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First about 45% of the people in the survey are Protestants – no indication what percentage of the remaining people who also went to church and who were RC or EO. They certainly don’t all attend church every week (because total weekly church attendance including RC and EO is only about 45%).

Second there is no breakdown of the type of church people went to (denominational or theological spectrum – liberal or conservative). The 2005 Hartford Seminary survey (check it out here http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/megastoday2005summaryreport.pdf) revealed that more than 90% of 1210 megachurches in the USA are evangelical (Pentecostal/Charismatic, non-denomination, baptistic). That would lead one to assume that most people who attend megachurches will likely have more evangelical beliefs. Whereas the percentage of smaller churches that are more liberal in outlook and practice would be much higher (more than 50%?).

Third, Stetzer highlights the difference among house church attendees.
“The religious beliefs and behaviors of people who attend house churches, which average about 20 adults in attendance, are more similar to the results for large conventional churches (i.e., more than 500 adults) than they are to the outcomes among those who attend small conventional churches (i.e., less than 50 adults).”

Without adding more information like religious tradition, level of church participation, etc., the results are merely interesting, but not particularly helpful.

Thanks for the insights. I am not a huge fan of using statistical studies to arrive at judgment calls. Surveys can provide interesting information, but too often they don’t show the whole picture. In this instance, your interpretation would be very poignant and powerful IF you had extensive experience with mega-churches that backed up the statistical information. The problem is, practically no one can have extensive experience in many domains of life to corroborate with statistics that are published.

My prior “home church” would be defined as a “mega” church. There, you could find all walks of life, although the majority were real, born again, living-the-changed-life, Christians. At this particular church, your interpretation wouldn’t hold true. But like I mentioned earlier, since I don’t have extensive experience with mega churches, it’s impossible for me to say whether my experience contradicts your interpretation or not. It just happens to be one mega church that I was a part of that may or may not represent the practical reality of the majority.

Without experience to support or contradict your interpretation of the Barna study, I am not saying you are wrong in your interpretation, I’m just saying that one can’t know whether or not your thoughts are accurate or not.

That’s my take on it, and I may be off on my thoughts, but I do appreciate your pondering on the subject.

Your brother,
Ben