I have absolutely no hesitation in saying that I credit the vast majority of my early faith development to my mentors and friends found in those youth programs, and for that I will be forever grateful. Over the next decade, my brother and I became fixtures in the youth program, consistently attending weekly events and retreats all through our middle and high school years, eventually becoming volunteer youth leaders ourselves, first in the elementary-level program and then in the middle school one. Nevertheless, despite their own reservations stemming from this culture-shock, my parents stood by the move, in large part because they felt that this new church would prove beneficial for the faith development of my identical twin and I (which I would unequivocally say was true). This new community represented a major departure from expectations of what “church” had always looked like for my Catholic father and Southern Baptist mother: This new place had guitar players, a main auditorium which doubled as a basketball court, and highly-developed programming for kids of all different ages throughout the year. I was born into a humble Baptist church which I have fairly little memory of, but when I was in late-ish elementary school our family began attending a much bigger non-denominational church, which has continued to grow at a consistently strong pace in the time since (for context, this is in a relatively affluent, predominately-White suburb of Chicago, IL). Now, let me briefly explain my own history with megachurches, so you might better understand where exactly my perspective comes from.
Finally, please know that all my words are intended to be constructive and loving towards megachurches and those who attend them, as I myself come from a place of very much wanting these faith communities to succeed in the goal of showing people the love, grace, and glory of our God. I want not to perpetuate generalizations, but only to speak to broad trends and commonalities, both positive and negative, present in many of these communities. My own experience will certainly not mirror anyone else’s perfectly. Secondly, I want to acknowledge that the term “megachurch”, as I’m using it here, describes an incredibly diverse set of communities which hold a wide range of theological stances, denominational ties, demographic breakdowns, and interior cultures, among many other elements. I only want to (hopefully) help equip you to better make that discernment for yourself with my own observations and experiences. (If an entry is included in the fixlist, it will be removed.)ĪV: Dr.Web Security Space (Disabled - Up to date) ) (Version: 12.0 - Doctor Web, Ltd.)ĭXGL 0.5.12 (HKLM-x32\.\DXGL) (Version: 0.5.12 - William Feely)Įaglesoft Citation X 750 2.0 (HKU\S-1-5-21-2357164880-557895980-647672482-1001\.\Eaglesoft Citation X 750 2.Let me start with a few disclaimers: First, I have no intention to say definitely here whether or not a megachurch may be the “right” sort of church for you in general or in your current faith season, if that is something you are pondering.
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