Mega-churches have been around for a while, especially in the United States, but it’s only recently (to my knowledge, at least) that they’ve become common in Edmonton.
A while back, an article about a city mega-church—which boasts an espresso bar and a gym—caught my eye. I didn’t write anything about it at the time, but I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Rather, I’ve been thinking about the whole concept of the mega-church.
Frankly, I don’t understand the appeal.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m a member of the Unitarian Church of Edmonton. This church has about 200 members. It is certainly not a huge church.
One of the things that I like most about the church is that the congregation is small enough that there is a real sense of community—if you’re willing to make an effort, you could easily get to know everyone on at least a casual acquaintance sort of level.
For me, one of the main benefits of church is the community. Strip away the sermons and the religion and everything else, and you have a community of like-minded people.
Can that sort of community be cultivated in a mega-church? When your church houses thousands, is there a strong sense of community among them?
I know that, for me, it would be hard to feel a sense of community in such large flock.
There must be something that attracts people to mega-churches, and at least one study implies that it isn’t a sense of community:
…the survey found that nearly half of mega-church attendees do not volunteer at their churches, and nearly as many, 40 percent, do not belong to what is considered the “mainstay” of church programming – engagement in a social or volunteer group.
What, then, is the appeal?
I don’t have an answer to that question. I’m asking with genuine curiosity, not as some sort of rhetorical attack on mega-churches. I don’t understand the appeal, and I’m hoping that one of my tens of readers might have an idea or two.
What is the appeal of mega-churches?
As an introvert, a small congregation would likely scare me more than a large one, i.e. with a large group, there’s less chance of having to actually interact with people. I realize that goes against the main reason why people attend church (community). For a certain group of people–perhaps larger in numbers than you think–the idea of honouring their faith while being with people, but not necessarily interacting with them, is appealing. It would be easier in a large congregation.
That makes a lot of sense, actually. I’m generally introverted myself, so that explanation should have been more obvious to me. I can definitely see that as a large part of the appeal of the mega-church.
This may be very cynical of me, but I have a sinking feeling that people may be attracted to mega-churches for the same reason why people are attracted to big-box chain stores – convenience and laziness, and not much else.
Another reason might be that – excepting people who are naturally introverted, I think it can be argued that Western society in general is becoming increasingly isolated. For example, a person can go to Superstore to buy everything and doesn’t miss the interaction that generations before them would have had with the local baker or greengrocer. After all, besides worship, church used to be very much about community interaction and mutual support.