What About Those Sheep-Stealing Megachurches?

There’s a lot of conversation going on about megachurches. In my context of ministry to small churches, much of the conversation surrounds this question. Are megachurches actually reaching new people for Jesus, or are believers gathering into ever-larger groups, leaving crumbling smaller churches in their wake? (A phenomenon commonly called sheep-stealing or sheep swapping.) Most of the time I hear these question, they come from a place of frustration and pain. Sometimes that pain has turned to anger – including anger at me every time I praise a big church. These questions and concerns will only increase as megachurches keep getting bigger while small churches seem to struggle more than they used to. Since these two phenomena are occurring at the same time, it’s easy to think that one (megachurch growth) is the cause of the other (small church struggles.) My take is that, while the two are related, it’s not a direct cause-and-effect.

April 3, 2018

by Karl Vaters

Are megachurches actually reaching new people for Jesus, or are believers gathering into ever-larger groups, leaving crumbling smaller churches in their wake? (A phenomenon commonly called sheep-stealing or sheep swapping.)

Megachurches keep getting bigger while small churches seem to struggle more than they used to. Since these two phenomena are occurring at the same time, it’s easy to think that one (megachurch growth) is the cause of the other (small church struggles.)

My take is that, while the two are related, it’s not a direct cause-and-effect.

Author

Karl Vaters

Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of five books on church leadership, including his newest, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next. His other books include The Grasshopper Myth and Small Church Essentials.
Karl also hosts a bi-weekly podcast,The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry, featuring in-depth interviews about topics that concern pastors, especially those who minister in a small church context.
Karl has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. He and his wife, Shelley have three children and two grandkids.

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