Handbook of Megachurches

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The growth of the megachurch (generally defined as a regular attendance of over 2,000 people) is undoubtedly one of the most exceptional religious trends of recent times, certainly within the Christian sphere. Spreading from the USA, megachurches have now become common globally - reaching different national and cultural contexts. The edited volume Handbook of Megachurches offers a comprehensive account of the subject from various academic perspectives: sociology, religious studies, religious history and religious studies among them. Topics covered include: the historical developments and growth, typologies, theology, popular culture, revivalism, social engagement, and the manifestation of megachurches in such countries as Canada, Russia, India and Africa.
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Stephen Hunt, Ph.D. (2000), University of the West of England , is Associate Professor of the Sociology of Religion at that university. He has published numerous books and articles on contemporary Christianity including both volumes of the Handbook of Global Contemporary Christianity (Brill).

Contributors are: Richard Burgess, Mark Cartledge, Saliha Chattoo, Simon Coleman, Katie Corcoran, Andrew Davies, David Eagle, Stephen Hunt, Jonathan James, Torsten Löfstedt, Gordon Melton, Martyn Percy, Charity Rakestraw, Peter Schuurman, Kate Stockly, Azoneh Ukah, Marc von der Ruhr, James Wellman, Michael Wilkinson. Foreworded by David Bromley.
Foreword
David G. Bromley
Notes on Contributors
 Introduction: The Megachurch Phenomenon
Stephen Hunt

Part 1: Megachurches in Perspective


 1 Seeking Souls, Selling Salvation: A History of the Modern Megachurch
Charity Rakestraw
 2 The Growth of the Megachurch
David E. Eagle
 3 Toward a Typology of the Megachurch
J. Gordon Melton
 4 Megachurches and Popular Culture: On Enclaving and Encroaching
Simon Coleman and Saliha Chattoo
 5 “Your Church Can Grow!” – A Contextual Theological Critique of Megachurches
Martyn Percy

Part 2: Dynamics and Trajectories


 6 Megachurches in the Religious Marketplace
Marc von der Ruhr
 7 Megachurches as Total Environments
James K. Wellman Jr., Katie E. Corcoran and Kate J. Stockly
 8 Megachurches as Educational Institutions
Mark J. Cartledge
 9 Horse and Carriage? Megachurches and Revivalism
Stephen Hunt
 10 ‘The Evangelisation of the Nation, the Revitalisation of the Church and the Transformation of Society’: Megachurches and Social Engagement
Andrew Davies

Part 3: Global Contexts


 11 Megachurches and ‘Reverse Mission’
Richard Burgess
 12 Megachurches in Canada
Michael Wilkinson and Peter Schuurman
 13 Megachurches in Russia and Other parts of the former Soviet Union
Torsten Löfstedt
 14 Global, ‘Glocal’ and Local Dynamics in Calvary Temple: India’s Fastest Growing Megachurch
Jonathan D. James
 15 Sacred Surplus and Pentecostal Too-Muchness: The Salvation Economy of African Mega-Churches
Asonzeh Ukah
 Index
All interested in Christianity and contemporary religion, religious organisations, revivalism, and religion and popular culture.
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