What's Happening to the Church?

According to an article in USA Today, 37% of all mega churches (not to be confused with ‘all’ churches) now have two or more locations: mega church is becoming multisite! Multisite churches are defined as “high-efficiency evangelism allowing thousands of worshipers to hear the same message from a lead pastor…by video at three, five, even a dozen or more locations.” A leading multisite church my son attends, Mars Hill Church in Seattle, already has 10 sites, and is planning to add 100 more video-linked sites in the next decade.

While I am a strong advocate of “getting out of the box,” I am cautiously watching this new movement to see how this approach will impact the REAL growth of the church—the depth and maturity of individual believers. After all, the Lord’s command was to “make disciples”—not churches. I can’t help but wonder how this phenomenon (which seems to reflect the impersonal nature of our internet, social networking culture) will impact the Christian culture of “fellowship.” Listen to this quote by Frank Viola, author of “Rethinking the Wineskin”: Unfortunately, those believers who are attracted to these large, flashy, organized WalMarts of the American religious world can hardly find a place in their hearts for a simple, unextravagant meeting centered around the person of Christ alone.

As I watch the American mega church-multisite movement, my heart aches for the small ‘parish’ pastors of flocks of fifty who are challenged with the notion that bigger is not only better, but expected. We must ask ourselves this question: Do our churches, either mega or mini, bear any resemblance to the simple, Spirit-dependent, Christ-centered, spiritually dynamic, mutually-ministering churches of the first century that turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6)? I guess time will tell.