Cyclop-Churches

There is an article today that reports that several mega-churches have decided to close for Christmas. There thought is that many of there members wouldn’t show up because Christmas is such a busy day, with the presents and the family, and the food, etc, etc. Instead, these churches have decided to have various worship services in the week leading up to Christmas, and really celebrating the holiday on Christmas Eve. In general I like the institution of the se mega-churches, however, I feel that sometimes they miss the larger point.

"If our target and our mission is to reach the unchurched, basically the people who don't go to church, how likely is it that they'll be going to church on Christmas morning?" -- Cally Parkinson, a spokeswoman for Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill.
I can see where it would be easy to assume that people wouldn’t come on Christmas. Usually Christmas has the second worst attendance of the year after Easter. Like I said, Sometimes they tend to miss the larger point.

A mega-church is defined has averaging more than 2000 attendees for weekly services. In the United States there are a number of churches that get up to 10,000 people in every week. The largest church in the world is Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, which has nearly 1 million members.

I like to call these mega-churches, “Cyclop-churches” because they are gigantic and seem to have only one vision. The benefits of mega-churches are pretty clear to see. Because they have more money and can afford a better staff, and put more money into there production quality, the worship services very, very good. I attended a mega church once, and the service felt more like a rock concert, with a sermon squeezed in the middle. It was also one of the best sermons I had ever heard. Thus, because they have more money, they can have better preachers, better music, and more services, providing a variety, so that there are different services for different people. It’s very easy to become just another face in the crowd at one of these places, and get spiritually feed at the same time. And this is what many people want.

However, it seems to me that Cyclop-churches tend to have one goal -- more people (and by default, more money). It may seem like that should be the primary goal of any church; getting more attendees is equivalent to spreading the word of God. Spreading the word of God isn’t about getting more people to church, it’s about spreading God’s love. If more people show up to church as a result, then great. But, a churches primary responsibility should be to help out the community, not to cater to it’s own congregation, because that should be secondary.

So, for some people, who like to get involved, and like to help people, sometimes these bigger churches are not the way to go. The smaller churches tend to be more willing to lend a helping hand. There are definitely benefits to both, but I prefer the smaller churches, which realize the importance of Christmas.