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
Four Important Things That Every Christian Should Know
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
Four Important Things That Every Christian Should Know
| Christian Capitalism Megachurches, Megabusinesses |
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