Mega-church

Tellyontellyon said:

I watched this video in YouTube by a band.. Hillsong. There was a big crowd.

Is that what is called a mega-church?

When I was a young choir boy in an anglican church the services seemed more formal.. I've also attended services at a Roman Catholic church and a methodist church. They all felt like a service/ ritual was happening.

Are Mega-churches all like Hillsong?
Is that really a church?
Is that the future of Christianity?
Is it a good thing?

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It may not be accurate to say that mega-churches are inherently dangerous, but not all are good places to learn the truth about God. (Actually that is also true of small churches, but for a different reason.)

Personally, I have a problem with a Church where most don't know each other. But then, there aren't comparatively a lot of good and trustworthy Bible teachers available, either.

Tellyontellyon said:

I watched this video in YouTube by a band.. Hillsong. There was a big crowd.

Is that what is called a mega-church?

When I was a young choir boy in an anglican church the services seemed more formal.. I've also attended services at a Roman Catholic church and a methodist church. They all felt like a service/ ritual was happening.

Are Mega-churches all like Hillsong?
Is that really a church?
Is that the future of Christianity?
Is it a good thing?

Click to expand...

A mega-church is a large congregation. Meaning there are very many people in attendance. Churches, whether they're small or huge, are not all the same. And the size of the congregation doesn't determine whether or not it's a good church or a bad church. What's is being taught and practiced in that church determines its quality. What determines a good church from a bad church according to Jesus, can be found in the letters to the Seven Churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3.

Tellyontellyon said:

I watched this video in YouTube by a band.. Hillsong. There was a big crowd.

Is that what is called a mega-church?

When I was a young choir boy in an anglican church the services seemed more formal.. I've also attended services at a Roman Catholic church and a methodist church. They all felt like a service/ ritual was happening.

Are Mega-churches all like Hillsong?
Is that really a church?
Is that the future of Christianity?
Is it a good thing?

Click to expand...

I would say that a church, whatever its size, is a group of Christians in a certain place who regularly meet together to worship God and learn from His word the bible. The epistles in the New Testament are letters, most of which were written to local churches like that. The audience at concert is not a church.

Tellyontellyon said:

Are Mega-churches all like Hillsong?

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No Hillsong though is one of the biggest. It also has some doctrine that some question. It has other branches but the largest location is in Australia.

Tellyontellyon said:

Is that really a church?

Click to expand...

Yes, though not the same as your traditional church

Tellyontellyon said:

Is that the future of Christianity?

Click to expand...

Mega churches really started occurring in the 1980s. They do not all agree on the same teachings. Some are Pentecostal, others are not. They are worldwide now. S. Korea started in the 1950s, perhaps led the way with one of the biggest with membership of 830,000. Most are much smaller, maybe a few thousand. Good ones try to keep things personal by also having small group meetings. It is different but when they are large they have resources to have lots of things other churches may not. I attended one and it had great single's pastors and ministry.

Tellyontellyon said:

Is it a good thing?

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Jesus had quite the crowds. These churches are not Jesus though and some are certainly better than others. Lots of smaller churches have copied their freedom and worship. That style is mostly Pentecostal though there are some mega churches from nearly every denomination including Catholics ones. That style is copied too by many smaller churches. However they might not have the resources for large praise and worhip bands, fancy lighting and all the extra stuff. Nearly every town worldwide that has Christians has something at least similar to what you might find at Hillsong.

I saw online that wiki suggests that the definition of a mega church is one with attendance of over 2000 each Sunday.