at Fellowship Bible Church of Northwest Arkansas, where he has been on staff since the mid-1990s.
It's not that leaders at the Little Rock congregation don't track statistics such as members at the church, the weekly attendance of the youth service, or the size of the budget. It's just that the numbers aren't the focus of the church's mission or ministry.
Instead, Derek hears a steady drumbeat for the church to operate on two ideals: "Scripturally sound, but culturally relevant," says Derek, who spent 10 years as a youth pastor before becoming a young adult singles pastor in 2004. "I hear that a lot. And I think you can be both."
Remaining true to both, he says, is one reason the church grew from 5 families 25 years ago, |
to a congregation of around 1,000 when he joined the staff, to one that now holds at least seven adult services each weekend, with attendance of several thousand.
The ability to reach and serve the younger generations is a common characteristic of megachurches across America, according to the National Survey of Megachurch Attenders, a newly released joint project by Warren Bird, director of research at Leadership Network and Scott Thumma, a professor at the Hartford Seminary's Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
The richly illustrated report, Not Who You Think They Are: The Real Story of People Who Attend America's Megachurches, peels back the layers of myth and stereotype surrounding the country's largest congregations and uncovers some nuanced trends about who attends, what attracts them and keeps them, how and why they participate, and how they compare with attenders in churches of other sizes.
"This study gives churches of all sizes a mirror by which they can reflect on their own congregation's dynamics and ask if similar patterns are at work in their churches," says Scott Thumma, lead author of the report. "Large comparative studies are great ways to better understand our congregations, to adjust our program efforts and to meet actual spiritual needs."
The study, Scott says, shows that people who attend megachurches aren't radically different from those who attend Protestant churches of all sizes. "But the complex organizational structure, multiple programs, and large scale social formats often create the possibility for interaction and involvement in ways that are different from smaller churches," he says.
These possibilities for "interaction and involvement" appear particularly attractive to younger audiences. The megachurch attender is, on average, 40 years old, according to the survey. The U.S. Congregational Life Study (USCLS), completed in April 2001, found the average age of attenders in all U.S. Protestant congregations was nearly 53 years.
And while nearly two-thirds of megachurch attenders are under 45 |
Prominent Findings of Megachurch Study
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Young, single adults are more likely to be in megachurches than in smaller churches. |
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Nearly two-thirds of attenders have been at these churches 5 years or less. |
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Nearly a quarter of attenders hadn't been in any church for a long time before coming to a megachurch. |
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Newcomers almost always attend a megachurch because family, friends or co-workers invited them. |
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New attenders were first attracted by the worship style, the senior pastor and the church's reputation. |
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These same factors influenced long-term attendance, as did the music/arts, social and community outreach and adult-oriented programs. |
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years old, only a third are for churches of all sizes (62% vs. 35%). And nearly a third of megachurch attenders are unmarried, significantly higher than the 10% in a typical church.
"This finding shouldn't be surprising to anyone who attends a megachurch," Scott says. "Nevertheless, with all the negative talk about how young adults don't like megachurches, you might not expect to find two-thirds of attenders under the age of 45.
"A number of factors can be attributed to this reality--younger people are drawn to the contemporary styles of worship, they are more tech savvy, they want to have a choice of ministries and they like being in large gatherings of other young people."
At the same time, large numbers of these young adults have been at these megachurches less than 5 years. Therefore, the church leaders expend tremendous energy creating opportunities for education, discipleship, gift cultivation and leadership training for these folks. "Faithful, serious-minded Christian young adults both need and want this attention and training" says Scott. "It's a perfect fit."
This reality--along with the fact that megachurch attenders generally are more educated and wealthier than churchgoers overall--shapes many of the characteristics, spiritual needs, and practices of the people who make up a megachurch culture.
For instance, attenders report a considerable increase in their involvement in church, spiritual growth, and needs being met at the megachurch. Yet, 45% of megachurch attenders never volunteer at the church, 41% don't participate in small groups and more than 30% give very little money.
Not just a Boomer Phenomenon –
Megachurches Draw Twice as Many Under 45
Note: The National Survey of Megachurch Attenders was conducted January to August 2008 at 12 of the country's approximately 1,300 megachurches. The research team surveyed the 18-year-old and older attenders of these churches at all their campuses and services during one weekend's worship services. Usable data responses were collected from 24,900 out of a 47,516 people, for a 58% response rate. The survey was supplemented at these churches with site visits, interviews, surveys of staff and other data collection efforts. The 12 churches studied were intentionally chosen to parallel the diversity among U.S. megachurches as closely as possible based on the criteria of region, size, race, denomination, founding date, multi-site status and tenure of the senior pastor. The study is not intended to be a truly random statistically representative picture of all megachurch attendees; nevertheless, it represents the best and most accurate picture that exists at present of those who attend the nation's megachurches. The sample slightly under-represents the western region of the country and is somewhat younger in terms of church founding date than the national profile of megachurches. |
"We live in a society that customizes everything from cars and blue jeans to computers and M&M colors," Scott says. "One message in our results is that attenders want flexibility to craft their spiritual experience on their terms. The megachurches allow them to do this and still make an effort to show them the best paths to follow."
Derek at Fellowship Bible Church says the commitment to "Scripturally sound, but culturally relevant" doesn't mean focusing on one generation over another but figuring out the best way to meet each generation's unique needs in biblically sound ways. The challenge, he says, is for churches to train leaders who are passionate about different segments of the church body and then to turn them loose so they can meet those needs.
"If you lose the younger generation, in 20 years your church is going to be dead," Derek says. "You have to see each generation as being equal, and we try to have staff members and leaders who are just as passionate for every age group. The ground is level at the foot of the cross."
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