Check this out from the Charlotte Observer. It’s a great story of a dying church finding new life:
Five years ago, Living Word Church had dwindled to 40 members. It had lost its founding pastor, could get no more than 80 people into its 280-seat sanctuary and was unsure of the future.
Now, it’s part of one of the nation’s largest megachurches – and could serve as a model for the thousands of small churches that close every year.
“The story’s pretty amazing,” said the Rev. Layne Schranz, associate pastor at Church of the Highlands, a Birmingham megachurch that attracts an average of more than 13,500 across its six campuses.
After the merger, teams from Church of the Highlands spent six weeks renovating Living Word, expanding parking and adding technology for its heavy emphasis on video feeds. Highlands then sent a worship team to lead weekly services at what was now the megachurch’s Riverchase campus.
Video feeds of Pastor Chris Hodges’ sermons were beamed in while a worship team led songs and prayers live.
“The only thing on video is the message itself,” Schranz said. “The campus pastor leads prayer for the altar call. Everything is live with the exception of the message.”
Attendance at the Riverchase branch now exceeds 1,300 weekly.
//
I don’t really want the comment section to go wild with ‘anti-megachurch’ comments. That’s not cool.
What is cool is that a church that was dying… 40 people… has been transformed into a vibrant community of believers that now numbers 1,300!
Say what you want, but that’s pretty stinkin’ dramatic growth.
And, in the end, more people are being reached with the good news of Jesus.
So… my question… is this a trend we’ll see more and more of?
And… is it a trend you would support in YOUR community (either by your church partnering with a dying church or another larger, thriving church partnering with another church in YOUR community)?
Thoughts?
Todd
I’d have to know where these 1300 people came from and what is actually happening in their lives and the lives of those around them to know for sure… So I’d have to be part of that congregation to “judge”…
If they are all transplants, that isn’t great. If people are coming back to God and finding Christ in this, then it is.
I echo Peter’s concern.
We have had two megachurches open campuses in our area in recent months. Each opening was met with huge success and great attendance. But, I have anecdotal evidence of a fair number of attendees coming from other churches in the area. If this is the case, I’m not so sure we can count the new campuses with big numbers a success.
I know it’s hard to provide statistics across denominations around this topic. But, my big concern is that these new campuses in many areas are drawing “members” from existing churches. Perhaps it’s a net zero gain. If that’s the case, where’s the win? A new church is bigger and an existing church is weaker.
I’m not knocking megachurches, but just want to be sure the whole situation is considered.
That really confused me for a little while. I am in Charlotte and in a worship band. I know a lot of other worship leaders and pastors and could not figure out why I had never heard of this church. Then realized it is not here, just assumed it was being in the Observer. Oh well.
Anyway I do not see anything wrong with it, if people go there from other churches it is not the newly taken over churches fault, so to me the right or wrong of it lies with the church hoppers.
I too prefer any church growth to be true growth and not just people leaving their own churches. Then again, if someone is leaving their church to attend another it’s both church’s responsibility to know why.
Regarding what is happening in this story. I think it’s awesome. A dying church has turned into a thriving church. I don’t see the downside.
Does it really matter if some of the people came from existing churches? I’m not a fan of church shopping and hopping, but this church certainly isn’t “sheep stealing.” What is the definition of “sheep stealing” anyway? Don’t people simply make choices about where they will worship and serve God? The fruit, of course, has to be more than attendance numbers. Are people growing in Christ? Are they having a positive impact in their community? I suspect the answer is “Yes, a lot more than the previously declining church.”
This kind of thing can only happen in churches that are truly interested in growth. Too often we hear of churches that have dwindled and they stick with the tried and true method of calling a pastor, but often cannot pay them and so the pastor either doesn’t stay for long or doesn’t come at all and the congregation just huddles together until they are forced to close their doors. It’s sad really when things seem to obviously point to making certain changes and yet people are immobilized and head toward a certain end that could have been avoided had they just taken a risk.