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Wikipedia

Megachurch

May 11, 2023

A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant, including Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant Christian church having 2,000 or more people in average weekend attendance. The megachurch is an organization type rather than a denomination.

The concept originated in the mid 19th century, with the first one established in London, England, in 1861. More emerged in the 20th century, especially in the United States, and expanded rapidly through the 1980s and 1990s. In the early 21st century megachurches were widespread in the US and a growing phenomenon in several African countries, Australia, and elsewhere. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, they became more untraditional, with most newer ones having stadium type seating.

History

The origins of the megachurch movement, with many local congregants who return on a weekly basis, can be traced to the 1800s.[1][2] There were large churches earlier, but they were considerably rarer.

The first evangelical megachurch, the Metropolitan Tabernacle with a 6,000-seat auditorium, was inaugurated in 1861 in London by Charles Spurgeon.[3]

In the United States, in 1923, the Angelus Temple was inaugurated in 1923 with a 5,300-seat auditorium in Los Angeles by Aimee Semple McPherson.[4]

Features

A megachurch has been defined by Hartford Institute for Religion Research (2006) and others as any Protestant Christian church which at least 2,000 attend in a weekend.[5][6][7][8] The OED suggests that megachurches often include educational and social activities and are usually Protestant or Evangelical denominations.[9] Globally, these large congregations are a significant development in Protestant Christianity.[10]

Most of these churches build their building in the suburbs of large cities, near major roads and highways, to be visible to as many people as possible and easily accessible by car.[11][12] Some install a large cross there with a view to evangelization and the edification of believers.[13]

A study by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research published in 2020 found that 70 percent of American megachurches had a multi-site network and an average of 7.6 services per weekend.[14] The study also found that the majority of US megachurches are located in Florida, Texas, California and Georgia.[15]

In some of these megachurches, more than 10,000 people gather every Sunday. These are called Gigachurch.[16][17] In 2015, there were about 100 gigachurches in the United States. [18]

By region

Africa

 
The Glory Dome, affiliated with Dunamis International Gospel Center, with 100,000 seats, in Abuja, Nigeria

Megachurches are found in many countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, including Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda.[19] The largest church auditorium, The Glory Dome, was inaugurated in 2018 with 100,000 seats, in Abuja, Nigeria.[20]

The Americas

 
Dream Center Headquarters in Los Angeles.
 
Show on the life of Jesus at Igreja da Cidade, affiliated to the Brazilian Baptist Convention, in São José dos Campos, Brazil, 2017

United States

In 2010, the Hartford Institute's database listed more than 1,300 such megachurches in the United States; according to that data, approximately 50 churches on the list had average attendance exceeding 10,000, with the highest recorded at 47,000 in average attendance.[21] On one weekend in November 2015, around one in ten Protestant churchgoers in the US, or about 5 million people, attended service in a megachurch.[22] 3,000 individual Catholic parishes have 2,000 or more attendants for an average Sunday Mass, but they are not called megachurches as that is a specifically Protestant term.[8]

In the United States, the phenomenon has more than quadrupled in the two decades to 2017.[23]

Asia

In 2007, five of the ten largest Protestant churches were in South Korea.[24] The largest megachurch in the world by attendance is South Korea's Yoido Full Gospel Church, an Assemblies of God (Pentecostal) church, with more than 830,000 members as of 2007.[24][25]

Australia

According to Australian scholar Hey (2011), "in Australia, almost all megachurch developments are Pentecostal, or charismatic and neo-Pentecostal offshoots".[26]

One of the first megachurches in Australia was the Christian Outreach Centre (COC),[26] now the International Network of Churches.[27][28]

Hillsong Church, was founded in 1983 in Sydney, New South Wales out of two Christian Life Centre churches and has since planted churches all around Australia and the world. [29] Another significant Australian international Pentecostal network is the C3 Global Network, founded in 1980.[28]

Criticism

In 2005, Baptist Pastor Al Sharpton criticized megachurches for focusing on "bedroom morals", statements against same-sex marriage and abortion, by ignoring issues of social justice, such as the immorality of war and the erosion of affirmative action.[30]

Some megachurches have similarly been criticized for stating they are inclusive while maintaining a strong stance against gay marriage and do not allow sexually active gay members to fully participate in the church.[31][32]

In 2018, American professor Scot McKnight of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary criticized nondenominational megachurches for the weak external accountability relationship of their leaders, by not being members of a Christian denomination, further exposing them to abuse of power.[33] However, a study by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research published in 2020 found that 60% of American megachurches were members of a Christian denomination.[34]

Some megachurches and their pastors have been accused by critics of promoting a "prosperity gospel", where the poor and vulnerable are encouraged to donate their money to the church rather than saving it, in the hopes that God will bless them with wealth.[35][36][37] This in turn increases the wealth of the pastors, with some revealed to wear designer clothing during sermons and own luxury vehicles.[38][39][40]

See also

References

  1. ^ Loveland & Wheeler 2003, p. 35.
  2. ^ . Hirr.HartSem.edu. Archived from the original on November 1, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  3. ^ Hunt 2019, p. 50.
  4. ^ Kurian, George Thomas; Lamport, Mark A.; Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, 2016, p. 1471.
  5. ^ "Church Sizes". www.USAChurches.org. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  6. ^ Baird, Julia (February 23, 2006). "The good and bad of religion-lite". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved November 5, 2006.
  7. ^ Turner, Bryan S.; The New Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Religion, John Wiley & Sons, 2010, p. 251.
  8. ^ a b "Megachurch Definition". Hartford Institute for Religion Research. from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  9. ^ "megachurch". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  10. ^ Loveland & Wheeler 2003, p. 3.
  11. ^ Hunt 2019, p. 77.
  12. ^ Wilford, Justin G.; Sacred Subdivisions: The Postsuburban Transformation of American Evangelicalism, NYU Press, 2012, p. 78.
  13. ^ Loveland & Wheeler 2003, p. 156.
  14. ^ Baer, Maria; US Megachurches Are Getting Bigger and Thinking Smaller, christianitytoday.com, November 19, 2020.
  15. ^ Kim, Allen (April 27, 2019). "What is a megachurch?". CNN. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  16. ^ Jeff Strickler, What makes a gigachurch go?, startribune.com, USA, July 19, 2008
  17. ^ Stanley D. Brunn, The Changing World Religion Map: Sacred Places, Identities, Practices and Politics, Springer, USA, 2015, p. 1683
  18. ^ Jim Tomberlin, Multisite 2016: What’s New and What’s Next?, outreachmagazine.com, USA, December 31, 2015
  19. ^ Ukah, Asonzeh (February 6, 2020). "Chapter 15: Sacred Surplus and Pentecostal Too-Muchness: The Salvation Economy of African Megachurches". Handbook of Megachurches. Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion, Volume 19. Brill. pp. 323–344. doi:10.1163/9789004412927_017. ISBN 9789004412927. S2CID 213645909. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  20. ^ Berglund, Taylor; World's Largest Church Auditorium Dedicated in Nigeria, charismanews.com, December 7, 2018.
  21. ^ "Hartford Institute for Religion Research, database of Megachurches". Hirr.HartSem.edu. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  22. ^ "The megachurch boom rolls on, but big concerns are rising too". Religion News Service. December 2, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  23. ^ . www.SecularHumanism.org. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  24. ^ a b "O come all ye faithful". Special Report on Religion and Public Life. The Economist. November 3, 2007. p. 6. Retrieved November 5, 2007.
  25. ^ "In Pictures: America's 10 Biggest Megachurches". Forbes. June 26, 2009.
  26. ^ a b Hey, Sam (2011). God in the Suburbs and Beyond: The Emergence of an Australian Megachurch and Denomination (PhD). Griffith University. doi:10.25904/1912/3059. Retrieved February 5, 2022. PDF.
  27. ^ "About". International Network of Churches. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  28. ^ a b "Hillsong becomes a denomination". Eternity News. September 19, 2018.
  29. ^ Sam Hey, Megachurches: Origins, Ministry, and Prospects, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2013, p. 66-67, 265-266
  30. ^ Associated Press, Megachurches have wrong focus, black leaders say, chron.com, July 2, 2006.
  31. ^ Garrison, Alyssa (December 10, 2019). ""I Fell For a "Progressive" Church, and It Was a Mistake"". Flare. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  32. ^ McMackon, Cassidy (July 18, 2020). "CBC documentary on popular Toronto evangelical youth church features Queen's alum: Documentary #BLESSED shows how Toronto's loudest church, C3, remains silent on regressive gay rights stance while being space for youth expression". Queens University Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  33. ^ Wellman, James Jr.; Corcoran, Katie; Stockly, Kate; Ficquet, Éloi; High on God: How Megachurches Won the Heart of America, Oxford University Press, 2020, p. 212
  34. ^ Bird, Warren; Thumma, Scott; Megachurch 2020 : The Changing Reality in America’s Largest Churches, hirr.hartsem.edu, 2020.
  35. ^ Biema, David Van (October 3, 2008). "Maybe We Should Blame God for the Subprime Mess". Time magazine. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  36. ^ "How Megachurches Blurred the Line Between Religion and Riches". HowStuffWorks. December 1, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  37. ^ "The Worst Ideas of the Decade (washingtonpost.com)". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  38. ^ Niemietz, Brian. "Megachurch preacher buys wife a $200,000 Lamborghini, tells parishioners 'Don't confuse what I do with who I am'". nydailynews.com. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  39. ^ Rojas, Rick (April 17, 2019). "Let He Who Is Without Yeezys Cast the First Stone". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  40. ^ Stevens, Alexis; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Creflo Dollar's ministry says he will get his $65 million jet". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved March 30, 2021.

Bibliography

  • Loveland, Anne C.; Wheeler, Otis B. (2003). From Meetinghouse to Megachurch: A Material and Cultural History. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press. ISBN 0-8262-1480-0. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  • Hunt, Stephen J., ed. (2019). Handbook of Megachurches. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-41292-7. Retrieved April 10, 2023.

May 11, 2023
megachurch, megachurch, church, with, unusually, large, membership, that, also, offers, variety, educational, social, activities, usually, protestant, including, evangelical, hartford, institute, religion, research, defines, megachurch, protestant, christian, . A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities usually Protestant including Evangelical The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant Christian church having 2 000 or more people in average weekend attendance The megachurch is an organization type rather than a denomination The concept originated in the mid 19th century with the first one established in London England in 1861 More emerged in the 20th century especially in the United States and expanded rapidly through the 1980s and 1990s In the early 21st century megachurches were widespread in the US and a growing phenomenon in several African countries Australia and elsewhere In the late 2000s and early 2010s they became more untraditional with most newer ones having stadium type seating Contents 1 History 2 Features 3 By region 3 1 Africa 3 2 The Americas 3 2 1 United States 3 3 Asia 3 4 Australia 4 Criticism 5 See also 6 References 7 BibliographyHistory Edit Baptist Metropolitan Tabernacle in London The origins of the megachurch movement with many local congregants who return on a weekly basis can be traced to the 1800s 1 2 There were large churches earlier but they were considerably rarer The first evangelical megachurch the Metropolitan Tabernacle with a 6 000 seat auditorium was inaugurated in 1861 in London by Charles Spurgeon 3 In the United States in 1923 the Angelus Temple was inaugurated in 1923 with a 5 300 seat auditorium in Los Angeles by Aimee Semple McPherson 4 Features EditA megachurch has been defined by Hartford Institute for Religion Research 2006 and others as any Protestant Christian church which at least 2 000 attend in a weekend 5 6 7 8 The OED suggests that megachurches often include educational and social activities and are usually Protestant or Evangelical denominations 9 Globally these large congregations are a significant development in Protestant Christianity 10 Most of these churches build their building in the suburbs of large cities near major roads and highways to be visible to as many people as possible and easily accessible by car 11 12 Some install a large cross there with a view to evangelization and the edification of believers 13 A study by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research published in 2020 found that 70 percent of American megachurches had a multi site network and an average of 7 6 services per weekend 14 The study also found that the majority of US megachurches are located in Florida Texas California and Georgia 15 In some of these megachurches more than 10 000 people gather every Sunday These are called Gigachurch 16 17 In 2015 there were about 100 gigachurches in the United States 18 By region EditAfrica Edit The Glory Dome affiliated with Dunamis International Gospel Center with 100 000 seats in Abuja Nigeria Megachurches are found in many countries of Sub Saharan Africa including Tanzania Nigeria South Africa Ghana Kenya and Uganda 19 The largest church auditorium The Glory Dome was inaugurated in 2018 with 100 000 seats in Abuja Nigeria 20 The Americas Edit Dream Center Headquarters in Los Angeles Show on the life of Jesus at Igreja da Cidade affiliated to the Brazilian Baptist Convention in Sao Jose dos Campos Brazil 2017 United States Edit In 2010 the Hartford Institute s database listed more than 1 300 such megachurches in the United States according to that data approximately 50 churches on the list had average attendance exceeding 10 000 with the highest recorded at 47 000 in average attendance 21 On one weekend in November 2015 around one in ten Protestant churchgoers in the US or about 5 million people attended service in a megachurch 22 3 000 individual Catholic parishes have 2 000 or more attendants for an average Sunday Mass but they are not called megachurches as that is a specifically Protestant term 8 In the United States the phenomenon has more than quadrupled in the two decades to 2017 23 Asia Edit In 2007 five of the ten largest Protestant churches were in South Korea 24 The largest megachurch in the world by attendance is South Korea s Yoido Full Gospel Church an Assemblies of God Pentecostal church with more than 830 000 members as of 2007 24 25 Australia Edit According to Australian scholar Hey 2011 in Australia almost all megachurch developments are Pentecostal or charismatic and neo Pentecostal offshoots 26 One of the first megachurches in Australia was the Christian Outreach Centre COC 26 now the International Network of Churches 27 28 Hillsong Church was founded in 1983 in Sydney New South Wales out of two Christian Life Centre churches and has since planted churches all around Australia and the world 29 Another significant Australian international Pentecostal network is the C3 Global Network founded in 1980 28 Criticism EditIn 2005 Baptist Pastor Al Sharpton criticized megachurches for focusing on bedroom morals statements against same sex marriage and abortion by ignoring issues of social justice such as the immorality of war and the erosion of affirmative action 30 Some megachurches have similarly been criticized for stating they are inclusive while maintaining a strong stance against gay marriage and do not allow sexually active gay members to fully participate in the church 31 32 In 2018 American professor Scot McKnight of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary criticized nondenominational megachurches for the weak external accountability relationship of their leaders by not being members of a Christian denomination further exposing them to abuse of power 33 However a study by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research published in 2020 found that 60 of American megachurches were members of a Christian denomination 34 Some megachurches and their pastors have been accused by critics of promoting a prosperity gospel where the poor and vulnerable are encouraged to donate their money to the church rather than saving it in the hopes that God will bless them with wealth 35 36 37 This in turn increases the wealth of the pastors with some revealed to wear designer clothing during sermons and own luxury vehicles 38 39 40 See also Edit Evangelical Christianity portalList of the largest evangelical churches List of the largest evangelical church auditoriums List of megachurches in the United States Pentecostalism in AustraliaReferences Edit Loveland amp Wheeler 2003 p 35 Exploring the Megachurch Phenomena Their characteristics and cultural context Hirr HartSem edu Archived from the original on November 1 2015 Retrieved February 6 2010 Hunt 2019 p 50 Kurian George Thomas Lamport Mark A Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States Volume 5 Rowman amp Littlefield 2016 p 1471 Church Sizes www USAChurches org Retrieved August 29 2017 Baird Julia February 23 2006 The good and bad of religion lite The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved November 5 2006 Turner Bryan S The New Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Religion John Wiley amp Sons 2010 p 251 a b Megachurch Definition Hartford Institute for Religion Research Archived from the original on May 14 2016 Retrieved February 6 2010 megachurch Oxford English Dictionary Online ed Oxford University Press Subscription or participating institution membership required Loveland amp Wheeler 2003 p 3 Hunt 2019 p 77 Wilford Justin G Sacred Subdivisions The Postsuburban Transformation of American Evangelicalism NYU Press 2012 p 78 Loveland amp Wheeler 2003 p 156 Baer Maria US Megachurches Are Getting Bigger and Thinking Smaller christianitytoday com November 19 2020 Kim Allen April 27 2019 What is a megachurch CNN Retrieved March 30 2021 Jeff Strickler What makes a gigachurch go startribune com USA July 19 2008 Stanley D Brunn The Changing World Religion Map Sacred Places Identities Practices and Politics Springer USA 2015 p 1683 Jim Tomberlin Multisite 2016 What s New and What s Next outreachmagazine com USA December 31 2015 Ukah Asonzeh February 6 2020 Chapter 15 Sacred Surplus and Pentecostal Too Muchness The Salvation Economy of African Megachurches Handbook of Megachurches Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion Volume 19 Brill pp 323 344 doi 10 1163 9789004412927 017 ISBN 9789004412927 S2CID 213645909 Retrieved February 5 2022 Berglund Taylor World s Largest Church Auditorium Dedicated in Nigeria charismanews com December 7 2018 Hartford Institute for Religion Research database of Megachurches Hirr HartSem edu Retrieved February 6 2010 The megachurch boom rolls on but big concerns are rising too Religion News Service December 2 2015 Retrieved February 1 2016 Redirect www SecularHumanism org Archived from the original on June 19 2010 Retrieved August 29 2017 a b O come all ye faithful Special Report on Religion and Public Life The Economist November 3 2007 p 6 Retrieved November 5 2007 In Pictures America s 10 Biggest Megachurches Forbes June 26 2009 a b Hey Sam 2011 God in the Suburbs and Beyond The Emergence of an Australian Megachurch and Denomination PhD Griffith University doi 10 25904 1912 3059 Retrieved February 5 2022 PDF About International Network of Churches Retrieved February 5 2022 a b Hillsong becomes a denomination Eternity News September 19 2018 Sam Hey Megachurches Origins Ministry and Prospects Wipf and Stock Publishers USA 2013 p 66 67 265 266 Associated Press Megachurches have wrong focus black leaders say chron com July 2 2006 Garrison Alyssa December 10 2019 I Fell For a Progressive Church and It Was a Mistake Flare Retrieved August 18 2020 McMackon Cassidy July 18 2020 CBC documentary on popular Toronto evangelical youth church features Queen s alum Documentary BLESSED shows how Toronto s loudest church C3 remains silent on regressive gay rights stance while being space for youth expression Queens University Journal Retrieved August 18 2020 Wellman James Jr Corcoran Katie Stockly Kate Ficquet Eloi High on God How Megachurches Won the Heart of America Oxford University Press 2020 p 212 Bird Warren Thumma Scott Megachurch 2020 The Changing Reality in America s Largest Churches hirr hartsem edu 2020 Biema David Van October 3 2008 Maybe We Should Blame God for the Subprime Mess Time magazine ISSN 0040 781X Retrieved March 30 2021 How Megachurches Blurred the Line Between Religion and Riches HowStuffWorks December 1 2017 Retrieved March 30 2021 The Worst Ideas of the Decade washingtonpost com www washingtonpost com Retrieved March 30 2021 Niemietz Brian Megachurch preacher buys wife a 200 000 Lamborghini tells parishioners Don t confuse what I do with who I am nydailynews com Retrieved March 30 2021 Rojas Rick April 17 2019 Let He Who Is Without Yeezys Cast the First Stone The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 30 2021 Stevens Alexis The Atlanta Journal Constitution Creflo Dollar s ministry says he will get his 65 million jet The Atlanta Journal Constitution Retrieved March 30 2021 Bibliography EditLoveland Anne C Wheeler Otis B 2003 From Meetinghouse to Megachurch A Material and Cultural History Columbia MO University of Missouri Press ISBN 0 8262 1480 0 Retrieved April 10 2023 Hunt Stephen J ed 2019 Handbook of Megachurches Leiden Brill ISBN 978 90 04 41292 7 Retrieved April 10 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Megachurch amp oldid 1153019524, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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