Today we visited two of the mega churches that were on the “check them out” list. Both of these were in the suburbs of Houston; one in Baytown, the other in Conroe. What impressed me most was the energy and warmth that even the buildings conveyed at the Fellowship of the Woods in Conroe. This church is presently involved in a massive 35 million building program. Like many of the mega churches, there is something there for everyone and the ministries that they offer are many and inspiring.
My principle interest was what they do with video systems and how they use media and technology in their worship. It was a Monday and their media staff was on their day off after a full weekend, but we were able to walk around the place where the community gathers and inspect the video equipment. Their cameras are bigger than ours and they are not remotely controlled, which means that many camera operators are required.
The auditorium where the community gathers for worship seats 4400 people. This church began with 15 members thirteen years ago. It now has 13,000 members. Clearly there is a great appeal to the folks in this affluent Houston area. This is not a church which follows a liturgical cycle as we do, so they rely upon the creativity of the leadership to proclaim the Word of God in creative and novel ways. But more about that later.
Tomorrow, off to the Johnson Space Center while we are in the neighborhood.
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