Bummer, didn’t make this list either. Missed the 50 most influential churches list, and now this one. Its probably a good thing, I couldn’t park another 600 people. If people are coming to Christ, if lives and commuties are changing, go for it. Bless you. There are 300,000 plus churches in the United States. May we all have 600 new people come next year!

I’ll like it… I guess… but…

So now I have to change my name AND move? SUPER-bummer!

I hope you have some great Friday stuff coming, I need it bad!

Peter

Peter, I could change my name, something out of the Old Testament. Maybe Nimrod or Tubal -cain - frist worker of iron. Yeah I like that.

Yeah, we’re forming a punk rock/heavy metal/worship band called the Tony’s. I’m gonna have my name legally changed to Tony, too, and we’re hoping to go on tour with Underoath. Get your earplugs! OUCH!

Yes, Todd, we are ALL getting a head-start on Fridays.

I’ll weigh in and agree with Peter and Randy that percentage of growth is much more telling than hard numbers.  And although I agree that tracking conversion growth is more challenging, I know that it is possible because we’ve done it.  Having said that, it would be relatively to track conversion growth if all you do is count boxes checked or how many “prayed the sinners prayer” – but real conversion growth is only actually “growth” if unchurched people make a decision and stick around, right?

I’d also be interested in churches that demonstrate sustainable growth.  Besides the obvious ones who might have “star power” as a key factor to growth (WC, SB, Lakewood), who’s been on this list year after year?  There are many reasons a church might have a year with a big influx of people; new building, new pastor, new church plant, church down the street had a split. One mega-church in my community was on this list last year for the first time (had just opened a new building).  Not on the list this year.  The full article does indicate that 48 churches returned to this list from last year (though you have to cross reference with last year’s article to figure out who they are).  But I’d be more interested in a steady pattern of conversion growth year after year for 5, 10 and 15 years.  I’d like to study such a church to learn what they are doing right.  I’d think that such a church must have created a culture that effectively reaches and disciples the unchurched, is open to change and committed to staying relevant (there’s that terrible word) to the unchurched in their particular context. 

Thom Rainer has a good book called “Break-out Churches” that studied churches that had plateaued and experienced a “break-out” in growth that sustained for at least 5-years.  He modeled his research after Jim Collins’ work in “Good to Great.” Easy and interesting read.

Wendi

I have been to Without Walls Church, it is a horrible church.  It is a mostly ethnic based church with a white pastor who, when I went the one time, talked about his genitalia being like that of an african american male’s and passed around the plate no less than three times while there.  These lists prove nothing.

Why is it, I am not excited about this list.
Willow Creek, isn’t that the Church that invited a Muslim to speak?

YAWN…

These Churches are growing because they offer a “Cheap Grace”, you are all invited into the “Kingdom.”,
yet there is no evidence of preaching in them that say’s, now you must also be responsible to the “KING”.

Certainly there are liars, dang liars and statisticians so we need to be somewhat suspicious about nimbers. However, data can definitely tell us something about health. A few months ago I went to the doctor and my sugar level was very high as was my weight. I have lost over 20 pounds and my sugar is down.

Sometimes big numbers mean the church is fat and is eating too much sugar. It actually needs a diet, but we cannot tell that by a simplistic glance at the rate of growth nor the total size. At one of the churches I served we brought between 100 and 200 new members into the congregation each year and lost about half out the back door. Many were transferred but many wanted a different type of church.

We also watched carefully how many came from conversions, recommitments, baptisms, transfers, etc as well as who got involved in training and service. Hers is my conclusion: numbers are very important if sliced and diced correctly but they deceive when mishandled by politicians and some evangelists and religion writers.

Wendi, I think your mother is a wonderful wise woman.
Yet I believe we are at this time and dismal place in the Church because no one would say anything.
The Bible tells us to contend for the faith, And the scriptures show us that the Apostle Paul criticised Demas for leaving him.
My point is the Church has become too watered down!

And Wendi, you are an Ecumentalist of the highest order.

I seldom heard more whining in my life than what I have read by respones to the issue of the 100 largest and 100 fastest growing churches lists.  Sounds like a family where the older brother is criticized because of his birth order.  Most men and lay leaders who lead the largest churches were as surprised by the magnitude of their growth as you are, but they are not about to apologize for God or to you for His mighty works among us.  They have helped birth tens of thousands of new churches like yours (about 50,000 in the 1990s). Satan is trashing out cities while approximately:
... 1/3 of U.S. churches are declining
... 1/3 of another U.S. churches are plateaued
... 1/3 of U.S. churches are experiencing growth.
... all this in a nation where Barna indicates that 92% prefer your size church (under 1,000
attending)
... allowing for some pathetic churches (that can come in ANY size), there are vibrant churches
that also come in ALL sizes.  Let’s be big enough to affirm the growth of God’s churches.  It is a serious matter to with idle comments refer to the nearly 250,000 people who attend just the 10 largest evangelical churches each Sunday as products of “cheap grace.” More than 1 million attended the 100 largest churches last Sunday...Eric, the 2 churches you mentioned in your denomination (Nazarene) were an honest computer error and I have personally called both pastor’s with my apologies...As far as the issue of listing “percentage” growth, there is neither time or money to begin to try tackling that kind of database.  Smaller Independent churches would be the most overlooked because even if the database existed and they responded the first time they were invited to share—many would not be included for several reasons...There is no magazine or publisher that would even consider funding a project of that magnitude (I wish it were not so, but I certainly understand). Researchers attempt to update information on all size churches by various groups and denominations—small, medium, large, and very large.  It is very expensive and some religious bodies have actually given up their efforts to gather good information due to unresponsive, non-growing churches.  Research allows all of us to see the big picture and magnitude of needy areas for both new and renewed growth of churches in different cities and areas of the nation...and the world. It helps to remove the “fog” that hinders churches and mission agencies in their decisions to wisely use limited funds, manpower and other limited resources to be obedient servants to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment mandated by Jesus himself.  This is not a game or material for idle conversation.  God has men and women who specialize in small, medium and larger churches.  My calling for almost 3 decades has been to invest my limited time, funds, resources and influence in two areas—rapid growth emerging churches and the health and pathology of growth, both globally and in the U.S., in churches of 2,000+ attendance.  Like Nehemiah who saw God’s hope for a city and nation in ruins, that for each of us the task is greater than the voices of those who would distract those who are called to rebuild their portion of the city and nation. —As a Southern Baptist, I encourage you to read a recent book (highly endorsed by both the Billy Graham Association and Campus Crusade for Christ ) published by the Nazarene publishing house (Beacon Hill Press) by Gene Williams - IN THE SHADOW OF THE STEEPLE: The Vital Role of the Smaller Church in a Megachurch World.

Not to start an unprofitable theological debate, but I always had a problem with the accusation people make of a church supposedly preaching too much “cheap grace”.  Grace by nature is absolutely freely given apart from any works, merit, or deserving.  It’s absolutely free, always was and always will be.  So even calling it “cheap” makes it sound like it’s still necessary to somehow “purchase” it. 

But then it’s not grace, if it must be purchased “cheap” OR “expensive”.  Grace with any price tag
is not grace at all.  Christ’s salvation, and blessings in this life (for that matter), are “of grace”, thus can’t be “cheap” or “expensive”.  Rather, they’re free for the taking. 

Just to comment on the article, I do seem to notice a geographical concentration of the largest growth churches.  Interesting to think that some areas are rained down upon by the Lord, and other regions might be in more of the “seed planting” stage…