While visiting Mars Hill Church in Seattle last week, I noticed that it had a building program. I picked up a little flyer about it and was impressed by the community's forethought about the heart motive behind its building plans. The pamphlet talked about Seattle being one of the least churched major cities in the United States and the need for a body in the city reaching the people of the city.
The information covered the nuts and bolts of why, where, what, etc. But it also went into questions like, "Why not just plant more churches" or "Would building a bigger facility just make Mars Hill too big?"
Interestingly, the pamphlet talked about the pros and cons of becoming a mega church. I have always preferred smaller fellowships, especially home churches. But I have come to appreciate some of the benefits that a larger group of believers can bring. Right now, the Lord has me joined as part of a mega church in my city. I know that I am in the right place and will stay here as long as God calls me.
The flyer tackled the issue in the following manner: "There seems to be a stigma associated with the term 'mega church.' The reality is that large churches have peppered the landscape of God's global church since Acts 2, when in response to Pentecost and Peter's sermon in Jerusalem 3,000 were added in a single day!" I have often thought that mega churches can get a bad rap. You can have a small fellowship and still have believers living in relative isolation. We are called to assembly with other believers and be part of a community not just warm a seat somewhere. Connections get harder to maintain as a group gets larger. But it can still be done if people are intentional about how they live.
Mars Hill strives to have the best of both worlds by having a strong Web of home-based small groups serving different neighborhoods and weekly large group services and activities. This seems to be working for them.
Coming back to the original question, "Are mega churches bad?" I believe it all depends on if the fellowship is walking in obedience and truly encouraging one another as the days grow darker. Mega churches can bring a lot of resources together in a way that smaller fellowships cannot. There are pros and cons either way. For now, I believe that we should avoid type casting any one type of fellowship and just be a part of where God calls us.
