Are the days of Mega Churches over?

 

By Stephen Ng 

AFTER THE DEMISE of evangelist Billy Graham, the man God used to reach masses of people, I wonder sometimes if this marks the end of a glorious age, once characterized by big meetings at stadiums with tens of thousands of people. 

        Mimicking God's work through Dr Graham, Satan also had his mega meetings with thousands of people listening to some false teachers, whose power to mesmerize even the elect is simply amazing.

        The Covid-19 pandemic, as we all know, does not allow large number of people to congregate in one location. With the Delta variant which is airborne, this makes the virus even more infectious when hundreds of people come together in an enclosure. The air circulation in an air-conditioned environment provides an ideal place for the virus to strike. 

        Even before the pandemic is over, the Japanese embassy has issued an advisory to all its citizens in Malaysia "over possible terrorist threat in South-east Asia." Why did Tokyo issue such an advisory to its citizens unless they have received intelligence of such threats? Why is this happening at a time when people like me are looking forward to return to their churches after the standard operating procedures are relaxed?

        Is the Lord saying to us that the days of the mega churches and big tent meetings are over? When I look back, I cannot help but ask if the Lord is glorified in such meetings or is it rather the human ego that is being satisfied instead? I am not sure, but it is certainly, a time for reflection. 

        While doing two seminary modules on Small Groups, I studied the cell group structure of DUMC and Church Planting model of New Life Restoration Centre. 

        DUMC continues to meet in a central location, but they are ever ready to go full force as cell groups the moment there is persecution. 

         NLRC, on the other hand, has already decentralised itself. Instead of having everyone in one location, their leaders are encouraged to go out and plant more churches. NLRC may not have a mega church building, but it has multiplied itself by planting new churches in a number of locations.

        I am wondering whether under the current circumstances, where both threats from the virus and terrorists are real, would it be better for mega churches to start their small group meetings on Sunday mornings once the SOPs are relaxed? 

        Fully backed by the service broadcasts on the Internet, would this model work better in order for the church to have a wider reach to the neighbourhood? I remember SIBKL used this model, during Christmas last year, and I believe the model can be further refined to make it work even more effectively. 

        Perhaps, if more Bible teachers and lay preachers can be trained to fill the vacuum, we may be able to see a church explosion bigger than any that the terrorists could trigger off, would we not? After all, with the Internet reach these days, seminaries and lay leaders can be easily connected. 

        Perhaps, I am stretching our imagination a little further: maybe, it's time for the bricks and mortar to fetch some good rental value and the money used to train more people for God's kingdom? 

        We have been praying for revival of churches in Malaysia. Didn't God send a big revival in China after the small groups model was initiated? Never underestimate the dynamics of the Holy Spirit at work in small groups.