Bob Merritt is the retired senior pastor of Eagle Brook Church in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, a megachurch that has seen explosive growth under his leadership. Six years into his ministry, by 1997 the church had attendance of 1,400. According to Outreach Magazine in 2008 this was the 30th fastest-growing church in the US and the 38th in size based on attendance of 10,334. By 2015, typical weekend attendance had risen to 22,000.
Merritt became pastor of the Eagle Brook Church, then called First Baptist Church of White Bear Lake in 1991. By 1997, when the church took its present name, average weekend attendance had grown to 1,400. The decision to change the name was in part to avoid deterring people from other denominations. Although the church is Baptist in origin, its core belief is in the foundation of the Christian faith and the church welcomes people from all denominations from Catholic and Lutheran to Assembly of God. Merritt led modernization and expansion of the facilities and development of the organization required for a megachurch to operate effectively. After rapid and continued growth, the church now has nine campuses in the Minneapolis–St. Paul and now Rochester areas. They are located in Anoka, Blaine, Lakeville, Lino Lakes, Spring Lake Park, White Bear Lake, Wayzata, Woodbury and Rochester which launches in October, 2019. As of August 2018, over 22,000 people hear his or the other teaching pastors' messages live or simulcast at one of the campuses on a typical weekend. And another 8,700 who follow Eagle Brook's online church option. To encourage people who may have been turned off by the formality of other churches, Merritt deliberately gave Eagle Brook an informal atmosphere, with no stained glass, pews or altar. Merritt attributes the healthy level of donations from his core congregation to the sense of mission in the church, the drive to reach as many people as possible and help them grow in their faith. He also emphasizes the importance of providing more than just a place to hear music and listen to an inspiring or helpful message, but to also be active in the world community assisting the oppressed, poor and hungry.
Leadership training
Merritt is an instructor at Bethel Virtual Seminary of Bethel University. In 2006 he was named Bethel Seminary Alumnus of the Year for his work in guiding the church through explosive growth and reaching out to people who had been lost to the church. In May 2009 he hosted an event at Eagle Brook where hundreds of church leaders listened to a dialog with pastor Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church in the Chicago area on effective ways to organize and run a large church.
