In my experience, few things are more unfairly criticized, among otherwise fairminded Christians, than the mega church. Just down the road from Selmore is the biggest church in Missouri. This church does numerous good works in the community in the name of Jesus, and provides valuable ministries that other churches can't (or won't) provide. Nevertheless, the attitude among churched folk in the community towards this church seems to be overwhelmingly critical... "People just go there because it's like a Branson show!" or "It's just Six Flags over Jesus you know!" The assumption seems to be that there are no "serious" Christians in mega churches.
And while no one would deny that many are drawn to mega churches because of their sheer size and resources, and that others are drawn to mega churches because it allows them to blend in to the crowd and avoid accountabilty, scores of others are there for legitimate reasons. I was reminded of this recently in speaking to a young couple who is currently attending another mega church in our city (not the one down the street). This is a spiritually mature couple who are Bibilically grounded, and not the type to select their church based on whether or not it has pyrotechnics and a coffee shop.
When asked why they were attending the mega church, here's what they said: 1) The pastor taught the Word with excellence. 2) The people were loving and welcoming.
Unfortunately, they had a difficult time finding those qualities in other churches they had attended!
Bottom line... If a church has a lot of people coming to it, it may not be for a sinister reason. It may simply be because it's an exceptional church.
