The Megachurch Up The Road

I love our church. It may not be a the biggest church in the city, but it strives to be a healthy church. We may not have all the big budgets and Sunday School space, but we try to be good stewards of what God has given us.

We thank God for our local body while at the same time, pray for other churches. One in particular is a megachurch up the road. It is literally up the road. We see it every week. It is a the largest in the city. Sometimes, people get our churches mixed up. We try not be in competition with them because we all serve the same Lord, though, I disagree with a few things they have done in the past.

Maybe your church location is different. You may not have a megachurch up the road or close by. However, there are a few things to remember as you see the megachurch up the road. First, they are not the enemy. We are not in competition with them nor do we seek their destruction. The Bible says, we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but "against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12), which leads me to my next point.

Second, they are your brothers and sisters, if they are indeed true believers. Coming from a megachurch background myself, there is the temptation to assume everyone that attended was a Christian which is not always the case. There are people attending a megachurch that are either banking on their outward performance to get to heaven or they are lost and only attend church because it is the right thing to do. The megachurch up the road belongs to the family of God, which makes them family to you. They need your fellowship as well as your prayers.

Finally, we worship the same Jesus. Yes, they may sing different songs. While we sing old hymns and songs from the Getty's, they will sing songs from Jesus Culture without thinking of the lyrics. Jesus died for their sins and our sins. We come to the throne of grace through the same Jesus. We worship and adore the same Christ who took our place to take the wrath of God for our sins.

The megachurch up the road, or the one across town, may do things differently, but we should celebrate with them when God does amazing things. Yes, we must discern what they are doing is Biblical, but it does not mean they are wrong if they are not Calvinistic. Pray for other churches whether they are larger or smaller than you.

Recommended Resources:

The Importance of Praying for Other Churches

On Gospel Growth Beyond Your Church from 9 Marks