You must desire to have a mega church because that is the most appropriate vision and goal for a pastor. The best vision and burning desire for every pastor is the vision for a large church. Why not have a large church if are going to have a church?

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Proverbs 29:18

You must desire to have a mega church because the desire for a mega church will lead you on a journey that will make your church grow. Having a desire for miracles will lead to the specific result of having miracles in your ministry. Having a desire for the anointing will lead to the specific result of having the anointing. The desire for church growth will lead you on a journey on a journey of discovery that will make your church grow.

Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Mark 11:24

You must have a mega church because the prophetic destiny of every church that the Lord builds is to have a greater end than the beginning. Do not be discouraged about the smallness of your church today. It has been predicted that the end of your ministry will be much more glorious than the beginning.

Because the word of God prophesies that the glory of the latter house shall be greater than the glory of the former, you must expect something more glorious than what you saw at the beginning. God will do something great and He will increase the congregation.

Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.

Job 8:7

You must have a mega church because most pastors are deceived into thinking that the work is being done when it is not being done.

During the time of His ministry, Jesus made a very important statement.

…The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few…

Matthew 9:37

This means there are plenty of winnable souls. There is plenty of work for us all. There are plenty of people to fill our churches.

Many pastors are deceived by the fact that their little halls are full. Many ministers feel that they have “arrived” in ministry. You receive a nice salary and have a nice car. God has blessed you and all your expenses are paid for. This does not mean that you have “arrived”. Do not let the devil blind your eyes to the real work we have to do. It is Satan who fans the church to sleep!! He whispers to the hearts of many ministers: “Everything is O.K.” “This is it.” “You have made it.” “This is how far you can go.” “This is everything you can achieve for God!” Such ministers have had their spiritual and visionary eyes blinded by Satan. The enemy whispers to their heart, “Everything is okay. This is it! You have made it!”

Satan wants your church to remain small. The fewer people you have in your congregation the more captives he has. The size of your church shows you to what extent you are depopulating Hell. When you have a mega church, it means that you are establishing more souls. It also means that more souls have escaped from the clutches of the devil.

You must have a mega church because God’s will is that “His house may be filled.” Most churches are not filled because they are not mega churches.

And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, THAT MY HOUSE MAY BE FILLED.

Luke 14:23

In Luke 14, the Lord gave us an important revelation. The master said to his servant, “I need my house to be filled.” The master in this story represents Jesus. Jesus wanted His house to be filled. In other words, Jesus wants His churches to be filled. God wants full churches! The master in this story was not content with having just a few people at his party. He could have had the party anyway, but he wanted many more people. And more especially he wanted the house to be filled.

Through this story, God is showing His will for the church. His will is more people! His will is filled rooms! His will is overflowing churches! His will is the MEGACHURCH!

You must have a mega church because your harvest field is the world.

God did not send us to a suburb of your town. Neither did He send us to a few villages. He sent us to the whole world. If we had a small field to harvest from, then we could not expect a large quantity of harvested fruits.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Mark 16:15-16

The fact that the entire world is to be reached implies that the harvest of souls that we will bring in must be very large. It will definitely be a major portion of the world’s population. If a major section of the world’s population is to be saved through the preaching of the gospel, then every church should be bursting at the seams for lack of space. Remember that there are over six billion souls out there waiting for us to reach them with the Gospel.

You must have a mega church because the biblical example of churches had thousands of members. Is the early church not the best example for us to follow? If the early church had three thousand and five thousand people, should these numbers not serve as a guiding post for us? Indeed, these numbers are recorded in the bible so that we may know what to aim for.

Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church–about three thousand in all. They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer.

Acts 2:41-42 (NLT)

But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so that the number of believers totaled about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

Acts 4:4 (NLT)

You must have a mega church because having a large church means that more souls have been won to the kingdom. In a large church there will be more services, more altar calls and more opportunities to be saved than a small church. Is it not the aim of every minister of the gospel to win souls to the Lord? Is it not an extra added blessing that a mega church leads to the salvation of many people who join it?

You must have a mega church because in a mega church more workers and labourers are released to work for God.

He said to his disciples, “The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields

Matthew 9:37-38 (NLT)

There will always be a certain percentage of the flock who are real labourers. No matter what you do or say, a certain percentage of the church will not get involved in the real work of ministry. There will always be the spectators and observers. There will always be the commentators. The labourers will always be in the ministry. The larger the crowd you have, the more labourers will be sent forth. And the more easily you will be able to finance them.

You must have a mega church because through a mega church more ministers of the gospel, full time pastors and bishops are appointed and released into the harvest field. In a large church there is always a training programme that produces ministers. A ten thousand member congregation will therefore produce more pastors than a hundred member church. Indeed, the pastor of a smaller church is not likely to have enough people who want to be ministers of the gospel.

You must have a mega church because in a mega church more people are involved in prayer against the power of the prince of the air.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

Ephesians 6:12-18

When you have a mega church, more prayer will go forth unto the Lord. Therefore, more people will be saved and established. When the Lord sent me to establish churches in Europe, He showed one key role that we were going to play in rebuilding His kingdom in that continent. You see, Europe has virtually become a continent of atheists. They have put God out of their minds. Many Europeans do not believe that God even exists.

Years ago, Europe sent out missionaries to the world. But now, they have fallen to the lowest state of demonic blindness and godlessness. The Lord showed me that one of our duties as a church was to release prayer into the atmosphere concerning the Church in Europe. Our presence in countries like Switzerland, The Netherlands and England, has resulted in much more intercession being made in those nations.

Our church in Geneva has all-night prayer meetings every Friday, praying from midnight until 6 a.m. They engage in spiritual warfare in a land where God is forgotten. As more churches like ours go into the nations, then more prayer will take place. This is one of the primary reasons why a large and branching church is important.

When the church I pastor, The Lighthouse Cathedral, grew to a certain size, we were able to successfully have all-night prayer meetings everyday. We had so many small groups within the church that it was possible to set up a rotation so that one of these groups could have an all-night prayer meeting everyday. Thus, we had a different group praying every night.

The larger the church, the more prayer groups are created. More prayer is possible in a mega church! That is why the devil wants the church to remain small!

You must have a mega church because a mega church generates large crowds and large crowds create great expectation.

And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not.

Luke 3:15

Through experience I have noticed that the larger the crowd, the greater the expectation. When there is a large gathering of God’s people, there is an air of excitement, expectation and real faith. Why is this? This happens because the faith of everyone is heightened by what they see.

The sight of a large crowd inspires faith and creates excitement. The combined faith of the crowd is greater than the faith of just one person. That helps to draw out the gift of God from the minister.

I have preached to small groups and to very large crowds. The spiritual atmosphere of these two situations is often different.

You must have a mega church because in a mega church you will have a greater manifestation of miracles because of the greater crowds and greater expectation.

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city.

Acts 8:5-8

And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.

Mark 16:20

Whenever there is great faith, you can expect more power and miracles of healing. Jesus often said, “Your faith has made you whole.” It is faith that generates the miraculous! I know some people will misunderstand me on this. I am not saying that God does not move in small congregations. I often minister in small congregations, and I see God moving in a wonderful way. God certainly does miracles in small churches. All I am saying is that, generally speaking, when there are more people, there is more faith, more expectation and therefore, more miracles. I think even the simplest Christian can understand this simple logic.

A bigger church means more people, which means more faith, which means more power, which means more miracles, which results in more testimonies!

Don’t you want more glory, power and anointing to flow in your congregation? Dear pastor friend, believe God for a bigger church. With a bigger church, many more blessings will flow from the throne of God to his people.

You must have a mega church because more evangelism is possible through a mega church.

And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Greece, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it,

1 Thessalonians 1:8 (NLT)

One of the side effects of having a larger church is that more evangelism takes place. Our Cathedral is divided into about fifteen chapels. Under each chapel, there are several ministries and under each ministry several fellowships.

It is our policy that every ministry has at least one major outreach during each month. Since our church has many ministries, it is possible that fifty different outreaches by fifty different groups will be taking place at the same time at many different locations!

More soul winning has taken place simply because the church has grown larger. It is God’s will for your church to grow larger so that more souls will be won for the Lord.

You must have a mega church because a mega church has a larger and greater income that can be used for the work of God.

Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

Acts 4:34-35

Having more people also means having a higher church income. If a church has a good pastor, the money of the church will be used for the right things. Unfortunately, some pastors are more like vampires – they suck the blood of the church rather than pour their lives into the ministry.

A higher income means many more spiritual goals are achievable. Money is not an evil thing. Money is neutral! It is the love of money that is evil! Money is a weapon in the hand of man. If a good man has money he will use it to do good things. A good minister will use the income of a mega church to build the church and promote the gospel!

I had a dream that we would one day have trucks driving around the nation, holding crusades in every town and village. Once upon a time, that was just a dream. Now, with a larger church we have been able to purchase a truck and have begun crusading all across the nation. How was that possible? We had more people and therefore more money, and we could do more for God!

You must have a mega church because special ministries which take care of special needs will develop within a mega church.

It is important to desire to have a large church. Pastors must dream of having large congregations. A large church results in the multiplicity of many ministries. It results in the multiplication of several important activities in the church. For instance, it multiplies the ministry of music.

Initially, our church had only one choir. Now we have no less than six choirs in addition to numerous other singing groups. What does this mean? It means that a large church has resulted in vital multiplication. It is the will of God that more of His children sing for Him. The more singing groups we have, the more God is glorified. The number of choirs you have depends on the number of people in the church.

As the church grows, it becomes more diverse in its composition. This results in specialist ministries being developed. When you have a small church, there will usually be very few special ministries like a ministry to the poor, refugees, and to orphans. As the church becomes larger it is possible to get involved in some of these other areas. When a church is able to be involved in these special areas, many blessings are released! Look at the blessings that are available to churches that minister to the poor.

Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.

Psalm 41:1, 2

These are powerful blessings for those who are able to grow to the point where they minister to special needs. Often when a church is small, it does not have the capacity to reach out in these areas. Have a vision of building a megachurch. Other special areas of ministry will develop within it. You will have people with the ministry of giving being released. There are churches which have men and women with a heart for financing the gospel.

…he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity;

Romans 12:8

It is rare to come across church members who have the ability to make a difference in the church through their giving. Every pastor would love to have members who take care of major expenses for the church.

In the earlier stages of our church’s life, I had no one who could do things like that. But now, there are people who have the ability and the ministry of giving.

Other special areas that can develop are ministries to the poor and to the disabled. I have a dream to establish an orphanage. I’ve had this dream for a long time. But, it will take a large and strong church to be able to support such a venture. If you have a hundred orphans in your orphanage, you have to pay for three hundred meals a day. You also have to buy clothes for a hundred people. You then have to pay the hospital bills for a hundred children. After that you have to pay several professionals to care for these motherless and fatherless people. I think that you will agree with me that it will take a truly mega church to set up such a ministry.

You must have a mega church because it shows that you have made full proof of your ministry. Many ministers do not do a thorough job of being pastors! Many ministers only touch the surface of their calling! Many ministers are a phantom of what they could be! Most churches have the potential of growing larger. Often, the growth does not come because the pastor does not do a thorough job of pastoring the church. Every field of endeavour has greater or lesser dimensions. You must aim for the greatest possible dimension in pastoral work.

But you – keep your eye on what you are doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God’s servant.

2 Timothy 4:5 (The Message)

You must have a mega church because in a mega church there are more “beloveds” (potential marriage partners).

For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales

Acts 4:33-34 (NASB)

Years ago, when our church was much smaller, a young lady said to me, “My type of man is not in this church.” When I looked throughout my congregation, I realized that what she said was true. There was no suitable person for this woman to marry. Some years later she went ahead and married an unbeliever.

At another point another lady said, “There is no man who is old enough to marry me. So I’m going to a larger church where I can find a man to marry me.” You see, she was thirty-nine years old and there were no forty-year-old bachelors in the church. All of the bachelors we had in our church were in their twenties and thirties. In a mega church there are brides and grooms of all ages. In a mega church, even people over the age of seventy can become bridegrooms and brides.

You must have a mega church because in a mega church more marriages and more weddings take place.

People love to get marries in church. Marriages and weddings are a spicy blessing for every congregation. The congregation always loves to hear of the announcement of upcoming marriages. They get excited and hope and pray that it will be their turn soon. You will be blessed with more weddings when you have a mega church. A healthy growing church is one that has numerous marriages taking place. I always pray that there will be more weddings and marriages in my church.

You must have a mega church because there are more contacts and connections through the people in the mega church.

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

Galatians 6:10

The larger the church the more contacts and “connections” can be made. Let’s face it, many things in this world depend on “who you know!” You may get a breakthrough just because you belong to a certain church. I have employers in my church to whom I can recommend potential employees. When our church was smaller, it was only full of students. Now, many people can find jobs through the church.

People like to stay in a place that has added blessings and security. The church members love these fringe benefits of making contacts and connections with others.

You must have a mega church because in a mega church there is always a large pool of employers who can help the church members. In a large church you will have more people who are substantial enough to provide jobs to help the congregation. In a mega church you will have the added benefit of being able to fight the scourge of unemployment in your congregation.

32 And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them.

33 And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

34 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales

Acts 4:32-34 (NASB)

You must have a mega church because all the different needs of the congregation can be met through the mega church. A congregation is a group of people with varied needs. When I stand before large crowds asking them to lay hands where they have a need, everyone prays fervently because everyone has a need. If there are a thousand people, there are a thousand different needs. A mega church affords you the chance to meet many of these different needs. If there is a small church and someone needs a lawyer’s advice it is not likely that he will find one. But in a large church, you are likely to find a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer, a pharmacist or even a psychiatrist.

And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

Acts 2:44-45 (NASB)

You must have a mega church because a mega church is more likely to accomplish the 25% biblical quota of souls won from the community.

And when he sowed, some [25%] seeds fell by the way side… some [25%] fell upon stony places… some [25%] fell among thorns… But other [25%] fell into good ground and brought forth fruit…

Matthew 13:4-8

The Bible teaches us that the sower went out to sow the Word of God in a city. The result was that, one out of four (25%) of his seeds yielded good results. If we win only a quarter of our cities to Christ, I can assure you that there will be no more half-filled churches.

It is time for the Church to achieve its biblical quota of twenty- five percent of the population. How many people are there in your city?

There are about four million people in the city of Accra, Ghana. According to my little theory, at least twenty-five percent of them should have responded to the Word of God. This means that at least one million of these people should be safely established in the Church. However, I wonder how many people darken the doorways of church buildings in Accra every Sunday morning. Several thousands do, but I doubt whether it reaches our biblical quota of twenty-five percent of the population.

If the church of God attains the twenty-five percent goal, there will be many many large churches scattered all over the city. Every church will have multiple church services from morning to evening. Calculate it for yourself! You will see that the Church is no where near attaining that twenty-five percent goal. How many born again Christians attend church on a Sunday morning in your city? What is the population of your city?

Total citywide born again church attendance = 25% ??

Total population of your city

When I did this calculation for my own city, I realized that we were far from achieving the results of that “sower who went out to sow”. But I prophesy that churches shall be filled in the last days. The land shall be filled with megachurches. God wants big churches because He is expecting at least twenty-five percent of the population to respond positively to our preaching.

You must have a mega church because a mega church is a force to reckon with and it becomes a nation within a nation.

As the church increases in size it will become a powerful community. It virtually becomes a nation of its own. Governments begin to fear the power and influence of a mega church, but they despise small churches. Governments know that a large church means a lot of people, which means a lot of votes. The politicians fear the power of the masses. They know that popular opinion keeps them in power. They know that pastors are influencing people’s minds. Small things are easy to despise. The Bible says,

For who hath despised the day of small things?

Zechariah 4:10

Politicians can no longer despise the reality of the Kingdom of God when it is massive! They cannot attack the pastors in the churches when they know the number of people they lead.

Our church was once attacked and the walls around us broken. The people behind the attack thought that they could get away with it easily. They did not appreciate the magnitude, strength and scope of influence of the church they were attacking. The “people behind the scenes” were very surprised when the attack led to a nationwide crisis. Several churches and the general public rallied together against the perceived attackers. The politicians had to act quickly to prevent nationwide demonstrations and civil unrest.

As you read this book, I want you to believe God for a mega church. I want you to receive the anointing to rise out of smallness into the largeness that God has destined for you.

You must have a mega church because the glory of the end time church will be greater than the glory of the early church.

The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts…

Haggai 2:9

The Bible predicts that the glory, which means beauty, of the latter day church, will far exceed the glory of the former one. I believe that we are in that latter day. When I consider what the Lord has done in Ghana over the last fifteen years, I realize that God is bringing a greater glory to His end-time Church. The largest churches some fifteen years ago would be the youth groups of some of the megachurches that God has raised up today!

Let me share with you a very important secret. God does not work with only one person. The Spirit of God does not move in only one church. If a pastor has been able to achieve great growth in your city, it is a clear sign that the grace of God is abundant for the work of church growth there.

People who think that God is only using one man are deceived!

The Lord ministered powerfully to Ahab the king through Elijah the Tishbite (1 Kings 17, 18, 21). But there was another powerful prophet called Micaiah who was used to rebuke Ahab the king. God does not limit Himself to one man.

Elijah made the mistake of thinking he was the only one who was faithful to God.

And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left…

1 Kings 19:14

But the Lord showed him that He had seven thousand other faithful prophets.

Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

1 Kings 19:18

Many big churches are springing up. God is raising up men and women of integrity to pastor His people. Flow in it. Catch the spirit! You will also walk in the glory of the latter church. Learn the strategies of church growth. Obtain the power and the wisdom of God. Walk in love towards the brethren. Love even those who slander and betray you. Every great work of the Holy Spirit is as a result of love, unity and teamwork.

I really want to emphasize and stress this great truth that God does not work with one isolated person. Did you know that when Ezekiel was prophesying between 622-600 B.C., Daniel the prophet was also raised up and prophesied between 616-536 B.C.

It was a time when God was moving through great prophets – people who yielded themselves to the call were used greatly in the ministry. Interestingly enough, Jeremiah also ministered between 685-616 B.C. You will notice that the time periods often overlap. This is because the Spirit of God does great works with many people at the same time.

Isaiah (792-722 B.C.), Nahum (786-757 B.C.) and Micah (772-722 B.C.) were raised up in the ministry around the same period of time. You must buy into the move of God when the season comes. Zechariah and Malachi both prophesied about the end-times. Their ministries, interestingly enough, spanned the same period of time 557-525 B.C.

What am I trying to say? I am showing you that God is using many people to do the same thing in a particular season. He is building megachurches now! Jump on the train and become the pastor that God wants you to be. Did you know that God moved in a spirit of reform during the sixteenth century? Did you know that He did not only work through Martin Luther in Germany?

At the time the spirit of reform was flowing through the ministry of Martin Luther, the spirit of reform was also flowing through a man called Zwingli in Switzerland. If Martin Luther had thought he was the only anointed reformist he would have been making a big mistake! God moves in waves! There is a wave of church growth right now. There is a wave of massive harvesting of souls! Get in on this move of God! Allow God to use you to build a mega church!

Be open to learn new things that you do not know. A common statement in my church is, “You don’t know everything! You and I are learning. Everyday of our lives should be a living classroom. Everyone you meet can teach you something!”

As we study the subject of church growth through the power and wisdom of God, decide that you can do it. Do not let the failures of yesteryear keep you down. Be a “Can-do man”. Rise up in your spirit and say, “We are able to possess the land. We can do it!”

…Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

Numbers 13:30

When you say, “I can,” the Holy Spirit will rise up to perform that which He has called you to do. Remember, you did not call yourself. Faithful is He that called you and He will do it. You are the believer and God is the doer.

I remember when our church had only one member that owned a car – me! I prayed that we would have more people in our church with cars. I confessed and believed that we had ten people in our church who owned cars. After some time, I received what I believed God for. Believe that the God who called you, will do it.

Faithful is he that CALLETH you, who also will DO it.

1 Thessalonians 5:24

I recall walking up and down the streets adjacent to the canteen we had rented for our church services. I spoke to the street and said, “Be filled with cars.” I spoke to the empty benches and said, “Be filled with members.” Today there are countless numbers of cars and members in our church.

Reasons Why You Must Have a Mega church

Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.

Job 8:7

Should our churches be big or small? Many people feel happy in a small church. They often say it is cozier and more like a family. “We get to know each other and have better relationships,” they say. These statements are true. But let us ask ourselves a question.

Do we want to do what is cozy or do we want to do the will of God? God has shown us His will in His Word. Your starting may be small but God is expecting your latter end to be greatly increased. If it is not explicit in Scripture, it is implicit.

by Dag Heward-Mills