How Cars Created the Megachurch

And put churchgoers in the driver's seat

Of the 150 or so acres making up Willow Creek Community Church’s main campus, a full 8 acres are devoted to buildings. Parking lots cover more than 28. That ratio demonstrates just how important cars are to most churches today.

Though Willow Creek is now a multi-site church, it still calls South Barrington, Illinois, home. Population? 4,656, Each weekend, most of the church’s 20,000 attendees drive on to the main campus using three major entrances, swelling the suburban village’s population for a few hours on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings. People arrive by car from all over Chicagoland. The fact is undeniable: for megachurches, cars are essential. Read more

My reaction to this article was, "This may be true for megachurches in the United States. But is it true for megachurches outside the United States where car ownership is less common and where people rely on mass transit and other forms of transportation, including their own two feet?" Christians outside the United States may wish to study what has contributed to the growth of megachurches in their own locality. Such a study will give them a better understanding of the megachurch phenomenon in their part of the world.