The following is an article that was featured on Forbes.com. It is posted here
for educational purposes.
_______________________________________________________________
Christian Capitalism
Megachurches, Megabusinesses
Luisa Kroll, 09.17.03, 12:00 PM ET
Maybe churches aren't so different from corporations. World Changers
Ministries, for instance, operates a music studio, publishing house, computer
graphic design suite and owns its own record label. The Potter's House also
has a record label as well as a daily talk show, a prison satellite network that
broadcasts in 260 prisons and a twice-a-week Webcast. New Birth Missionary
Baptist Church has a chief operating officer and a special effects 3-D Web site
that offers videos-on-demand. It publishes a magazine and holds Cashflow 101
Game Nights. And Lakewood Church, which recently leased the Compaq
Center, former home of the NBA's Houston Rockets, has a four-record deal
and spends $12 million annually on television airtime.
Welcome to the megabusiness of megachurches, where pastors often act as
chief executives and use business tactics to grow their congregations. This
entrepreneurial approach has contributed to the explosive growth of
megachurches--defined as non-Catholic churches with at least 2,000 members--
in the U.S. Indeed, Lakewood, New Birth, The Potter's House and World
Changers, four of the biggest, have all experienced membership gains of late.
Of course, growth for them has a higher purpose: to spread their faith to as
many people as they can. "In our society growth equals success," says Scott
Thumma, faculty associate at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
"And religious growth not only equals success but also God's blessing on the
ministry."
In 1970, there were just ten such churches, according to John Vaughn, founder
of Church Growth Today, which tracks megachurches. In 1990, 250 fit that
description. Today, there are 740. The most common trait that these churches
share is their size; average number of worshippers is 3,646, up 4% from last
year, according to Vaughn. But they also demonstrate business savvy, with
many holding conferences (47%) and using radio (44%) and television (38%),
according to a 1999 survey conducted by the Hartford Institute for Religion
Research. The average net income of megachurches was estimated at $4.8
million by that same survey.
Churches are exempt from income taxes. But in some cases they do pay an
unrelated business income tax on activities not substantially related to the
church's religious, educational or charitable purposes. (Churches do pay
payroll, sales and, often, property taxes.)
Church Attendance* City, State Pastor
Lakewood Church 25,060 Houston, Tex. Joel Osteen
World Changers 23,093 College Park, Ga. Rev. Creflo Dollar
Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa 20,000 Santa Ana, Calif. Pastor Chuck Smith
The Potter's House 18,500 Dallas, Tex. Bishop T.D. Jakes
Second Baptist Church 18,000 Houston, Tex. Dr. H. Edwin Young
Southeast Christian Church 17,863 Louisville, Ky. Bob Russell
First Assembly of God 17,532 Phoenix, Ariz. Dr. Tommy J.
Barnett Willow Creek Community Church 17,115 S. Barrington, Ill. Bill Hybels
Calvary Chapel of Ft. Lauderdale 17,000 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Pastor Bob Coy
Saddleback Valley Community 15,030 Lake Forest, Calif. Dr. Rick Warren
*Catholic churches are not tracked for this study. This is all 2003 attendance
data and represents total weekend attendance for each congregation. Source:
Dr. John N. Vaughan, Church Growth Today
Technology also plays a large role in helping these giant churches communicate
with members and keep track of them. Many provide a transcript of the
weekly sermons and an events calendar on the Web site as well as sell
products, such as books and CDs. They also allow members to post prayers
and donate online. Almost all (99%) have Web sites. "Cell phones, e-mail,
complex phone systems and the Internet all enhance the way megachurches
work," says Thumma, faculty associate at the Hartford Institute.
Helping churches grow is a business in itself. There is even a publicly traded
company, Kingdom Ventures (otc: KDMV - news - people ), whose sole
mission is to help faith-based organizations get bigger. In its latest 10Q, the
company did disclose that it's received a subpoena from the Securities And
Exchange Commission relating to its stock and transactions. Founded in 1999,
the tiny company operates 12 subsidiaries and claims to work with 10,000
churches on everything from fundraising to event planning (it provides speakers
and artists for events) to upgrading technology by helping sell new audio and
visual equipment and sound systems. "One of the reasons megachurches are as
big as they are is because they use the technology of today," says Kingdom
Chief Executive Gene Jackson, "We can help smaller churches become big
with technology."
If that doesn't help, they may steer folks to a new book they are about to
publish: PastorPreneur, which is hitting Christian book stores this month. The
book teaches pastors to think like entrepreneurs; for instance, encouraging
them to set up strategic partnerships with nonchurch groups and to use event
marketing to draw in new members.
For a lesson in marketing, religious leaders would do well to study the success
of Bill Hybels and his Great Barrington, Ill.-based Willow Creek Community
Church. In 1975, he and members of his student ministry went door to door
asking residents what kept them away from church. Hybels then crafted his
services to address their concerns, becoming one of the first pastors to use
video, drama and contemporary music in church and encouraging a more
casual dress code. "Hybels really showed that churches can use marketing
principles and still be authentic," says Michael Emerson, a Rice University
sociology professor who has studied megachurches. Willow Creek, which
has a staff of 500 full and part-time employees, is renowned for its conferences
and seminars that teach other churches how to market themselves as well as
for its "buzz" events, featuring well-known personalities such as country singer
Randy Travis, NASCAR Champion owner and former Washington Redskins
coach Joe Gibbs and Lisa Beamer, widow of Sept. 11, 2001, hero Todd
Beamer--all intended to attract nonchurch goers.
Media has helped spread the message, particularly for Lakewood Church, the
largest megachurch in the U.S. In 1981, Joel Osteen, son of then-pastor Joe
Osteen, quit college to set up his father's television ministry. The services
eventually aired in 140 countries. He also advertised Lakewood on local
television and on billboards throughout Houston where the church is located.
After his father passed away in 1999, Osteen became pastor and expanded the
church's media strategy.
Like most churches, Lakewood's broadcasts had been relegated to the very
early Sunday morning shows. Lakewood instead decided to target the top 25
markets in the nation and negotiate for timeslots on the four top networks
between 8 A.M. and 10 A.M., rather than working with just one network.
It also agreed to increase its budget for airtime to $12 million from $6 million.
Its program now can be seen in 92% of the nation's households.
Never satisfied, the church analyzes its media strategy each quarter.
As for the services themselves, Lakewood makes sure to put on a grand show.
It has a 12-piece stage band, a lighting designer to set the mood and three large
projection screens. The technology will be even more spectacular when it
moves into its new home in the former Houston Rockets' stadium "We really
want it to feel like a concert," says Duncan Dodds, Lakewood's executive
director. Something is working: Church attendance has grown from 6,000 in
1999 when Osteen became pastor to 25,060 today.
Pastor Rick Warren, who founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif.,
in 1980, has deftly used technology as well as marketing to spread his message.
His Pastors.com, which reaches 100,000 pastors worldwide each week, has e-
mail forums, archives of all of his sermons from the past 22 years and a place
to post prayer requests. He also sends a free weekly newsletter, Rick Warren's
Ministry Toolbox, to pastors. When it came time to launch his book, The
Purpose Driven Life, last year, Warren used Pastors.com to invite churches to
participate in a "40 Days of Purpose" event (to correspond with the book's 40
chapters). The 40-day-long event attracted 1,562 churches and was kicked off
with a simulcast broadcast to all those churches. Some 267 radio stations ran a
"40 days campaign" during the same time period. And a CD of "Songs for a
Purpose Driven Life" featuring well-known Christian artists was also released.
From the start, the books and CDs were distributed in mass-market retailers
such as Wal-Mart (nyse: WMT - news - people ), Costco Wholesale (nasdaq:
COST - news - people ), Barnes & Noble (nyse: BKS - news - people ) and
Borders Group (nyse: BGP - news - people ). It quickly became a New York
Times bestseller and has already sold 5.8 million copies, outselling Billy
Graham and making it one of the most successful book promotions in
Christian publishing history.
No doubt, churches have learned some valuable lessons from corporations.
Now maybe they can teach businesses a thing or two. Companies would
certainly appreciate having the armies of nonpaid, loyal volunteers. "The
business world would love to have that kind of fellowship," says Vaughn.
Original Article: www.forbes.com/2003/09/17/cz_lk_0917megachurch_print.html
________________________________________________________________
Further Reading on This Website:
Laying Up Treasures- Where is Your Treasure??
Christians and the Prosperity Doctrine
The Frightening Future Of "Christianity" -- Where Is The Gospel??
Four Important Things That Every Christian Should Know
The Heavy Burden of Being Purpose-Driven
False Preachers - Passing out candy on the way to destruction
Church Apostasy... Living in the Last Days
Advice For Ministers by CH Mackintosh
for educational purposes.
_______________________________________________________________
Christian Capitalism
Megachurches, Megabusinesses
Luisa Kroll, 09.17.03, 12:00 PM ET
Maybe churches aren't so different from corporations. World Changers
Ministries, for instance, operates a music studio, publishing house, computer
graphic design suite and owns its own record label. The Potter's House also
has a record label as well as a daily talk show, a prison satellite network that
broadcasts in 260 prisons and a twice-a-week Webcast. New Birth Missionary
Baptist Church has a chief operating officer and a special effects 3-D Web site
that offers videos-on-demand. It publishes a magazine and holds Cashflow 101
Game Nights. And Lakewood Church, which recently leased the Compaq
Center, former home of the NBA's Houston Rockets, has a four-record deal
and spends $12 million annually on television airtime.
Welcome to the megabusiness of megachurches, where pastors often act as
chief executives and use business tactics to grow their congregations. This
entrepreneurial approach has contributed to the explosive growth of
megachurches--defined as non-Catholic churches with at least 2,000 members--
in the U.S. Indeed, Lakewood, New Birth, The Potter's House and World
Changers, four of the biggest, have all experienced membership gains of late.
Of course, growth for them has a higher purpose: to spread their faith to as
many people as they can. "In our society growth equals success," says Scott
Thumma, faculty associate at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
"And religious growth not only equals success but also God's blessing on the
ministry."
In 1970, there were just ten such churches, according to John Vaughn, founder
of Church Growth Today, which tracks megachurches. In 1990, 250 fit that
description. Today, there are 740. The most common trait that these churches
share is their size; average number of worshippers is 3,646, up 4% from last
year, according to Vaughn. But they also demonstrate business savvy, with
many holding conferences (47%) and using radio (44%) and television (38%),
according to a 1999 survey conducted by the Hartford Institute for Religion
Research. The average net income of megachurches was estimated at $4.8
million by that same survey.
Churches are exempt from income taxes. But in some cases they do pay an
unrelated business income tax on activities not substantially related to the
church's religious, educational or charitable purposes. (Churches do pay
payroll, sales and, often, property taxes.)
Church Attendance* City, State Pastor
Lakewood Church 25,060 Houston, Tex. Joel Osteen
World Changers 23,093 College Park, Ga. Rev. Creflo Dollar
Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa 20,000 Santa Ana, Calif. Pastor Chuck Smith
The Potter's House 18,500 Dallas, Tex. Bishop T.D. Jakes
Second Baptist Church 18,000 Houston, Tex. Dr. H. Edwin Young
Southeast Christian Church 17,863 Louisville, Ky. Bob Russell
First Assembly of God 17,532 Phoenix, Ariz. Dr. Tommy J.
Barnett Willow Creek Community Church 17,115 S. Barrington, Ill. Bill Hybels
Calvary Chapel of Ft. Lauderdale 17,000 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Pastor Bob Coy
Saddleback Valley Community 15,030 Lake Forest, Calif. Dr. Rick Warren
*Catholic churches are not tracked for this study. This is all 2003 attendance
data and represents total weekend attendance for each congregation. Source:
Dr. John N. Vaughan, Church Growth Today
Technology also plays a large role in helping these giant churches communicate
with members and keep track of them. Many provide a transcript of the
weekly sermons and an events calendar on the Web site as well as sell
products, such as books and CDs. They also allow members to post prayers
and donate online. Almost all (99%) have Web sites. "Cell phones, e-mail,
complex phone systems and the Internet all enhance the way megachurches
work," says Thumma, faculty associate at the Hartford Institute.
Helping churches grow is a business in itself. There is even a publicly traded
company, Kingdom Ventures (otc: KDMV - news - people ), whose sole
mission is to help faith-based organizations get bigger. In its latest 10Q, the
company did disclose that it's received a subpoena from the Securities And
Exchange Commission relating to its stock and transactions. Founded in 1999,
the tiny company operates 12 subsidiaries and claims to work with 10,000
churches on everything from fundraising to event planning (it provides speakers
and artists for events) to upgrading technology by helping sell new audio and
visual equipment and sound systems. "One of the reasons megachurches are as
big as they are is because they use the technology of today," says Kingdom
Chief Executive Gene Jackson, "We can help smaller churches become big
with technology."
If that doesn't help, they may steer folks to a new book they are about to
publish: PastorPreneur, which is hitting Christian book stores this month. The
book teaches pastors to think like entrepreneurs; for instance, encouraging
them to set up strategic partnerships with nonchurch groups and to use event
marketing to draw in new members.
For a lesson in marketing, religious leaders would do well to study the success
of Bill Hybels and his Great Barrington, Ill.-based Willow Creek Community
Church. In 1975, he and members of his student ministry went door to door
asking residents what kept them away from church. Hybels then crafted his
services to address their concerns, becoming one of the first pastors to use
video, drama and contemporary music in church and encouraging a more
casual dress code. "Hybels really showed that churches can use marketing
principles and still be authentic," says Michael Emerson, a Rice University
sociology professor who has studied megachurches. Willow Creek, which
has a staff of 500 full and part-time employees, is renowned for its conferences
and seminars that teach other churches how to market themselves as well as
for its "buzz" events, featuring well-known personalities such as country singer
Randy Travis, NASCAR Champion owner and former Washington Redskins
coach Joe Gibbs and Lisa Beamer, widow of Sept. 11, 2001, hero Todd
Beamer--all intended to attract nonchurch goers.
Media has helped spread the message, particularly for Lakewood Church, the
largest megachurch in the U.S. In 1981, Joel Osteen, son of then-pastor Joe
Osteen, quit college to set up his father's television ministry. The services
eventually aired in 140 countries. He also advertised Lakewood on local
television and on billboards throughout Houston where the church is located.
After his father passed away in 1999, Osteen became pastor and expanded the
church's media strategy.
Like most churches, Lakewood's broadcasts had been relegated to the very
early Sunday morning shows. Lakewood instead decided to target the top 25
markets in the nation and negotiate for timeslots on the four top networks
between 8 A.M. and 10 A.M., rather than working with just one network.
It also agreed to increase its budget for airtime to $12 million from $6 million.
Its program now can be seen in 92% of the nation's households.
Never satisfied, the church analyzes its media strategy each quarter.
As for the services themselves, Lakewood makes sure to put on a grand show.
It has a 12-piece stage band, a lighting designer to set the mood and three large
projection screens. The technology will be even more spectacular when it
moves into its new home in the former Houston Rockets' stadium "We really
want it to feel like a concert," says Duncan Dodds, Lakewood's executive
director. Something is working: Church attendance has grown from 6,000 in
1999 when Osteen became pastor to 25,060 today.
Pastor Rick Warren, who founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif.,
in 1980, has deftly used technology as well as marketing to spread his message.
His Pastors.com, which reaches 100,000 pastors worldwide each week, has e-
mail forums, archives of all of his sermons from the past 22 years and a place
to post prayer requests. He also sends a free weekly newsletter, Rick Warren's
Ministry Toolbox, to pastors. When it came time to launch his book, The
Purpose Driven Life, last year, Warren used Pastors.com to invite churches to
participate in a "40 Days of Purpose" event (to correspond with the book's 40
chapters). The 40-day-long event attracted 1,562 churches and was kicked off
with a simulcast broadcast to all those churches. Some 267 radio stations ran a
"40 days campaign" during the same time period. And a CD of "Songs for a
Purpose Driven Life" featuring well-known Christian artists was also released.
From the start, the books and CDs were distributed in mass-market retailers
such as Wal-Mart (nyse: WMT - news - people ), Costco Wholesale (nasdaq:
COST - news - people ), Barnes & Noble (nyse: BKS - news - people ) and
Borders Group (nyse: BGP - news - people ). It quickly became a New York
Times bestseller and has already sold 5.8 million copies, outselling Billy
Graham and making it one of the most successful book promotions in
Christian publishing history.
No doubt, churches have learned some valuable lessons from corporations.
Now maybe they can teach businesses a thing or two. Companies would
certainly appreciate having the armies of nonpaid, loyal volunteers. "The
business world would love to have that kind of fellowship," says Vaughn.
Original Article: www.forbes.com/2003/09/17/cz_lk_0917megachurch_print.html
________________________________________________________________
Further Reading on This Website:
Laying Up Treasures- Where is Your Treasure??
Christians and the Prosperity Doctrine
The Frightening Future Of "Christianity" -- Where Is The Gospel??
Four Important Things That Every Christian Should Know
The Heavy Burden of Being Purpose-Driven
False Preachers - Passing out candy on the way to destruction
Church Apostasy... Living in the Last Days
Advice For Ministers by CH Mackintosh
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