We're Watching The Death Of The American Megachurch In Real-Time
By: Ossiana Tepfenhart
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
From thousands of parishioners down to hundreds, this once dependable "business" is in shambles.
by Ossiana Tepfenhart
Jan 7, 2026
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
America always had a certain flair for bringing Christianity to others. This was the country where Mormons learned how to do their door-to-door recruitment, after all.
Unlike other countries, where churches were part of the government's budget, American churches were often treated as businesses. In no place is this truer than the world of Evangelical megachurches.
In recent years, a striking trend started to take hold. Megachurches, once an exclusively American cultural icon, have started to wither away. But, why is this happening? And how did these churches even get their start?
America's megachurches got their start in a surprising state: California.
By the 1920s, churches in California started to create their own radio shows — a way for people to get their Sunday sermons without even leaving the house. It was a smash hit and helped launch the Angelus Temple in Los Angeles, a 5,000-seat church that was the larges in the country.
In the 1950s, a pastor did something that would change the trajectory of American Christianity for the rest of history. Pastor Robert Schuller created a "drive-in" church where he would preach in front of hundreds of people, stir up a show, and have parishioners honk their horns instead of say "Amen."
The topics Schuller used were also fairly unique in those days: uplifting messages, practical messages about life quality, and motivational messages. It was far more upbeat than the typical threat of damnation people heard.
People ate it up. This was the first time that Americans truly got to see something that was more about building a "show" than it was fire and brimstone. Devoted parishioners poured in donations, all to help "spread the word."
Churches like Schuller's and the Angelus Temple both quickly gained a reputation. They were bold, popular, community-oriented, and oddly gaudy in their own right. And for the pastors, they were surprisingly profitable.
And thus, the concept of an American megachurch was born.
American megachurches are businesses.
In the United States, churches aren't taxed. They're considered to be nonprofit organizations. Despite this, most megachurches are run like businesses — pastors make a serious salary from their church, often buy private jets to "help save souls," and even get thousand-dollar suits.
People all pay money to churches, sometimes to the point of donating thousands of dollars a month. It's known as "tithing" in Mormonism, but it goes by many other names.
Paying that fee basically makes you a member of the church — at least in many cases. But, American churches aren't churches in the normal sense of the word. They're businesses.
The Product And Price Tag
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"There are approximately 300,000 Protestant churches in the United States. Given that 162 weekly attendees is roughly the average size of all Protestant churches in the U.S., this means Protestant churches in the U.S. collect approximately $39.9 billion in revenue annually. This is $10 billion larger than the entire health club industry in the U.S., which is estimated at $30 billion." — Churchbusinessleader.org
The donations expected of you are a price tag, though you're not supposed to say that part out loud. For that money, you get to feel like your soul is saved. You get to be part of a community, and maybe get an invite to an event or two.
As many people have seen online, if you don't donate money to said megachurch, you might end up getting publicly shamed for it.
There are upsells, too.
Most megachurches have childcare and preschool, often at a fee. They also have their own bookstores, food courts, and gift shops — also open for a fee. So, there are multiple revenue streams coming in from the devoted.
How It's Used
Churches use the "donations" in a lot of ways, including things like buying airspace on the radio, funding conversion groups, buying more buildings, upgrading their streaming tech, and even buying ads on YouTube. A massive chunk, though, remains as pocket money for the pastor.
Donations from Evangelical churches also regularly fund allied organizations such as Evangelical colleges, schools, and even missionary camps. The idea is simple: convert people and keep them spending at all walks of life.
For decades, megachurches were big money.
Most megachurches also partook in something known as "prosperity gospel," which is kind of like what the Pharisees kept preaching. While Jesus said to help the poor, prosperity gospel suggests that being poor is your fault and that if you're wealthy, it's because you did right by God.
Prosperity gospel is excellent for people who want to make money off faithful people, because it heavily emphasizes giving to the church. These guys see it as "giving a loan to God," so to speak. So, the money kept flowing in…for decades.
According to the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, churches have their own $1.2 trillion dollar economy in the United States alone . This does not include the overall wealth of the Mormon church's investment portfolio or investments of similar church groups — we're strictly talking about the money flowing in and out!
I want you to think about that.
$1.2 trillion is enough money to…
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Feed everyone on the planet for a year.
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Establish serious climate change help.
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Give healthcare to all Americans and then some .
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House the homeless throughout America.
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Basically save the world .
Yet it's not being done. That economy is just for churches and the good it could do is just not being done. It's being horded by people like Jim Bakker who currently beg for millions to avoid their own homelessness.
In recent years, though, megachurches started to see a massive collapse.
One of the most quiet secrets about the megachurch world is that it's actively collapsing. Megachurches peaked fairly recently, during the 1990s and 2000s. Churches had as many as 40,000 members in some areas.
Today, they're facing serious (and often insurmountable) losses. For example, the Elevation Church lost a total of 12,000 members alone .
Much of this really became apparent in 2020, during the pandemic. Post-pandemic, typical megachurches found themselves operating with only 2,000 members per house. Some, such as the Crystal Cathedral , declared bankruptcy.
It's wild to think about, isn't it?
Why are megachurches collapsing?
You would think with the crazy amount of money churches put into recruiting new members, that they would be booming. The truth is that they're failing because they're in a perfect storm of factors that would harm their chance at keeping members.
Don't know what I mean? Well, here's a quick dose of reality.
Losing The Faith Due To Abuses
I'm not going to lie, a large part of the reason why megachurches are failing is because of the megachurches' behavior. People have started to speak out about the spiritual abuse they've experienced in churches. People have seen the videos of pastors shaming families for not donating thousands to a church.
Like it or not, churches have done a lot of damage to American society in recent years. There are churches that have pushed misogyny onto young, impressionable men. There are churches that broke apart families over LGBT issues and white nationalism . It's been ugly.
After a while, even the most devout people will start to notice the hypocrisy of these churches. Women, in particular, started to notice how poorly the church system treats them — and they've been leaving in droves as a result of it.
Post-Pandemic Isolation
While this was making churches struggle before, the truth is that 2020 really hammered it in. The pandemic forced people to isolate for the sake of stopping the spread of COVID-19.
A lot of people never really got out of that "forced introversion" vibe they found themselves in. As a result, they don't go out anywhere, especially not to community gatherings like churches.
Shifting Generations
The megachurch world was part of the Baby Boomer experience. The problem is, Baby Boomers are starting to die out. While Boomers found most megachurch leaders to be relatable in a showy way, Gen Z doesn't.
Sex Scandals
Most people have heard of all the priests who have been arrested as a result of their indecent actions towards children. Some have even heard of the crazy thing that happened with Jerry Falwell Jr. and that cuckold poolboy disaster.
Sex scandals are fairly common in the world of megachurches, for reasons that are hard to fully explain. Regardless, hearing one too many scandals will make people rethink who they choose to worship with — especially if they have kids.
Embezzlement Scandals
Now, let's talk about the biggest elephant in the room. Megachurches have a bad reputation when it comes to money expenditures. Whether it's demanding patrons pay for a private jet for the pastor's time out, being a tax fraud center, or just stealing from the poor doesn't matter.
What matters is that people noticed a lot of financial fraud going on in these churches. People generally don't want to pay people who are defrauding the IRS through a church .
Simply put, most people want a church where they feel accepted, where they practice what they preach, and where Jesus isn't a product. That's not the way megachurches generally operate.
So what's going to happen now that megachurches are fading out?
It's hard to say.
Many small-scale churches are also starting to close their doors, with megachurches often scooping up stragglers from those old flocks. On the flip side, many megachurches are also losing their parishioners to smaller, more local-based groups.
What I can say is that we're going to see a lot more documentaries about American fundie megachurches and the bizarre, wild excesses they used to have. After all, talking about the madness still remains a part of the American Way.
Punk rock!
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There's a huge mega church on my way to and from work. Sure would make a nice homeless shelter
I remember my great grandmother dragging me to religious shows where the families did a lot of singing. Pretty close to those old time tent revivals. I still have my great grandfather's bible. I've been to dozens of Christian churches in several states and multiple countries. One would not think I'd be so anti-church.
I've been to my share of churches. One church I attended when I was in grade school makes me cringe to day. It was an Assembly of God. Shudder!
I did like the Catholic Mass, tho
I went to one during my separation with my ex. It was the last church I attended and has some blame for my suicide attempt. <- That was almost 30 years ago...
One of the local evangelical groups had a youth pastor sexually abusing girls. When the girls would come forward, they would make them and their families, pray for forgiveness with the sexual predator. It took years until someone finally went to the cops and put the freak behind bars just last year.
I hate how these so-called men of God manipulate people so they can prey on them with impunity
As many of you know I am a Christian. More to the point: I have elderly family that listens (and 'breathes') Right-wing evangelicalism through Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). Oddly enough, TBN is currently telling its world-wide television audience about the GROWTH of the Church overall happening in 2025 and beyond.
TBN has a talking point that "Gen-Zers" and Millennials are joining churches more and giving more. I have no problem with anybody finding and gaining a sense of 'belonging.' Nevertheless, these people need to become true believers and not so-called, "warriors on the battlefield of God"—in a physical sense.
For example, I know what the 'tug' is that is on an individual spirit when someone becomes Christian. . . it is to BECOME conservative as well. As the Bible itself is old and even ancient.
But one has to think about what that really and deeply means. . . and be particularly careful (and cautious) about whom one allows to be their spiritual SHEPHERD.
Finally, I can remind Christians that there is a liberal-wing in our Faith. They should consider it too. . . or more so. And if need be. . . do not join church at all. Because, biblically-speaking Jesus stated that "the Church" is in the heart! ( Churches are places for "fellowship.")
That is ab-normal, lol.
No one could possibly be more "woke" than Christ. He preached inclusion, sharing, love, and kindness.
I have to wonder what portion of American "Christians" know what He stood for.
The Black Church "experience" understands what Jesus' message is to the world, because it SAVED us spiritually, emotionally, and even physically as a people in this country. Many, many, 'doors' opened to us as a people in this country when the stream of consciousness in millions of whites OPENED up and allowed God to work within spiritually. We are grateful (as a people) for a 'release' from the shackles in and on our bodies, minds, and spirits.
Now we are flying (soaring) ever higher independently in the country we have always loved and wanted to love us back!
And to be fair, many, many White people groups (using this way to express what is a lack of a proper means to separate a class of individuals from its bigoted components that promulgate propaganda and "alternative" readings and renderings of the Bible against its true themes).
Unfortunately, their are mockers. Those generation through generation that can not get over their fear of our. . .skin. Skin. Of all things, skin. It is so sad, so pathetic, that it could make a grown man or woman just cry. Alas! crying won't solve the problem/s, nevertheless.
Good post. Thanks.
Yes, there are so-called, "Christians" that divide the (one) body of Jesus' church over our 'human-suit'. . . which we all need to exist in this world. SKIN. Color. Skin-Color!
what was that phrase the priests used during the sermon that prompted the parishioners to drop to their knees? I used to know it back when I was picking up dates from marycrest girls high school at the scotchman drive in on saturday nights.
let us pray? I'm having trouble remembering the Catholic aerobics
mormon missionaries are my favorites to fuck with mentally, although I kind of feel sorry for those brainwashed kids ...
Funny how society collectively gets a little smarter about religion while simultaneously getting stupider about politics. I’ll take good news wherever I can get it anymore.
a 2000+ year old running grift using an absentee landlord as a threat is nothing to sneeze at, especially tax exempt versions ...
One can only hope that the scam 'churches' such as those by Kenneth Copeland, T.D. Jakes, Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyer, etc. with their outrageous claims and unabashed fundraising have finally dissuaded people from being such suckers.
While I have no real concern for legitimate churches (those that seriously try to do what they believe is 'God's work' and are not out to make money), I am very much in favor of seeing the scams be exposed and the scam artists held accountable.
I got to listen to some guy that my cousin was trying to help with his faith crisis by taking him fishing, after he discovered his dallas mega church preacher boss had a second marital benefits interest, and then resigning his job as financial comptroller to that church. I would have l loved to humiliate him for being gullible, but I didn't want to alienate my cousin, although I could tell by the look on his face that he fully expecting me to when his friend's confession about learning his religious mentor and leader was double dipping.
he was troubled that he was asked to sign an NDA before receiving his final paycheck. I urged him to turn the tables on pastor humpalot and demand a severance package for his signature. hopefully he ratted him out ...
Although my parents and siblings were very deeply into it (both dad and my brother built separate churches in different sects), I never could get past the mythology, superstition and Hypocrisy.
And she's buying the stairway to heaven.
I used the catholic church's own actions against them to turn the ex's extended family away from it.
OK, regular churchgoer here, who has served on our executive board and seen the data on this. Some observations.....
First, yes, the mega-church is going the way of the shopping mall.
Second, this is not a mega-church, and not what we're talking about.
This is a mega-church. We're talking about 3,000 or more in the service, sometimes as many as 20,000.
Third, it's not surprising at all that these things started in California. They are giant entertainment venues. They put on huge shows, where most things are done for theatrical value. They're less about worship than they are Hollywood. It's California in a nutshell, complete with plastic surgery for the soul.
One inherent problem with being a church dedicated to the show is that the people you attract will leave as soon as there is a better show in town. Another inherent problem is that most successful entertainers eventually succumb to severe egomania, and mega-church pastors participate in that trend enthusiastically.
Fourth, she lists several reasons for this decline, but the one she glosses over is the most significant by 100 fold.... There is a generational shift going on, and post Baby Boom generations are looking for different things that are challenging for mega-churches. The first and most important of those is community. The second is authenticity. Mega churches have never been good at either.
There is actually a huge interest among young people (Gen Z) in returning to traditional church practices, like liturgy and sacraments, that help reinforce the cultural ties that have held Christians together for thousands of years. (The fastest growing denomination in America among Gen Zs are the Anglicans).
So yes, the mega-church phenomenon is suffering, and with any luck it will be a quick death.
People need to flee. . . certainly Gen Zers! Maybe they too will 'flee' - when they see how vested the Evangelical Right is in turning this country of a mix of religious and pagans into hardcore "warriors" instead of one body in Christ!
What I would like to know about MAGA/Christians/Right: When, why, and on what authority do they DIVIDE the 'body of Christ'?
Clearly that is what MAGA's religious-right is doing!
the last time I went to church was over a decade ago. I felt a bit indebted to the woman I had gone out with the night before and let her talk me into going. she had previously been so thorough, I was hoping to have my own religious experience with her after church was over. unfortunately, it was an election year and her pastor was preaching politics from the pulpit and after a few minutes of listening I got up and left. I made sure that her lord's representative on earth, that was instructing his parishioners how to vote, saw me flipping him off as I made my way to the aisle to leave. that preacher was prosecuted a few years later for embezzling church funds to expand his real estate investment portfolio and that woman and I have never spoke again. last I heard, she moved to florida in search of a retired alcoholic millionaire with a viagra prescription ...
That's actually not exactly the case. Small churches recovered to nearly full attendance within 24 months.
The pandemic is an interesting study, but there is a lot more to it than "church membership is down".
Church membership has been declining for decades. That goes back to the 1960s. The pandemic permanently disrupted churches the same way it permanently disrupted business, communication, entertainment, and everything else. Often for the better, TBF.
Data indicates that Millennials and Gen Z Christians are attending more frequently than older generations (1.9 times per month vs 1.4 for Boomers). That number has been rising since the pandemic and now far exceeds 2019 figures.
When I was chairman of my own (non-mega) church board a couple of years ago, I organized a market research initiative to study why we weren't attracting young people and young families. Those young people told us several things very strongly, but the overwhelming message was that they were looking for community. That's terrible news for mega-churches, who have an incredibly difficult time with that.
Over the years our pastoral staff had convinced themselves that worship style (aka music) was the main driver, and it wasn't even in the top 8. So we started implementing some of the things the study suggested, better advertising the things we were already doing, and our church attendance is up 25% in the last 18 months.
Churches built on community and faith will stick together, survive and grow.
Churches built on cult of personality or quality of showmanship will eventually wane and fail. Most mega churches are that way.
TBH, I'm not sorry to see the mega church era ride off into the sunset. I guess they had their purpose for a time, but I don't see it anymore.
This is the strangest admission EVER to me. All this time (years on NT) I spent/spend talking to you. . . even started a 'club' - Christian State of Mind - which is on NT life support. . .because (I just felt a shudder) I thought we, believers, and even the occasional atheists could TALK THINGS OUT. . . only to have NO INTEREST shown in the "sanctuary" I provided.
I am glad. . . for the opening up about it. And saddened at the same time. Because now, I am 'totally frustrated' by this insight.
I will leave this verse from my heart, in hopes that 2026 can be a year we can really talk about faith. I, we, will see if Jesus is really living in our hearts or just one or the other's heart. . .
Sorry that is long and NO I am not proselytizing to the larger NT community. I am directing this to the members of the (one) body of faith which we SAY we hold:
I simply have no words to explain the behavior and conduct I have experienced all these many years by fellow believers here. It hurts the soul.
Well, there is a part 2 to this and it involves and invokes I Corinthians 13 1-8. (The chapter on Love.) We shall see if it can ever be discussed between believers in it here.
What do you suggest has been "admitted"?
What insight and what frustrates you?
What are you talking about? Be specific.
Look. No more of the same. It's a new year. "We" - MAGA supporters of faith and I- are either going to be true to our 'component-body' of religion or just 'bust' with it apart. The 'play' -itself has found its endpoint.
There is a nothingness to everything we do (biblically-speaking) if we do it without regard to love for one another.
I have tried for years now to show this reality of Christian love as a central theme (in varying ways and efforts by extending myself over and over again) to those assembled here. If that is too much or not enough, then I will have to accept that there is nothing but "cymbals, gongs, and spiritually nothingness to faith (here) and simply end the charade. Politics and faith can not be equal in the mind of God. For that to happen - God would have to be a liar and of self-interests.
I still have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't think you could be less clear, but you managed it.
If you really cared as much as you pretend about showing the reality of Christian love you'd stop attacking the character of people who have different views with labels you obviously intend as derisory.
Wow. At 4.1.3 you addressed us with this:
I reached out to Christians and All across this platform forthright in each of those years. Still do/will/shall. Even have a 'club' still active here that "Keep it real" sign is not a part. of as I checked. We have a responsibility to do more each year than we have done the year before—as we are able. Time has come, in my opinion, that we open up about our "differences of opinion" to see if either or both of us have any room to grown. I will leave it at that. Remember this: the world is watching 'us.'
Yes, I am extending my hand in brotherhood to you as a form of 'resolution.'
I was completely unaware you had started a group. I don't generally join them, so they're not something I notice.
Accepted. I've joined.
Welcome. Post something if you like.
the photo came from the article. I didn't choose it
I know.
It's an odd choice for an article about mega churches, though, don't you think?
Sort of like writing an article about the NFL and showing a baseball diamond.
Good riddance