megachurch

noun

mega·​church ˈme-gə-ˌchərch 

plural megachurches

: a church having an extremely large congregation

The megachurch, one of the largest in the region with roughly 5,000 attendees at its Sunday morning Post Falls worship service, is also adding a 25,000-square-foot children's ministry building, which will include a large indoor play structure …

—Nicholas Deshais

In little more than a decade, his ministry has grown from a living-room Bible study to a megachurch that draws about 7,600 visitors to seven campuses around Seattle each Sunday …

—Molly Worthen

Examples of megachurch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Southlake megachurch and its attorneys want to use someone from the American Arbitration Association or a district judge to settle the matter. —Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Apr. 2026

Morris is the founder of Gateway Church, a multi-site megachurch based in Texas with one of the largest evangelical congregations in the state. —Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026

There’s a golf course nearby, a megachurch and The Home Depot. —Lilly Kersh, Dallas Morning News, 21 Mar. 2026

By 2021, nonprofit Hope City Live bought the site in a $20 million plan to build a megachurch. —Marissa Luck, Houston Chronicle, 17 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

mega- + church entry 1

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for megachurch

• interchurch
• birch
• lurch
• perch
• search
• recherche
• research