Mega Churches are Going Down Just Like Tiny Ones


Willow Creek church in a Chicago suburb is one I follow because I have a relative who was a member years ago. I remember her saying the church had a good policy, not to grow by taking church goers from other churches but by attracting the "unchurched."

It grew by leaps and bounds. There is a huge building. The church sponsored an annual conference on church growth that attracted big crowds of preachers and officials from all over the world. Bill Hybels, the preacher, was the toast of the town. Sexual issues brought Bill down. Then the same with his second in command. Out went most of the pastors and the entire Board.

Covid came along after that. The 7,000 seat church averages half of what it attracted before covid. Now it is laying off about half its staff. Where are those "unchurched" going to church? My guess is they remain happily unchurched. 

And family budgets are the better for it. I can't imagine pledging money to pay off the butt pinching and sex commenting Bill Hybels. He got several million. The corporate structure of churches like Willow Creek are like a privately owned business. The founder is kicked out but he can claim he handed over a cash flow to a new owner. That owner or owners owe him. In Willow Creek, the cash flow didn't remain but the original owner, Hybels, has his money and is gone. A little sarcasm, are atheists worse than Willow Creek? Will the "unchurched" be helped by something there?

A few years ago, some said mega churches were growing so fast they were offsetting the smaller churches that were closing. That was never true, Now we see ever more clearly mega churches often fail.

Small community churches and mega ones have in common this, they are places of entertainment. People go there to have a good time or socialize. There are competing forms of entertainment. The public's taste changes and some entertainment that was successful goes down. Saturday night dances at the local ballroom were once a thing but are no more. Sunday morning church is going the same way. 

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