Marc von der Ruhr on Megachurch Recruitment and Retention

tonygill — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:00:33 +0000

Marc von der Ruhr, associate professor of economics at St. Norbert’s College (DePere, WI), discusses how megachurches recruit and retain membership. Contrary to the popular notion that megachurches are simply a watered down version of Christianity aimed at a luke-warm religious adherents, Prof. von der Ruhr explains that many of these churches do indeed require deep commitment. Initially, megachurches use low levels of commitment to attract religious “seekers.” people searching for a new denomination or returning to church after some time away. Through the promotion of small groups, which often are connected to secular activities, individuals become more connected with the church and their overall level of commitment increases. In this way, megachurches can effectively promote conservative theologies and personal behavior. Our primary focus is on seeker-oriented megachurches, though von der Ruhr mentions other types of megachurches. This podcast is based on a number of papers Marc von der Ruhr has co-authored with Prof. Joseph Daniels (Marquette University). We conclude our discussion with thoughts about applying economic theory to religious organizations and practice. Recorded: July 20,2010.

Please note: Due to a serious problem with static, we re-recorded a segment of the conversation at the 16:50 minute mark. We retained the original content, though listeners will notice a slight difference in the recording quality.

Research On Religion » nondenominationalism

Marc von der Ruhr on Megachurch Recruitment and Retention