Ridgell's Originals

I can be your consultant to help you grow a mega church. All it takes is money, including paying a consultant :) You need money to hire the best professional staff possible. Your lead minister must be an incredible leader, strong administrator, and a great preacher. He must really know Scripture because he will the source of most of the Bible study at this church.

The rest of the staff must be top-flight. They must be able to stucture enough programs and have enough interns so that every possible interest of every member is provided for. If they want it, provide it.

Worship must be top of the line. Professional musicians should be used. I know -- more money -- but we want the best. We want people to come out "blown away" by the experience.

The building must be first class. Acoustics are key. So is the right location. It must be easy for people to drive to because you may need to draw from well outside your neighborhood.

Target the right audience. You need to appeal to those people who have given up on their church. Maybe it did not meet their needs. Maybe it asked too much of them. Maybe worship just didn't "do it" for them. Low hanging fruit. Pick it.

There are a few things to guard against.

Don't expect your members to be involved. You have a top of the line staff to handle all the programs. Your preacher will do the studying. Staff will handle all worship responsibilities. Staff will cast the right vision. Let people come in, have an uplifting experience, and get out on time. Be sure we take care of the children from cradle to college. Parents have enough pressure making a living. If you ask too much, they may move to the church down the road and then they will be the mega-church.

Don't get complacent in worship. Stay cutting edge. Do something different. If you don't, they may find another church whose worship is more entertaining. Oops, I meant exciting. Wait... I meant meaningful.

Watch out for people. they can mess up everything. They have struggles and can really distract you from the programs. Some of them want to be used in Kingdom business. Stick them on a committee or involve them in a program under staff supervision. But do not let them out in the world doing ministry on their own. Growth must be controlled and managed properly.

Finally, watch out for people from the world. They can cause us to lose focus on meeting our needs. They don't understand contemporary and traditional worship wars. Sorry, I meant worship focus. They may ask questions that are awkward. Let the professionals handle them if they must be dealt with.

Remember -- it is a war out there. There are lots of churches and not enough members. You want to be the biggest and best. If you don't please everybody, the next church will. So play defense. Don't do anything to offend anyone. Do everything to please everyone. I know that sounds hard, but you can do it.

You too can have a mega church. Just think how different Acts could have been if they only knew how to grow a mega church.