In my last post, I pointed out the danger of holding on to my own perception of how things ought to be done in the church. I was on the leading edge of what later became “Contemporary Worship”. Now, what I fought to change in the church is no longer considered radical. In fact, you’re considered to be irrelevant and behind the times if you don’t have a modern style to your church worship service. This week, I want to point out some of the trends that have shown some shifts in the American church.
There are several shifts in the church that have taken place so subtly that it’s become normal without many people really noticing the change. The one I want to point out today is a shift toward multiple sites. Instead of having one church building at one location where everyone attends a service each week, the church is shifting to a multi-site model. In fact, a recent research study said that multi-site is the new normal. Each year, more and more churches are starting to open up additional sites for worship. Just 10 years ago, this model was in its infancy, with only about 27% of megachurches having multiple sites. Today, that number is at about 62%. A mega church is considered one with attendance of more than 2,000. Research shows that the larger the church, the more likely it is to be a multi-site church. But being a multi-site church is no longer just happening in larger churches. Smaller churches are also starting to open up multiple sites for worshipers.
It used to be that a church would consider starting a church at another location once they reached capacity at their present location. That is no longer true either. Smaller churches who want to reach beyond the boundaries of their present location are opening up sites in surrounding neighborhoods and cities to expand their influence.
While the majority of churches in America are either plateaued or declining, 85% of multi-site churches are growing. A study conducted by the Leadership Network/Generis Multisite Church Scorecard shows that one-third of all the sites started by multi-site churches were because of mergers with smaller, struggling churches. This trend also seems to be helping those smaller churches become healthy, productive bodies of believers instead of the small, struggling group that they were before the merger.
Why is this happening? There are several reasons cited by Thom Rainer in this article. ¹
- “Cultural Christians” are numerically declining. A cultural Christian is not really a Christian at all. These people have attended church services in the past because it was the culturally acceptable thing to do. They were drawn to the services that were large in number because they thought they could escape further involvement. They, in essence, hid in the crowd. Cultural Christianity is disappearing rapidly in America. It is no longer the perceived duty of Christians to go to church every week. Therefore, the cultural Christian no longer views it as his or her responsibility to go to church to be thought of as a Christian. The decline in their numbers has largely impacted the churches with larger gatherings.
- The majority of Millennials prefer smaller worship gatherings. They are thus less likely to attend a church with a single-service attendance of 1,000 or more. As churches seek to involve the younger generation, they have found that smaller gatherings tend to attract a younger crowd than a larger gathering will.
- The growth of church planting and church campuses. Church planting has largely been replaced by opening up new campuses instead of starting a new church from scratch. As stated above, smaller, struggling churches are being absorbed into larger, more stable churches as new sites of the larger church.
- Assimilation is often a greater challenge in the larger gathering. If someone stops attending a large worship gathering, it is likely he or she will not be missed. If the person is not missed, there is no follow-up and he or she drops out. In the typically smaller gathering at the satellite site of a larger church, community is more pronounced. It is easier to connect with others and to stay connected in a multi-site environment.
- The perceived quality of worship services is no longer limited to larger churches. From 1980 to 2010, many church attendees shifted to larger worship services where they could experience a higher quality of worship. Today, many of the smaller churches are able to have similar quality. You no longer have to travel to Australia to experience the quality of worship provided by Hillsong Church. With the resources of a larger church, but the feel of a smaller church, multi-site churches are able to offer a quality worship experience.
If you would like help in creating opportunities for millennials in your church, contact me! I can give you some solid approaches to attracting and keeping younger people in your church. Follow me on twitter for more church growth and leadership tips.
¹ This article was originally published at ThomRainer.com on 4/27/2016. Thom S. Rainer serves as president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. Among his greatest joys are his family: his wife Nellie Jo; three sons, Sam, Art, and Jess; and nine grandchildren. Dr. Rainer can be found on Twitter @ThomRainer and at facebook.com/Thom.S.Rainer.
