Megachurches and Social Engagement in London

In recent years the global rise of a number of very large churches, most often located in cities and their suburbs, has caught the attention of the theologians, church leaders and sociologists of religion. These churches have been labelled 'megachurches' for the sake of convenience and are normally defined as: Protestant churches attracting over 2000 attendees for the sake of worship each week. The megachurch phenomenon has been studied extensively in USA, to some extent in Asia (mostly Korea) and Africa (e.g. Nigeria) but only in a very limited sense in Europe (e.g. France). Therefore, it is extremely timely to consider the nature of these churches in the context of a global city such as London during a period of transnational movement and to understand their significance in relation to wider society and especially social engagement.

Therefore, the central aim of this project is to investigate the nature of social engagement among megachurches in London and to interpret the significance of this participation for public theology, elucidating the policy implications for religious faith and society. Examples of social engagement include work with specific groups, such as youth, the elderly and the homeless, counselling and support of people with learning difficulties and mental health needs, community development and educational projects, as well as social campaigning, for example against human trafficking or in favour of local and community needs. The findings of this research will have significance for UK government as well as local government public policy. It is conceived as a project in public theology (i.e. how theology addresses issues of broader public concern outside the community of the church) that will nevertheless use theoretical insights from sociology, cultural studies and social/public policy. Data will be collected from ten case studies that constitute the megachurches of London using qualitative research approaches. This data will be analysed theoretically in relation to transnationalism, globalization, urbanization, religious social capital and theological motivations. The study will examine the nature of these churches, how they interact with different voluntary and statutary bodies and whether they contribute to the common good and if so how and in what ways. These questions are particularly timely during a period of political and economic uncertainty in Europe because such circumstances often feed into the churches' identity, broader worldview and level of social engagement.

The findings from this project will be disseminated through different media: a webpage will be developed to profile the project and inform the general public. This webpage will highlight key information on megachurch social engagement activities, and, later, podcasts from team members and key megachurch figures that explore the public and theological significance of the social engagement activities. Two conferences will be organized, one to launch the project, inviting academics, church leaders, church-based researchers and stakeholders, the Christian media and religion correspondents from mainstream news agencies. A 'Faith and Social Engagement Consultation' will be established in order to share findings through the period of the project and invite participation among representatives from the churches under study and para-church organisations and local and national government policy makers. At the second conference a report will present the main findings and recommendations for policy consideration. Finally, a two-volume co-authored book will be written based on ten case studies, contributing to the public theology debate about faith and the public sphere and in particular the role of megachurch social engagement.

A number of different groups will benefit from this research.

Civic Leaders in society will benefit from this research because it will inform them about a significant and very visible group of churches that are already exerting considerable influence in the capital city. They will become better informed and thus able to make better decisions for the constituencies they represent on matters of faith and society.They will be able to better appreciate the role that religion plays in the lives of many citizens, its cultural contexts and in what ways religion can both enhance quality of life and also be detrimental to quality of life. The consultation process will invite them to participate in discussions, thus developing their own understanding directly, and the project report will summarise the findings in an easily digested form in order to inform their decision-making.

More specifically, political and social policy makers, both at local and national levels, will better appreciate how megachurch religion is a social force of considerable significance, which might be harnessed for the civic good. In many cases, faith-based organizations provide various services in the areas of social care, education and health, but it is not always entirely clear just how these services complement existing public services. This research will provide data for public service providers in order to assist them in the evaluation of their own provision and how it can be improved in the light of emerging evidence from the faith-based sector. The project report will make recommendations as to how this information can be translated into concrete action for the sake of enhancing exisiting practice and provision, and to address areas of weakness in policy and practice.

Megachurch leaders and megachurches themselves will benefit from this research because they will able to appreciate the nature of the social engagement across the range of the different churches. The process of consultation, meetings and conferences will provide a series of networking opportunities, allowing them to appreciate themselves as belonging to a web of interconnected religious and social groups cooperating in the public square. These networking opportunities will allow them to meet and develop professional working relationships with other community and political stakeholders. The website resources will provide them with key information, thus developing their own understandings and practices.The final project report will make recommendations to megachurch leaders regarding their own practice of social engagement.

Wider Christian organizations, Thinktanks and Networks will benefit from this research because they will be able to appreciate the nature and significance of megachurches directly and in detail. Again through the networking opportunities they will be able to establish professional working relationships. The final report will make recommendations as to how wider Christian organizations might better cooperate with megachurches to enhance social engagement on all sides.

An accessible Handbook will be written for leaders of large (but not mega) Churches based on the lesson learned from this research. It will provide a resource for large churches to enhance or develop their own practices of social engagement.

The wider public will also benefit from knowledge about megachurches in order to make informed choices about how to respond to them in their own contexts. They can contribute to the discussion by means of the online material, which will also provide useful resources for classroom use at School as well as University level.

The wider academic public beyond the specialist audience of the researchers will benefit from the knowledge generated from this research through the two-volume book, the journal articles, conference papers, as well as the online material found in the webpage.