Megachurches, Coming to a Town Near You

An Anatomy of Megachurches, written by Witold Rybczynski, offers an interesting look into the design and impact of megachurches across America.

Megachurches are enormous, amphitheater-like places of worship. Many sear more than 20,000 people and rival the atmosphere of a sporting event. Almost all have huge video monitors around the room and people sit in "padded theater seats, instead of wooden pews" (Rybczynski). These huge buildings do not resemble normal churches in any way--many do not have any religious symbols on the outside walls. By putting these megachurches in the middle of cities and towns across America, congregations are turning "their [places] of worship [into] a part of everyday life" (Rybczynski). Instead of keeping churches sacred and set apart from the mundane routine of an average weekday, megachurches offer people an opportunity to make prayer a quick stop on the way home from work.

However, not all agree that megachurches are an acceptable form of a place of worship. The huge structures complete disregard the traditional church setting. The Lakewood Church, in Houston, Texas, is actually "a converted sports arena [and was] once home to the Houston Rockets" (Rybczynski). The building is large and imposing and "putting up a sign and a fountain is not enough" to turn the monstrosity into a holy place (Rybczynski).

These naysayers seem to forget the goal of many of these megachurches. They aim to offer a sense of comfort and ease. Many have activity centers, book stores and cafes all in the same building as the main auditorium. The megachurches are also often non-denominational, allowing an entire community to pray together. People have increasingly complex and busy lives and megachurches offer an easy way to bring families and communities together.