Good news for pastors seeking employment: 2013 could be a good year for a new job–namely if you don’t mind working at a megachurch.
New research from Dallas-based Leadership Network (full infographic below) indicates that 75 percent of megachurches–those reporting attendance of 2,000 or more people on a weekly basis–intend to hire new staff members in 2013. The full report, “The Economic Outlook of Very Large Churches,” also reveals that 83 percent of megachurches plan to meet their 2013 financial budgets.
The report is based on surveys of more than 700 church leaders, whose explosive growth and rosy outlook also may extend to their own pocketbooks: 81 percent said they plan to increase staff salaries.
Three interesting stats:
1) 79 percent of large Protestant churches are growing, versus 20 percent of all Protestant churches.
2) 70 percent of large churches are experiencing an increase in offerings, including nearly 1 in 5 by more than 10 percent.
3) Most interesting: The data also suggests that as church attendance increases, giving per person decreases–and megachurch attendance is on the rise.
Ed Stetzer notes that, based on this data, megachurches are financially healthier than smaller churches:
According to our most recent LifeWay Research economic impact survey, 22% of all churches reported giving below budget. Only 17% of megachurches expect giving to be below budget this year. Also, 70% of megachurches showed an increase in giving as compared to just 40% of all churches.
CT has regularly reported on megachurches, including multi-site churches, Willow Creek Church, the “mega-mirror” effect, and whether or not megachurch worship is addictive.
