Sign Wednesday: Mega Churches

I found the next 2 signs to be very interesting. They are very similar in nature and goes to speak a lot, I believe, about the growth of Mega Churches. The first sign is a map of the fastest growing metro areas in the United States. Here is the graphic/sign:



The dots represent cities that have at least a population 20,000 people in April of 2000 and have seen significant growth since then. Now take that sign and compare it to the second sign. The second sign is that of Mega Churches and their location and concentration in the United States. This sign is from the New York Times. You can click on it to make it easier to see.



Does anyone else notice that they are basically the same image? What do you think this tells us?

Here is what I think:

If you want to have the best possible way of having a church plant succeed then start one in an area that is seeing incredible growth. Of course this is not a guarantee but your chances are much better. My former pastor, Ed Young, would say that most of this is dumb growth and you can't really count it. I mean there are more Mega Churches in Dallas/Fort Worth than there is in Lexington, KY because there is simply more people. It is easy to get caught up looking at churches in metro areas that have millions of people that live there and are averaging 12,000-30,000 in average weekly attendance. These churches are successful and are reaching a great mass of people. I think it would be more interesting though to find a church that is not in a growing area but is growing like crazy.