Megachurch Business Model

Background

Historically, religion and religious institutions have been a trusted source of hope and solace for the weary spirits drained by the demands of society. The church’s importance in our society is even more prominent now, in the face of a largely pragmatic –– some might even go as far as to say cold-hearted –– living environment. However, greedy and power-hungry individuals who serve as leaders in these organisations exploit the trust of their followers, and we see problems surfacing in an organisation that was originally built to serve the needs of the people; now, it merely serves their leaders. They are even audacious enough to exploit the trust the government places on these organisations, and we will discuss in this essay how
Megachurches, unlike traditional churches provide services past spiritual healing, which many purists believe domesticates the idea of religion a little too much. However, this is one of the reasons megachurches are becoming more popular –– because they directly address the modern issues plaguing most of today’s church-goers. Megachurches also have diversified their services to include unrelated businesses like banks, pharmacies and theatres to support their existing function as “counsellor”. In Singapore this is particularly prevalent as the City Harvest Church has a stake in Suntec City and the New Creations Church (under their music arm Rock Productions) in the Star Theatre, both of which are utilised to bring a relaxed and even fun element to prayer and devotion. Megachurches have spurred a new movement where pastors aren’t simply spiritual leaders but as Carson Valley Christian Centre’s pastor, John Jackson calls himself, “pastorpreneur”. Their product is religion, but they employ all the aspects of business to ensure success: strategy, marketing and consumer loyalty, along with
Megachurches picked up on the fact that traditional church attendance was waning and built their respective marketing wings accordingly. Megachurches are more innovative than traditional churches in their use of marketing, using modern technology to broadcast sermons, providing online transcripts and prayers as well. This allows them to reach out to those who may not have been able to make a regular commitment to church, due to geographic or time constraint reasons. Additionally, those who cannot physically come to church can make up for it by electronically donating while away or overseas, it’s almost like a subscription payment for Church rather than Netflix. Additionally, megachurches attract new coverts through what they call “Buzz events” which feature religious celebrities such as Randy Travis, Joe Gibbs and Lisa Beamer to attract those considered “non-churchgoers” (Willow Creek Community Church). Megachurches’ reach spread even farther as affiliated programs programs can be seen in 92% of US households. On top of this, every bookstore will have a litany of liturgy from self-help books, religious CDs, DVD, magazines and every other media imaginable. Megachurches also invest vast amounts of their funds into events as can be seen from the 40 Days of Purpose Event where Pastor Rick