5 Reasons Charismatic Churches Are Growing (and Attractional Churches Are Past Peak)

Think about how churches were just before the pandemic hit.

Notice this?

If you looked at almost any growing church led by younger leaders, it definitely tended toward the charismatic—expressive worship, more emotional delivery in preaching, an openness to the work and activity of the Holy Spirit, and generally a warmer, more enthusiastic and expressive gathering.

And…a lot of the churches that leaned toward a more charismatic expression of their faith were filled with young adults and Millennials.

Meanwhile, many leaders in attractional churches were finding it harder and harder to reach new people. While not universally true, some had stopped growing, or at least seen a slower growth rate than say 5 or 10 years ago.

Post-pandemic, that trend may be even more accelerated.

Please hear me. This is not “we’re right you’re wrong”. This is a learning together post. Actually, both the charismatic and attractional movements have contributed massively to reaching millions of people. There is much to learn from each other.

Critics have no place here, but learners do.

So what’s happening? Well, culture changes, and what people respond to changes, too. The church should change with it. While you should never change the mission of a church (it’s eternal), you should definitely adapt the method.

Churches who love the method more than the mission will die. It happened in the 1950s, in the 1970s, in the 1990s and it’s happening today. What was effective a decade ago isn’t always effective today. Leaders who live in the past end up dying to the future. Read More