AbstractHow are the Korean mega-churches growing? What distinguishes them from smaller size of churches? To understand the phenomenal growth of the Korean mega-churches, the survey was taken in 1998 to measure the perceptions of members about their pastor, view of church growth, and religious characteristics, based on 1,260 samples (750 for the mega-churches, 265 for the large churches, and 245 for the small/middle-sized churches). The results showed that the members of the mega-churches are more likely to perceive their senior pastor as charismatic, are more likely to attribute the factors of church growth to their senior pastor, and are more likely to exhibit religious commitment than are the members of the smaller size of churches. This paper argues that charismatic pastoral leadership has an immense impact on religious commitment of the members, thereby leading to church growth.
