The biggest Baptist Church in America?

How many churches over 30 in membership practice church discipline? Yes, excluding the ones who will not give up their worldly ways.

Selah,

Bro. James

 

Sometimes the misleading could be the other way as well. In most cases in our area, Sunday School and church attendance tends to be smaller than the membership number. Bob Gray's Longview Baptist Temple and that sort might be exceptions to that rule of thumb.

True comparisons need to at least follow the same methodology consistently. It is interesting when trying to draw comparisons between believers' baptism type churches and paedobaptists - they don't count members the same way either.

 

Largest is perhaps Saddleback.
I'm amazed that there are any churches, including at least one in KY, here, whose average attendance surpasses the entire population of my own semi-rural county (around 17,000 with over 70 different churches, BTW) anywhere.
If not Saddleback, perhaps Landover?.

Check out THIS megachurch.
In His grace,
Ed

(Edited to remove link to mean-spirited site.)

[ February 03, 2006, 03:53 PM: Message edited by: rsr ]

 

Ed, you do know that is a lampoon site ridiculing Baptists, don't you?

Just don't know whether or not you're kidding.

 

"Landover Baptist"

rvaughn sez:

Ed sez:

And you can quote ME on that!
Heh! Heh!
Ed

 

I live in the OC. There is no shortage of churches with 2000+ attendees. I'd hardly call them megachurches. Clearly, the "megachurch" label is quite subjective.

 

Why was the parody/lampoon site called 'Landover' considered "mean-spirited" by the censor, 'er I mean moderator or administrator? I personally have found some remarks here, not on this thread, but in BB and brother/sister to brother/sister FAR more offensive than anything I ever read there. Maybe that was becaue I recognize a lampoon when I see one??
Ed

 

Most likely the same number do that are under 30.

 

We had to exclude 2 last year, including a former Pastor.

It's not something I enjoy doing, and not something to be taken lightly. It took over a year's worth of working with the two members before we had to act. It had been 6 years before that since we had excluded anyone.

Our church currently has 29 members.

As far as size goes, I am used to smaller congregations and I would not care much for our church to get over 100 members. My personal feeling is, when a church gets that big, and the pastor can no longer serve each member as he should, then it's time to start another sister church in the area.

There are currently 4 fellowshipping Primitive Baptist churches in the Houston area, each with less than 100 members, yet we are filled to capacity with the Holy Spirit, and that's what really matters.

 

I'm not a numbers guy, but a church that don't increase in numbers is simply not fulfilling the Lord's commission.. There is no way around it..

I too think that when a church reaches a certain size (subjective here) it should have enough gifts and talents to start a sister church.

 

tinytim,

God is the One Who brings increase. If you were to apply your reasoning to Jeremiah, you would have considered him a failure, he had no "converts".

 

You are right....
I should say generally speaking..

 

You know guys, you just can't have a "normal" conversation without someone getting on a high horse and criticizing everything said. Didn't the church at Pentecost have huge numbers? The numbers were mincluded in inspired scripture for a reason. Some people like to hide behind their laziness and unchristian attitudeand demeanor to brag about being small. There is no virtue in false modesty guys.

It is true that God gives the increase. Why do some men boast about themselves adding to the decrease?

I get weary of reading posts that are always so negative and bitter. I enjoy my life as a believer and minister of the gospel. If you don't have the joy of the Lord, leave me alone and let me enjoy mine.

 

What would you call a church that has in attendance every Sunday 5 to 7% of the total county population?

 

I think Prestonwood in Plano, TX is in the top 3, but I could be wrong. Supposedly they have 15,000 every Sunday. That place is huge, we like to refer to it as the "Baptist Dome".

A little off topic, but do you think churches need to purge their membership rosters every so many years? I think I recall being told by a former pastor at a previous megachurch I attended that there is some sort of financial benefit to having X number of people on your roster. Maybe it was that a SS/SMBS class has their budget determined by the number of people on the roster, and not the number in regular attendance. I know at a church I went to growing up, the softball league had a rule that in order to play for a church you had to average 1-2 times a month or something.

Anyway, I have been told (and heard it touted) that Billy Graham is a member at our church and I've never seen him there once. Maybe he's just an "honorary" member, I can't remember.
I suppose an exception would have to be made for missionaries and frequent business travelers. Hmm...sounds complicated.

But as I think that would be a good for general practice. Churches love to tout the number of members. I think I'll start a poll along those lines.

 

I dunno', but if it were in Loving Co. Texas, (Pop. <75) that 7% attendence would equal 5!



And if it were in Los Angeles County, California, the attendence at 7% would equal the population of Denver, and Lexington, KY combined, and almost match that of the entire state of South Dakota, and would exceed that of North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming as individual states, as well as that of Washington, D.C. with a third of Wyoming added for good measure.

Guess this kinda' depends on perspective, from 5 to 682,500 here.
Ed

 

Isn't Lakewood Church of Houston a Baptist Church?
I Know that John Osteen the Father of Joel osteen was an ordained SOuthern BAptist Pastor.
I have heard that it is the largest congreagation in the United States.