Numbers racket

Religion | Survey results on megachurch growth do not add up | Warren Cole Smith

Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas

Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, was experiencing explosive growth, according to Outreach magazine, which ranks the "100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches." The 2007 list, out this month, put the church at number 15, with 30 percent growth.

There's a problem, though. The numbers don't add up. Outreach magazine's other list, of the largest churches in America, shows Fellowship Church had over 18,000 in weekly attendance in 2006, but only 13,000 in 2007. According to these numbers, the church experienced an almost 30 percent decline, not 30 percent growth.

What gives?

"It was a mistake," said John Vaughan, who helped compile the 2006 list.

A huge mistake, and by no means the only mistake on the list. A comparison of the lists published in 2006 and 2007 shows that of the 19 churches that appear on both lists of largest churches, and on the 2007 list of fastest-growing churches, 12 of them have significant discrepancies. The 2007 list was so badly flawed that publisher Lynne Marian said the California-based magazine would republish the lists in a special section that would be "poly-bagged" with an upcoming issue. The revised list is already on the magazine's website.