My Experience at a Mega Church

This past Sunday I decided to attend a mega church to get some first hand experience. I went to Cottonwood Church in Los Alamitos, CA. As we drove up, it looked like a huge convention center. The church bought the land that used to be a golf course, so there was a lot of grass and landscaping, but in the middle there was a huge building that housed the sanctuary.

 

 

As we pulled into the parking lot, there was a sign that read:

 

So of course we put our flashers on and were directed by volunteer staff to parking spots that were close-by and reserved for first time visitors only. After we parked we made our way towards the church. The volunteers were all wearing the same bright shirts so you would know you could assist you. So we asked a volunteer where the sanctuary was. The lady was very nice and even walked us to the sanctuary doors. Inside was a grand lobby, complete with an information desk and even a bookstore!

 

One thing I noticed were two ATMs that you passed right when you walked into the sanctuary (just in case you didn't have cash for donations, they made it very convenient for you to get some).

Another thing I noticed within the first ten minutes of being there is all of the branding for the church. Every where you looked you would see some kind of logo for the church. Everything from the cones outside in the parking lot, to the ATMs inside, even on the back of every bathroom stall was an advertisement with the cottonwood logo.

Anyways, as we entered the sanctuary I was blown away by how big it was. It was auditorium-style seating with a big stage in the front and two large screens on each side of the stage. And then in the center of the room was a whole tech set up for the video and audio recordings and the lighting and everything else that was happening on stage.

They had a countdown timer on the lower corner of each screen that announced how much time until the sermon begun. And by the time the sermon started about 3/4 of the auditorium was completely full. The sermon started with some live music. Everybody stood up once the band began to play and some clapped, while others danced and sang along.

 

It was actually an exciting way to start off a church sermon. Everybody immediately got engaged and excited for what was to come next. Then after the pastor introduced himself, they even had "church news" that played on the two large screens. The news consisted of a few stories of what the church was currently working on and what events are to come.

While I didn't stay for the entire sermon, I listened to the first 40 minutes. I was actually surprised that the majority of the sermon was more motivational than religious. I mean of course the pastor referred to different sections of the bible, but if you took out those references, the rest of the sermon could relate to any one and everyone that needs a little more motivation and positivity in their life. 

It was really interesting to see how the effectively used technology throughout the duration of their sermon. By incorporating a live band and "church news" into the sermon, it kept people engaged. They also used the screens to put up closed captioning for the patrons that couldn't hear as well. What was even cooler, was to watch people pull out their ipads and smartphones to follow along in their bible app.

Here's a picture of a couple following along with their bibles, the wife has an actual paperback bible, while the husband had a bible app on his ipad.

For a more in-depth review of how mega churches are effectively using technology to gain more success, be sure to read by essay posted in scribd found here.