What Trends Are Shaping Large Churches Right Now?

Can Warren Bird stump David Fletcher? Warren is in the middle of fielding a landmark national survey titled The Future of the Large Church, and has looked at the first 300 churches to participate—churches with in-person attendances of 1,000 and up. The two of them will have a lively discussion as David predicts how people are answering, and Warren gives the preliminary findings on questions like:

Comeback: Have large churches returned to their pre-pandemic sizes … or exceeded them?
Pastor age and succession readiness: Is it going up or down?
Reproduction: How are large churches involved in raising up new pastors, church planting, and multisite expansion?
Attractional model: Is it still working, and if not, what’s working more effectively?

About the Author: Warren Bird

Warren Bird, Ph.D., is a fulltime church researcher and author, and his current focus is a landmark national study named “The Future of the Large Church.” He’s the author or co-author of 35 books for church leaders including Hero Maker (leadership development), Next (pastoral succession), Better Together (church mergers), and How to Break Growth Barriers (church health and growth), and most recently, Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders. He draws from a background as lead pastor, seminary professor, lay leader, and research director for Leadership Network (13 years) and ECFA (7 years).