Morning Mass is celebrated at St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church in Cranberry Township. The parish has more than 10,500 registered members and averages more than 3,100 in attendance at its seven weekend Masses.

More and more county residents are worshipping in bigger and bigger churches.

These “megachurches,” which serve thousands of members each week, offer a variety of services beyond a Sunday sermon, ranging from schooling for children to social activities for adults.

Cranberry Township, considered one of the fastest growing townships in the state, is home to a pair of these megachurches.

St. Kilian Parish has more than 10,500 registered members and averages more than 3,100 in attendance at its seven weekend Masses, according to the Rev. Charles Bober, a pastor there.

Bober said the Roman Catholic church, which has been serving the area since 1917, has grown 405 percent over the past decade. He cites an increase in the township's population as the leading cause for the growth.

“There are lots of reasons for that, but demographics play a significant role,” Bober said. “Both Catholic parishes that serve Cranberry Township have experienced growth, which follows the general population growth of the area.”

A realignment of the boundaries with St. Ferdinand Parish, the township's other Catholic parish, in 2001 also had a big effect on its membership growth.

Bober said Catholic parishes are territorial, so growth in local population means growth in church membership.

St. Ferdinand sits less than three miles from its sister church on the opposite side of Interstate 79.St. Ferdinand, which became a parish in 1961, has more than 10,800 members and typically hosts about 3,500 people at its six weekend Masses, according to Margie Beggy, the building campaign coordinator with the church.St. Ferdinand was once even larger, Beggy said.In 2001, the church had 4,500 families but the realignment with St. Kilian, cut that number to about 3,000. The change gave the churches more balanced membership.Today, St. Ferdinand is back up to more than 3,600 families.While the Catholic parishes in Cranberry, as well as other large churches in the area, have benefited from the rising population in the township, population growth is not the only factor drawing people to larger worship sites.First United Methodist Church, based in downtown Butler, has more than 3,000 members and averages about 1,300 people at its services each weekend.The church offers five services through its home location on East North Street and its Crossfire branch facility at the intersection of Route 8 and Mercer Road.While the city's population has remained flat over the past decade, the church has been rapidly growing, according to Christine O'Brien, the church's executive director.“When I came here seven years ago, we had about 700 members attending,” she said. “So it has basically doubled in size.”O'Brien said the growth is the result of the variety of services the church offers.“We have people start serving with us for different reasons, and they seem to get hooked,” she said.She credits a personal touch.

“David Panther, our pastor who passed away in May, was great at making personal connections in the community,” O'Brien said. “That was one of the biggest reasons we've grown.”An abundance of activities, ministries and services is an aspect that's common to these large churches.While smaller, more traditional churches often must pick and choose where to devote their time, these megachurches, with full-time staffs approaching 50 members and hundreds of volunteers, can tackle many activities at once.“The level of activity here is very high,” Bober said. “If it were a smaller parish, I would imagine that not every activity could be conducted.”Ministries at each of the churches are vast and diverse, and go beyond traditional religious education.Bober said his church offers numerous Bible study groups, social activities for people of all ages and service activities, such as food bank donations.But religious education still remains key.With a full elementary school for kindergarten through eighth grade, St. Kilian can offer more than evening classes.“The size of this parish enables us to provide many ministries,” Bober said. “But in addition to those that every parish provides, such as sacramental and religious education, our parish provides a parish elementary school of 603 students.

“This is in addition to a religious education program for almost 1,000 students,” he added.St. Ferdinand and First United also offer religious education courses for numerous children of all ages, as well as a plethora of other ministries.The array of services is something smaller churches lack the ability to provide. But that doesn't mean those running megachurches feel superior to their smaller brethren.“The biggest difference is the resources we have,” O'Brien said. “We have more than a smaller church might have, but I still think smaller churches can still do amazing things.”Appreciation of smaller churches isn't lost in the megachurch community. Many strive to keep the same sense of community smaller churches have.“I like to say we're a large church with a small- church feel,” said Beggy. “I go to a lot of our different Masses and a lot of people still get to know everyone.”The sense of community is one of the things larger churches are trying to achieve.O'Brien said the number of services her church offers provides that feeling.“With five services, you can have a small-church feel in a big atmosphere,” she said.And while the churches may seem huge to some, the overall goal remains the same.Bober of late has worked with large parishes, but earlier served smaller parishes.“The essential ministry and focus of every parish is the same — that is, worship, religious education, fellowship and service,” Bober said. “The difference in parishes is how that is carried out.”

Statistics from Butler County compiled by the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2010 show this snapshot of the religious community.Congregations: 246Members: 89,868Average membership: 382Average attendance: 247<B>Roman Catholic </B>Congregations: 23Members: 37,268Average membership: 1,694Average attendance: 1,063<B>Mainline Protestant </B>Congregations:84Members: 26,551Average membership: 323Average attendance: 149<B>Evangelical Protestant </B>Congregations:93Members: 15,795Average membership: 175Average attendance:143

<B>First United Methodist Church </B>Address: 200 E. North St., ButlerMembers: 3,000Founded: 1825Pastor: Rev. Erik Park<B>St. Kilian Parish </B>Address: 7076 Franklin Road, Cranberry TownshipMembers: 10,500Founded: 1917Pastor: Rev. Charles Bober<B>St. Ferdinand Parish </B>Address: 2535 Rochester Road, Cranberry TownshipMembers: 10,800Founded: 1961Pastor: Rev. John Gallagher<B>NEXT SUNDAY:</B> <I>Focus will feature some of the county's smallest churches and how they compare to their megachurch counterparts.</I>

First United Methodist Church in Butler

St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church in Cranberry Township

St. Ferdinand Roman Catholic Church in Cranberry Township

The Rev. Pat Nelson, pastor of congregational care at FirstUnited Methodist Church, Butler, looks over a Scripture reading. First United has more than 3,000 members and averages about 1,300 people at its services each weekend.