A recent headline in USA Today read, “Biggest U.S. Churches ‘Contemporary,’ ‘Evangelical.’” But they also appear to be rapidly moving toward multiple site models. The article quotes Ed Stetzer of LifeWay Research:
“Multiple sites are the new normal for fast-growing and large churches. Lakewood is the exception. The next 10 all have multiple sites,” says Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay. “They’re contemporary, aggressively evangelistic and evangelical and they’re moving beyond the ‘big box’ megachurch model. The best churches have very intentional systems to move people from sitting in rows to sitting in circles (in small groups) to going out and making a difference in the world.”
Add to this Dan Gilgoff’s post today noting a religious survey concluding that “One Quarter of Americans Could Claim ‘No Religion’ in 20 Years” and we realize these multiple sites have plenty of work to do.