The next several posts will be from a recent series that I preached at our church! I hope you enjoy!
I’ve been saying it for a while now: “We are a MEGA church!” I even told some of you it would make a pretty cool t-shirt.
But before you start picturing a 10,000-seat sanctuary and a fleet of shuttle buses, notice the spacing. There is a massive difference between a megachurch and a MEGA church. It’s not just a grammatical quirk; it’s a distinction that speaks volumes about our identity and our mission.
The “Megas” Mindset
The inspiration for this theme actually goes back to the very first Christmas. When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they brought “good news of GREAT joy.” In the original Greek, that word for “great” is megas—which is where we get our word “mega.”
Recently, I listened to a book about the beauty and power of the “small” church (defined as 250 people or fewer). It struck me that in a world obsessed with “bigger is better,” smallness is often treated like a weakness. We associate it with “small-town thinking” or unreachable ceilings.
We see this in the life of King Saul. In 1 Samuel, Saul literally hid among the baggage on his coronation day. Later, when he lost his kingdom, the prophet Samuel noted that Saul was “small in his own eyes.” Even though Saul stood head and shoulders above other men, his smallness of mind led to insecurity and competition.
I want us to be okay with being small, yet never complacent in smallness.
Dynamite Comes in Small Packages
The word “dynamite” was coined by Alfred Nobel in 1867. He took unstable nitroglycerin and packed it into a small, controlled container. It changed the world.
It reminds me of a time we were running a fireworks warehouse. We found a few stray fireworks from Mexico that were tiny—about the size of a smoke stick. Naturally, being us, we took one out back and lit it.
BOOM.
That tiny stick produced an explosion that rattled the concrete floor, shook the shelving, and made the neighbors think their windows were going to shatter. The impact was thousands of times greater than its size.
That is the difference between being “small” and being “complacent.” Interestingly, “dynamite” comes from the Greek word dunamis, meaning power. This is the same word Jesus used in Luke 24 and Acts 1 when He promised that we would be “clothed with power from on high.”
Small doesn’t mean no impact when the Spirit of God is involved!
1. A MEGA Church is a Great Commandment Church
In John 13:34-35, Jesus gives us a command: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you…”
Love isn’t a suggestion; it’s an obedient decision. It’s the “ministry of the towel”—the act of serving, washing, and covering one another. A church body that doesn’t love itself creates a kind of spiritual dysmorphia, trying to be something it isn’t. When we love as Christ loved, we create a community that the world actually recognizes.
2. A MEGA Church is a Great Commission Church
In Matthew 28, Jesus gives the “Great Commission”—the call to go and make disciples.
When Stacey and I were in NYC, we did some window shopping. The jewelry stores had beautiful displays to lure you in. I have nothing against “window dressing” in the church—good music and nice facilities are great—but if people come in because the window is inviting and find nothing of substance inside, they leave disappointed.
The Great Commission is our core mission. It has been fully financed by the Kingdom of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We have everything we need to disciple the nations, right here, right now.
Own the Greatness
Our community doesn’t necessarily need a megachurch, but it desperately needs a MEGA church.
This is a challenge to all of us: engage with the whole of the church. Embrace the move of the Kingdom. We are a people of “Megas” joy and “Dunamis” power. We just need to believe it, own it, and walk in it.
Are you ready to be MEGA?
