Mega Churches

[Patrick]

I thought this site was interesting. It lists all of the Mega Churches in the US.

http://hirr.hartsem.edu/org/faith_me..._database.html

Divide it down into state, and you'll find that in OKC, the largest church is of course LifeChurch. Other notable churches are the more well known ones, like Crossings Community Church, Victory Christian Center, Henderson Hills Baptist, Council Road Baptist, Crossroads Cathedral, Church of the Servant UMC, Cathedral of Praise, etc.
In Tulsa, of course the more notable ones are Church on the Move, FBC Broken Arrow, Victory Christian Center, etc.

An article came out today discussing this. Said most of the mega churches are either non-denominational or Southern Baptist.

[Patrick]

By the way, the definition of a mega church is having a weekly attendance of over 2,000.

The largest church in the United States is Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, which recently bought the old Compaq Center in Houston. They have well over 30,000 every week.

[Keith]

By the way, the definition of a mega church is having a weekly attendance of over 2,000.

The largest church in the United States is Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, which recently bought the old Compaq Center in Houston. They have well over 30,000 every week.

I see no problem with large churches, although, I like my church because it is just the right size (200 in Sunday School, and 300+ in worship). I would certainly like to see my church grow, and we do have lots of room for growth, however, we still have to be small enough to be able to reach those in our community, and to minister to those that need it. We don't want to see members get lost in the crowd.

Unfortunately, in some of the larger churches, many of their members do get lost in the crowd, and they don't get involved as much. Unless you apply yourself and take that step to be involved in a large church, then you will get lost in the crowd and just become another face every Sunday.

[PUGalicious]

Unfortunately, in some of the larger churches, many of their members do get lost in the crowd, and they don't get involved as much. Unless you apply yourself and take that step to be involved in a large church, then you will get lost in the crowd and just become another face every Sunday.

You are absolutely right, Keith. That is indeed a major drawback of the mega churches. I've attemded mega churches, "regular"-sized churches and small churches (less than 50 people). The smaller churches don't have all the polish and "coolness" of the mega-churches, but they know who their people are and they know when they're missing, when they're hurting and when they need a helping hand.

[Midtowner]

I actually send some clients over to Crossings for their divorce support groups for adults and children. They seem to like it taught from a Christian perspective. It's one of those few times that I'm appreciative of the fact that these churches are large enough to support very targetted ministries. While I myself wouldn't go because that just ain't my thing, Divorce is a tough time in someone's life, and they need every bit of help they can get.

From what I tell, Crossings does a pretty good job.

[mwmcl]

There are some other churches in the OKC area that are large enough to fit the Mega-Chruch description but are not on the list... thankfully the church I attend is not on that list.

[Patrick]

It's probably because the church refused to give their attendance. The only churches that made the list are the ones that gave their attendance figures.

What churches are you referring to?

[Midtowner]

There are several Catholic churches in the metro that would probably qualify.

[mwmcl]

I know that Bridgeway Church probably has a high enough attendance to be classified as a mega-church by that definition.

But they are the furthest thing from a Mega-Church.