Following the Mega-Church Trend Part. 2

Here is the second part of my article from earlier in the week about the Mega-Church trends. I would like to start out this article with this question: Is Victory Outreach International ready for a mega church? You might be surprised to know a few things about mega-churches, their pastors & their organizational needs.

1. Mega-churches are led by large personalities in virtually every case. According to John H. Armstrong, “These churches are pastor centered and work like corporations led by CEO’s.” It is true. Not that these churches are personality driven, in my opinion only a few leaders can build a church on their personality, but their teams allow these pastors to be free to be the prevailing personality of the church. These teams do not feel uncomfortable working under this type of leader as long as their goals are met. The question is: Can a denomination deal with an emergent personality without feeling the burden to curb their enthusiasm?

2. Mega-churches are largely non-denominational. With the exception of the SBC Case in point: Many people may not know that the largest church in Southern California is a denominational church. They call it Saddleback Community Church  in Lake Forest, CA, led by a pastor named Rick Warren, who authored a best selling book entitled, The Purpose Driven Life. Here is a fact: Many years ago Rick & his lovely wife were sent and financed from Texas by the Southern Baptist Convention. This church was planted and has made history. However, would you be able to identify this church as a SBC church today? Is this church faithful to the SBC agenda? What role does this church play in the convention? A Pastors.com article recently read, “Southern Baptists Elect New President. The question is does anybody even care?”—Wow.

3. Those who attend mega-churches are relatively young & economically diverse. An important thing to know is that this growth is not by accident. Often it is by design. These churches are positioned for this type of harvest through their music, atmosphere, decor, teaching style, dress code, promotion, etc. Recent statistics show that the average mega-church attender is 40 years old. However, many might be shocked to know that most mega-churches have reported a 45% volunteer ratio. This is based on people who give more than 5 hours a week in volunteer time to the church & the community. Not a bad number.

Elevate.

Tags: church growth, leadership, megachurch, pastor al valdez, Victory Outreach San Diego