You Belong to a Megachurch

Would you be surprised to discover you're part of a megachurch? Do you know that there are megachurches in mission fields like Egypt and Russia? Do you realize that a megachurch meets for worship every Sunday in a tiny building by a country road in Tennessee, and in a rented theatre on the south side of Chicago?

It's true. But only if you change your mind about the definition of a megachurch.

According to the dictionary, mega means "great," "large," or "multiplied by one million." It's from a Greek word, megas, which appears frequently in various forms in the Greek New Testament. "Mega" greatness has many dimensions: size, number, age, intensity, rank, importance, grandness, and majesty.

Today we use "megachurch" to describe a local body of believers consisting of 1,000 members or more. I thank the Lord for these large churches and their impact around the world. The independent Christian churches now have nearly 100 such churches, and the number of them increases each year. But with all due respect to these sizeable congregations, the only true "megachurch" is the overall body of Christ consisting of every Christian on earth. If you know Jesus as your Savior and Lord and he has added you to those who are saved (Acts 2:47), then you are part of his megachurch!

True Greatness

We serve a mega God. "How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth!" (Psalm 47:2). We have a mega high priest. "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess" (Hebrews 4:14).

We are the objects of mega love. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1).

We are the recipients of God's mega might—"his incomparably great power for us who believe" (Ephesians 1:19).

Great Churches

What is a megachurch? It's one filled with "great fear" for the Lord (Acts 5:11). It's a church where "the greatest of these"—God's love—abounds (1 Corinthians 13:13). It exists anywhere there is great faith, great teaching, great leadership, and a great commitment to the Great Commission. It's anywhere the body of Christ causes observers to be "amazed at the greatness of God" just as they were when Jesus was physically present on earth (Luke 9:43).

A megachurch is a church of any size that is:

Ministry-minded—for if we want to be "mega" in God's kingdom, we must be servants (Matthew 20:26);

Evangelistic—for wherever lost people need to hear the gospel, the church must ring out the good news;

Growing—for God calls us toward ever-increasing maturity in Christ; and

Abounding in good works.

Maybe your church didn't make the list of megachurches this year. But if you're a Christian your sins are forgiven, your citizenship is in Heaven, and your body is the Spirit's temple. Your past has been cleaned up, your present is filled with significance, and your future is secure. You have joined with countless other believers to carry out the greatest work on earth.

Isn't that "mega-magnificent"?