Leadership Network News

New Insight on People Who Attend Megachurches, Questions Invited for 6/23 Webcast

June 9 , 2009

DALLAS, TX (June 9, 2009) — Who are the folks that make up the more than 5 million weekly attenders of megachurches around the country? What attracts and keeps them involved at these churches? And how do their attitudes and spiritual activities compare to worshippers at churches of other sizes?

The National Survey of Megachurch Attenders, a just-released nationwide survey by Leadership Network (www.leadnet.org) and Hartford Seminary’s Hartford Institute for Religion Research (www.hartfordinstitute.org), provides much-needed insight on these and other questions. It is the largest national representative study of megachurch attendees to date.

Conducted from January to August 2008, the National Survey of Megachurch Attenders is based on responses from 24,900 worshippers at 12 carefully selected megachurches across the United States. Additional site visits, interviews, staff surveys and other data-collection procedures also contributed to the findings.

“In recent years, megachurch research—including our own—has revealed a great deal about the facts and fictions associated with megachurch size, location and growth rates,” said Warren Bird, Ph.D., Leadership Network’s director of research and a principal behind the survey, along with the Hartford Institute’s Scott Thumma. “But until now, very little was known about the people who attend megachurches.” Their survey, as reported in “Not Who You Think They Are: The Real Story of People Who Attend America's Megachurches,” provides an entirely new inside perspective that will help drive a deeper understanding of the people who gather in these churches.

Scott Thumma, M.Div., Ph.D., professor of sociology of religion at Hartford Seminary and lead author of the survey report, said the study shows that megachurch attendees are a distinct group of people – often younger than attendees at churches of other sizes – with complex patterns of involvement. They draft their own unique, customized spiritual experiences through the multitude of ministry choices and diverse avenues for involvement that megachurches offer.

“Participants interact with the megachurch on their own terms to meet their individualized needs, rather than following some prescribed or idealized plan created by the church’s leadership,” Thumma said.

Findings in the survey stretch from pure demographics to the nature and quality of megachurch attenders’ spiritual life. Among the most significant discoveries are:

Nearly two-thirds of megachurch attenders are under 45 years old, as compared to only one-third for all protestant churches (62 percent vs. 35 percent).
Nearly a third of megachurch attenders are single, unmarried persons. In a typical church, singles account for just 10 percent of the congregation.
Megachurch attenders are both more educated and more affluent than attenders at other churches.
The majority of megachurch attenders are not necessarily new to Christianity, but nearly a quarter had not recently been in another church before coming to a megachurch.
While newcomers almost always attend a megachurch at the invitation of family, friends or co-workers, the real attraction tends to be the church’s reputation, worship style and senior pastor.
Long-term attendance flows from an appreciation for the church’s music/arts, social and community outreach, and adult-oriented programs.
45 percent of megachurch attenders never volunteer at the church.

“In designing and conducting the survey, we wanted to look for threads and patterns that would be of practical benefit to church leaders,” Bird said. “Take, for example, the finding that megachurch attenders are more likely to be single than their counterparts in other congregations. Pastors of mid-size and small congregations may well want to see how adapting elements from the megachurch model would help them better serve that segment of their community.”

“Similarly, the finding that 45 percent of megachurch attenders never volunteer at church may prompt megachurch leaders to explore new ways to increase volunteerism within their congregations,” Bird added.

“Not Who You Think They Are: The Real Story of People Who Attend America's Megachurches” can be downloaded free at www.leadnet.org/megachurch and also at www.hartfordinstitute.org.

Survey readers are invited to share comments and questions by emailing Leadership Network’s research department at research@leadnet.org.

For more information on the study or to schedule media interviews of the principals behind the study, contact Scott Thumma, Hartford Seminary, sthumma@hartsem.edu or for Warren Bird, contact Rick Long at 1.800.477.6698 x 102 or rlong@source-mpi.com.

Broadcast to Highlight Report. Join Scott Thumma on June 23, 2009, at 4 p.m. Eastern for a live webcast on The Show (http://theshow.leadnet.org), Leadership Network’s weekly, 30 minute webcast featuring some of the best and brightest church leaders in the country. Each 15-minute presentation is followed with a live, call-in Q&A session. Scott will highlight some of the key findings of the report, and then address questions from callers.

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About Leadership Network: Based in Dallas, Texas, Leadership Network is a nonprofit public charity that fosters church innovation and growth through a variety of programs, resources and strategies in furtherance of a far-reaching mission to identify, connect and help high-capacity Christian leaders multiply their impact. For more on Leadership Network, see www.leadnet.org and www.halftime.org, or contact Rick Long at 1.800.477.6698 x102 or rlong@source-mpi.com.

About Hartford Seminary and the Hartford Institute for Religion Research: Hartford Seminary focuses on interfaith relations, congregational studies and faith in practice. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research has a 30-year record of rigorous, policy-relevant research, anticipation of emerging issues and commitment to the creative dissemination of learning. This record has earned the Institute an international reputation as an important bridge between the scholarly community and the practice of faith. For more on the Seminary and the Institute, see www.hartsem.edu or http://hirr.hartsem.edu or contact David Barrett at 860.509.9519 or dbarrett@hartsem.edu.

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