If ever there were a ministry built around one person, it is “Grace to You,” the broadcast ministry of the late John MacArthur. And Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, where MacArthur served as pastor 55 years, is not much different.
So what happens now that MacArthur is gone? Can anyone successfully succeed him? Is there a succession plan?
MacArthur was 86, after all, and rumors of his impending death have swirled for several years. So it’s not like no one ever thought about this.
Grace to You
The answer for Grace to You is much clearer than the answer for the church. The multi-million-dollar ministry — we don’t know the net worth of the ministry because it is not required to file IRS reports — will be led now by John MacArthur’s oldest son, Matt MacArthur.
In an announcement on the organization’s website, Matt MacArthur wrote: “I’ve had the great privilege of serving alongside my dad for many years and of sitting on the Grace to You board for more than 25 years. Like so many of you, I’ve loved this ministry all my life. And while these days are marked by both sorrow and joy, I want you to know that I am more committed than ever to the work God entrusted to us through my father.”
He explained: “We are not looking for an alternative voice or a different teacher. Our purpose remains clear: To preserve John MacArthur’s teaching ministry and make it available to as many people as possible, worldwide, for generations to come.”
Matt MacArthur speaking at his father’s funeral. (Screencap)
In addition to the John MacArthur sermons already published online there are hundreds he preached that have not been heard beyond the church where he preached them. “Grace to You can keep producing new broadcasts for decades to come,” his son said.
That’s not much different than what happened to Charles Stanley’s “InTouch Ministries,” which continues to broadcast Stanley’s sermons worldwide two years after his death.
Practically, there may be a limited shelf life for both MacArthur’s and Stanley’s sermons, but that expiration date isn’t likely anytime soon.
Grace Church
What’s much more interesting is what will happen to Grace Church, which was first and foremost known as the church of John MacArthur. Yes, other pastors and elders preached from time to time, but it was MacArthur conservatives flocked to hear. MacArthur was not the founding pastor of the church but is the pastor who grew the church to its present status. During the early days of MacArthur’s ministry, the church doubled in size every two years.
Nathan Busenitz
For now, staff minister Nathan Busenitz has been given the interim title staff pastor and Mark Zhakevich continues to run the administrative day-to-day operations. But no pastoral successor has been named at the church, where a rotation of elders and staff members is now sharing preaching duties. A message from the elders posted on the church website talks as if a pastoral successor will be named at some point in the future.
The church website lists nearly 40 men who carry some variation of the title “elder.”
Other examples
History has not been kind to other megachurches built around the preaching of one long-term pastor. First Baptist Church of Atlanta, where Stanley was pastor nearly 50 years, went through a pastoral transition before Stanley’s death — and that still was hard. The church remains active but in a smaller form than before.
The Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif., could not survive after the death of founding pastor Robert Schuller, despite the efforts of his eldest son to succeed him.
Willow Creek Church in Chicago has gone through multiple pastors since founding pastor Bill Hybels was forced out in a sexual abuse scandal.
Even Saddleback Church in Southern California is reportedly experiencing transitional pains after founding pastor Rick Warren retired and handed leadership to another experienced megachurch pastor.
A key difference between Willow Creek and Saddleback versus Crystal Cathedral or Grace Community Church is Hybels and Warren were not the sole preachers in the rotation, while MacArthur and Schueller most often were.
Grace Church announced a 20% budget cut the month before MacArthur’s death, when he was in failing health. Attendance reportedly is down. And the church faces a lawsuit from former member Lorraine Zielinski who alleges that during marital counseling, she confided in church leaders about her abusive marriage and her fears for her and her daughter’s safety. According to her complaint, leaders pressured her to abandon her plans for legal separation. When she attempted to resign her membership, the church allegedly placed her under discipline, publicly disclosing confidential details from her counseling sessions.
That’s not going to help offerings come in.
Time will tell whether the church was a one-generation congregation or can regenerate for a second generation.
Family legacy
John MacArthur was father to four children: Matt, Marcy, Mark and Melinda. In the complementarian world of MacArthur’s theology, only males are qualified for leadership in church ministry. That’s likely why Matt MacArthur is taking the helm of Grace to You.
Mark MacArthur
The eldest son not only already served as a Grace to You board member but also is vice chairman of the John MacArthur Charitable Trust. He’s a graduate and board member of The Master’s University, which his father founded.
Things are not so clear with John MacArthur’s other son, Mark, whom Julie Roys reports “was implicated by the SEC in a fraudulent $16 million investment scheme” and was “disgraced” by the family.
She also reported that Mark MacArthur gave an unscheduled eulogy at his father’s funeral that later was scrubbed from the video version posted by Grace to You.
Related articles:
Evangelical firebrand John MacArthur dead at 86
Megachurches aren’t forever | Analysis by Mark Wingfield
Where does a multi-site megachurch find a new pastor? | Analysis by Mark Wingfield