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TechnoratiCompared to attendees of a typical Protestant church, people who attend megachurches are more likely to be young, single, more educated and wealthier, a new survey reveals.
The majority of megachurch attendees (62 percent) are under the age of 45 whereas less than half (35 percent) of those in a typical congregation fall in the 18-44 age group, according to a megachurch report by Scott Thumma of Hartford Institute for Religion Research and Warren Bird of Leadership Network.
The report – "Not Who You Think They Are: The Real Story of People Who Attend America's Megachurches" – is based on data from a national survey that drew 24,900 responses from 12 carefully selected megachurches across the country. It is claimed to be the largest national representative study of megachurch attendees conducted by any researchers to date.
With more than 5 million people worshipping at megachurches – Protestant churches of 2,000 or more weekly attendees – in a typical week, Thumma and Bird sought to provide a look at who these worshippers are, why they come and why some stay.
"[U]ntil now, very little was known about those who attend these churches,'" the researchers state in their report, released Tuesday.
For comparison, the researchers used findings from the U.S. Congregational Life Study (USCLS), a study of Protestant churches of all sizes that was completed in April 2001.
They found that in addition to drawing more young adults, megachurches tend to bring in more single, unmarried people than a typical church. Nearly a third of megachurch attendees are single compared to just 10 percent of a typical congregation. The vast majority (80 percent) of those in a typical congregation are married or widowed.
Megachurches also tend to draw in a lot more new people compared to the typical church. Over two-thirds (68 percent) of megachurch attendees have been there five years or less while only 40 percent of those in churches of all sizes joined the church recently. Almost half (45 percent) of attendees of a typical church have been there for more than 10 years.
Although megachurches have nearly twice as many new attendees, most of the new people are already Christians and came from another church. Seventy-seven percent said they have been long-time committed Christ followers for seven or more years and only 2 percent said they are not a follower. Also, 18 percent had not attended church for a while before coming to the megachurch and just 6 percent said they never went to church previously.
Most megachurch attendees (82 percent) come at the invitation of a friend, family member or co-worker, the study found. Only 19 percent said they saw the church or viewed media about it and came on their own.
Only 16 percent said they viewed the church's website before attending.
Examining what attracts people to megachurches, the survey found that the worship style, senior pastor, and reputation of the church, respectively, were the strongest factors in initial attraction.
Those three items were also most influential in having people stay. The senior pastor, however, proved to be the strongest factor that kept people coming back.
Still, loyalty was found to be an issue among some megachurch attendees.
Three quarters called their megachurch their only church home but 11 percent said they didn't consider it their home church and 12 percent claimed it as home but said they also attended other churches. Continue »
