Lights, cameras, churches
You can’t understand contemporary religious practice without understanding Christian megachurches — the 72-ounce, “bet you can’t finish it” steaks of the church-going world. Technically, megachurches are any church with at least 2,000 weekly attendees, but in practice, megachurches tend to be overwhelmingly Protestant, emphasizing adherents’ need to be “born again.” Many are located in the Bible Belt. Think Texas, the Carolinas, Alabama, Georgia.
One of the earliest examples in the U.S., however, is the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, founded by Robert H. Schuller in 1955. Schuller’s innovative use of TV broadcasting helped popularize his ministry and attract a large following. During the 1970s and 1980s, the televangelists Jerry Falwell, Sr., Pat Robertson, and Oral Roberts used this template to grow large congregations and reach millions more through similarly self-built media platforms. “Parish consultants” also emerged, helping churches attract even more congregants and get pastors ready for their close-ups.
Also in the ‘80s, Willow Creek Community Church of South Barrington, Illinois, pioneered a “seeker-sensitive” approach to services, particularly focused on attracting and engaging “unchurched” individuals. This approach dominates today. As megachurch pastor Victoria Osteen says in a sermon posted to YouTube, “It’s fun to be in the House of the Lord!” More on that below.
By the digits
20%: Americans who report going to “a church or synagogue” every week
65%: U.S. megachurches classified as “evangelical,” i.e., concerned with an individual’s need to be “born again”
2,000: The “sustained average weekly attendance” a church must have to be considered a megachurch
10,000: Weekly attendees a church must have to be considered a “gigachurch”
44,000: Approximate number of weekly attendees at Joel and Victoria Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, making it the largest church in America
The Almighty dollar
To engage new members, megachurches stage elaborate, high-octane services. Music is a huge element, with many offering “expensive rock-concert-style production and a full band of musicians performing a mix of both energetic and emotionally urgent songs,” explains Greg Jong, a composer and former worship leader at a large Los Angeles church. “This ‘worship experience’ is designed to be both impressive and fully immersive.”
Megachurch architecture goes big, too. In fact, the largest megachurch in the U.S., Lakewood Church, holds services in a literal sports stadium, Houston’s former Compaq Center, symbolizing the blending of secular and sacred spaces. Pastors and guests wait in green rooms, similar to those used in TV studios, before addressing congregants. The slick production values function to attract more members.
You might compare such offerings to the emergence of improved shopping experiences, as megachurch pastor Rick Warren once did: “There’s a trend all across America moving away from the small neighborhood churches to larger regional-type churches. It’s the same phenomenon with malls replacing the mom and pop stores on the corner.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this type of rhetoric attracts critics who question whether such churches are, at the end of the day, businesses — and all the more profitable for operating tax-free while receiving millions of dollars in donations. In any case, it’s a mistake to imagine megachurches are upstarts or startups. The jumbotrons behind altars may be a recent innovation, but scholars have made compelling arguments that megachurches essentially emerged alongside the Protestant Reformation itself. Everything old is new again!
Quotable
“The emergence of the ‘megachurch’ is the most important development of modern Christian history. You can be sentimental about the small congregation, like the small corner grocery store or small drugstore, but they simply can’t meet the expectations that people carry with them today.” — The Rev. Lyle E. Schaller, a notable church consultant of the 1980s and 1990s (emphasis in the original)
Pop quiz
Which country boasts the most megachurches?
A. Australia
B. United States
C. South Korea
D. Brazil
Find the answer at the bottom of this email!
Brief history
1607: Anglican settlers hold a prayer service upon their arrival in Jamestown, marking the beginning of organized Christian worship in what would eventually become the U.S.
1861: Preacher Charles H. Spurgeon founds Metropolitan Tabernacle, often considered the first megachurch, in London.
1923: Aimee Semple McPherson, a Pentecostal evangelist, dedicates Angelus Church in L.A., an early 20th-century megachurch still operating today.
2006: Mars Hill Church inaugurated its multi-site model, launching satellite campuses across different locations to accommodate its growing congregation.
2018: Willow Creek Community Church experiences a crisis following allegations of misconduct against its founding pastor, Bill Hybels, prompting discussions about leadership accountability within the megachurch community.
Fun fact!
At Oklahoma’s Life.Church, attendees can access sermon notes, Bible verses, and interactive features through the church’s mobile app, making it one of the most technologically integrated megachurches today.
Watch this!
This TikTok video details the $11 million, 17,000 square-foot primary residence of megachurch pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen. Both Osteens are also bestselling authors.
Take me down this 🐰 hole!
If you want to see YouTube documentarians confront celebrity pastors about their private jets, check out this offering from James Jani, “The Dark World of Megachurches.”
Poll
Which innovative amenity would you most like to see in a megachurch?
- Rooftop DJ party
- Water slide for baptisms
- Communion wine tastings
- “Hallelujah hot tub” for post-worship relaxation and sanctified soaking
Let us know which feature you’d try out.
💬 Let’s talk!
In last week’s poll on AA, nearly all of you — 80% — said programs like AA are still relevant today and even life-saving. The rest of you (13%) said we need need better programs for substance use disorder, or just want to know how much the Big Book weighs (7%).
🤔 What did you think of today’s email?
💡 What should we obsess over next?
Today’s email was written by Catherine Baab-Muguira (grew up in the Bible Belt attending weekly services) and edited and produced by Morgan Haefner (grew up going to a medium-sized church).
The correct answer to the pop quiz is B. The U.S has the most megachurches of any country, perhaps due to its religious diversity, entrepreneurial spirit, and cultural factors that have fostered the growth and proliferation of large congregations with innovative approaches to ministry and outreach.