DJ dropped Beyond Megachurch Myths: what we can learn from America's largest churches (S. Thumma and D. Travis) on my desk as a joke. I didn't realise it was a joke so I began to skim read it.
One thing that stood out to me was in the chapter "Megachurches water down the faith". This chapter pointed out that 40% of the weekly attendance of megachurches is the uncommitted fringe. In fact, since these people only come from time to time, their totaly number exceeds the overall weekly attendance!
Their observation was that megachurches kind of depend on these fringe dwellers:
These Marginal members as a group... contribute several critical characteristics of the megachurch on which its success is based... They fill the pews; they create the impression of a 'packed house'. Without them, the megachurch would be significantly smaller and less dynamic. These participants balance the intense commitment of the core and committed members.....These less involved members also contribute in terms of the successful reputation of the church in the community. They are the most numerous gropu in the public arena and in some ways the best evangelists for the church in that they are more 'in the world' than core church members.
More than that, the megachurch often does a better job than smaller churches at deliberately targeting the fringe. I remember in Seattle, hearing Andrew Heard say that you don't want too high a percentage of your church in small groups - because that means there aren't new people coming into your church! Megachurches recognise the opportunity:
These marginal participants are the church's internal mission field. The megachurch opens its doors to all marginal, anonymous participants, both seekers and spectators, in order to bring the mission field inside the walls of the church... They are tolerated within the congregation of moderate and committed members precisely because they represent those in need of spiritual maturity....
Where other churches miss the opportunity:
While pastors of other churches know implicitly that they have different levels of commitment in their congregation, they tend to speak primarily to the experiences of either the core group or the unbelievers... They treat the worship participants as a club of the saved, holding up expectations and challenges to help them mature further in their commitments, using language best suited for longtime Christians. Seldom are services or sermon intended to convince or inspire those with the potential to grow in the faith beyond just worship attendance. Many megachurch pastors, however, are well aware of this group in their midst and target the service, the sermon, and the ministries to all those present in the congregation, whether core and highly committed members of marginal members, occasional seekers and first-time inquirers.
One application of this, as Dan suggested on the MTS Tasmania blog, is in addition to putting effort and planning into the mission campaign (for the non-Christian) and the vision campain/conference (for the core), we should consider occasionally doing the Christian maturity campaign for the fringe dwellers.
Can others give examples of how this is working in your context?
