Major Study on Megachurches

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Interesting study. Here's the executive summary.

Changes in American Megachurches
By Scott Thumma and Warren Bird

Summary:
Megachurches – Protestant congregations that draw 2,000 or more adults and children in a typical weekend (attendance not membership) – show considerable consistency over the past eight years. They continue to:

  • Grow in size,
  • Lead the way as America’s most multi-ethnic class of church,
  • Show a strong bias toward contemporary worship, and
  • Remain minimally involved in politics.

However, they are also institutions in transition. They are now:

  • Offering more worship services and expanding to multiple-locations,
  • Shifting to playing a greater role in community service,
  • Decreasing their use of radio and television, and
  • Putting greater emphasis on the role of small groups.

These are some of the most salient findings of a national study of America’s roughly 1,200 megachurches with approximately one third returning a usable response to an eight-page, 150-question survey that was fielded between February and August, 2008, with comparison given to similar (but non-longitudinal) national studies in 2000 and 2005. 

More from Marshall Goldsmith

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I quoted Marshall Goldsmith's blog from Harvard Business Review at Leadership Community this past weekend. Here's the question and the first part of his answer. But you've got to see what he says in the last part of his answer.

I'm just entering the workforce and it is really stressful. With all the global and economic turmoil, do you have any advice for someone who is just getting started in the workforce?

The advice I have to give to young people from the West who are just entering the workforce is simple. In this new era of uncertainty, we all need to think like entrepreneurs.

...A few final points:

  • Forget about taking a year off.
  • Don't spend your adult years "finding yourself."
  • Unless you are rich, don't buy the flat-screen TV. When you are poor, live life as a poor person; don't try to live like a rich person.
  • And, like any great entrepreneur, invest your time and money in your future.