Which specific U.S. megachurches saw the largest in-person attendance declines between 2019 and 2023?
Executive summary
The available reporting identifies a few high-profile megachurches that experienced steep drops in in‑person worship between 2019 and 2023, but public, comparable attendance data for most individual megachurches is sparse; the clearest, named example in the sources is Willow Creek Community Church, which reported a roughly 57% decline that precipitated staff cuts [1]. Broader survey research shows in‑person attendance fell nationally after the pandemic and that megachurches as a category were hit hard, yet other large congregations bucked the trend—so the landscape is mixed and highly dependent on local reporting practices [2] [3] [4].
1. The one named megachurch with a clear, large decline: Willow Creek
Christianity Today’s reporting, cited in Church Answers and summarized by ChurchAnswers, describes Willow Creek Community Church cutting millions from personnel and laying off about 30% of staff after reporting a 57% decline in attendance, which makes Willow Creek the most concrete, named megachurch decline documented in the provided reporting [1].
2. Category-level evidence: megachurches suffered large pandemic-era setbacks
Survey and sector reports show megachurches overall suffered some of the largest attendance drops during and after 2020: the Christian Standard’s 2022 church report noted that megachurches (defined as 2,000+ weekly) experienced the greatest pandemic-era attendance declines among church sizes, and many megachurches dropped below the 2,000 threshold temporarily [3]. National polling corroborates a measurable decline in in‑person religious attendance compared with pre‑pandemic years, reinforcing that the sector-wide hit was real even if individual church data are seldom published in comparable form [2] [5].
3. Why naming more specific megachurches is difficult: data and reporting gaps
Public lists of megachurches rely heavily on self-reported figures and inconsistent counting methods—some report registered members, others average Sunday attendance, and multisite churches complicate the numbers—so there is no single authoritative public dataset in the sources that tracks 2019→2023 year‑over‑year in‑person attendance for every megachurch [6]. Sector commentators and local outlets sometimes report dramatic cuts or declines (as with Willow Creek), but those episodes are episodic and not part of a comprehensive, standardized reporting effort in the cited materials [1] [6].
4. The counter‑narrative: some megachurches grew or stabilized
National reporting highlights that while many congregations shrank, a number of megachurches bucked the trend—NPR documented sizable megachurches that continued to attract younger, diverse worshippers and in some cases grew or maintained large weekend audiences, pointing to a bifurcated picture in which some large churches expanded even as overall attendance fell [4]. Sector conversations about “peak megachurch” and shifting models emphasize that growth or decline is uneven and tied to factors like multisite strategies, leadership, and local demographics [7] [8].
5. What can be said with confidence and what remains uncertain
It is certain from the sources that in‑person attendance declined overall after 2019 and that megachurches were among the church-size categories most visibly affected; it is also certain that Willow Creek is a documented, high‑profile case of a major drop tied to layoffs [2] [3] [1]. What cannot be confidently claimed from the provided reporting is a ranked list of "which specific U.S. megachurches saw the largest declines" beyond the limited, named examples, because comprehensive, standardized 2019–2023 attendance figures for individual megachurches are not available in these sources [6].
6. Bottom line for readers following attendance trends
The best conclusion supported by the reporting is that megachurches experienced uneven but often substantial in‑person attendance declines after 2019, with Willow Creek standing out as a documented extreme; analysts seeking a full list of the largest declines will need access to proprietary church reporting, denominational statistics, or investigative aggregation across local reporting because the public, standardized datasets cited here do not provide church‑by‑church 2019→2023 comparisons [1] [3] [6].