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Wednesday June 25, 2008 ~ 15 Comments
My research team is working on the 100 Largest and Fastest Growing church lists and we don't want to miss any churches. Finding them can be a challenge, particuarly the fastest growing. What churches do you know of that have grown significantly in the past year (numerically or percentage wise)? If your church has experienced significant growth in the past year or you know of a church that has, please email my team at research@top100churches.com (give us at least the church name, city, state, and pastor's name if you don't know anything else like a phone number or website address). My team will take it from there. To motivate those of you in the know... if you are the first person to mention a church that 1) we don't already have on our list, 2) makes it to one of the top 100 churches, I'll send you a free book and thank you on the blog when they are published in Outreach Magazine comes out this fall. Help us out! Tell us about the churches who are reaching people. Posted on June 25, 2008 at 2:23 PM ~ 15 Comments Tagged with: churches, growing, growth, LifeWay Research Subscribe via RSS or Follow us on Twitter
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I stopped in World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro, TN a couple months ago. Hadn't seen it on any lists, but is growing very fast.
I'd nominate Christ Fellowship in Palm Beach Gardens (Tom and Todd Mullins - lead pastors).
Are you going to delineate how they are growing?
- Pulling believers from other churches.
- Adding new converts.
Do we believe their numbers in the first place?
Are you at all concerned that this list reinforces some negative aspects to churches in the U.S. today and discounts the small church?
What of the "small" church that actually multiplies and has multiplied by planting churches out of its congregation. Never growing beyond 100 to 500 congregates because the pastor is actually making a disciple, then sending his disciple out with church members to plant a new church?
Where's the focus on those churches?
Fasinating questions, Sean, and worthy of discussion (as I have done on many times). But, right now I am looking for suggestions to research...
Ed,
While I may not have a new church to add to your list, I was wondering if you new of a list that categorized America's most "consistently" growing churches. I love the Outreach Fastest Growing List, but I am looking for the churches that have been able to grow anywhere from 7% to 15% every year for several years. I am aware of your Lifeway Breakthrough churches, but is there a cross-denominational list that is similar?
Thanks for your help.
Eduardo-
Not sure if it fits your specific criteria, but Midway-Macedonia BC in Villa Rica, GA has experienced continuous growth for the last 10 years. Was noted this year as the Fastest Growing Large Church in the GBC.
Church of the Redeemer in Gaithersburg Md (also has 2 extension campuses) should be considered. Pastored by Dale O'Shields
Do you have Church of the Highlands, main campus in Birmingham AL on your list? Our Head Pastor is Chris Hodges. The phone number is 980-5577. I believe there were around 3,500 members last June or July 2007 when they moved into the new building on Highlands Way. There are now somewhere between 8500 - 9000 at the Main Grants Mill campus with an attendance of around 12,000 each Sunday for all the campuses. God is truly at work in this church!!!!!!!!!!!!!
New Vision Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, TN. newvisiononline.net
I would be very interested in your research, I am a part of Gateway Church in Southlake, TX and we've grown from around 8,000 to just over 10,000 in weekend attendance in the last year. We are trying to research other churches our size to learn all we can about growth, staffing, volunteerism, etc.
Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, TN (a suburb of Memphis) has a membership count of 30,000-35,000. The current pastor is Steve Gaines and our former pastor was Adrian Rodgers of Love Worth Finding. It was the first televised church in the world beginning in the 1950s.
Wow, some really good churches above. You might want to also look at New Season Church in Hiram, GA - a suburb of Atlanta. This contemporary, evangelistic church has grown 1000% in the last year and is exploding. Lead pastor is Steve Flockhart. Executive pastor is Todd Mozingo. Website is: www.newseasonchurch.com
Wow, some really good churches above. You might want to also look at New Season Church in Hiram, GA - a suburb of Atlanta. This contemporary, evangelistic church has grown 1000% in the last year and is exploding. Lead pastor is Steve Flockhart. Executive pastor is Todd Mozingo. Website is: www.newseasonchurch.com
Curious about a few other data points.
I know dozens of churches who simply decline to report their growth figures but are growing like crazy. Sometimes it's the "unknown-least known" who are doing some amazing things.
It would be interesting to see how "growth numbers" compare to "least churched" areas. I think a church in the NW over 5k could be compared to a church in the South over 10k because of the "least churched" data.
Don't get me wrong, church growth is great but how many of these mega churches have a daughter church that is a mega? It's one thing to be mega, it's another thing to plant mega.
You really should check out New Season Church in Hiram Ga. 2 years ago they started with 40 people and are now over 700 strong. 100s have been saved and baptised and their community has been changed, thank you new seasons for changing our community and my family.