Southeast Christian Church
Southeast Christian Church is an evangelical, Christian church in Louisville, Kentucky. It is associated with the Independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. Its Senior Minister, Dave Stone, assumed leadership of the church in 2006.
Size
Southeast Christian Church is considered a megachurch. It is Kentucky's largest church, with weekly attendance of 18,000.[1]It is the 6th largest church in the United States.
History
The church started on July 1, 1962 as fifty-three members of the South Louisville Christian Church started a new church in the Hikes Point area. By 1998, the church had moved to - and outgrown - several buildings until reaching its present location at 920 Blankenbaker Parkway. Former Senior Minister Bob Russell retired in 2006 after 40 years of service. He was succeeded as senior minister by Dave Stone, the longtime preaching associate at Southeast. In February 2007, Southeast Christian officially released an announcement that it will establish a satellite church in Clark County, Indiana.[2] With the establishment of a second location, Southeast will become a multi-site church. The breaking of the ground, by I-65 Exit 4 in Jeffersonville, Indiana, took place on August 12, 2007.[3]
Mosaic Christian Church
Mosaic Christian Church [4] is a church plant planned for the Arundel Mills area of suburban Baltimore. This joint project of Southeast Christian Church and The Orchard Group [5] is set to open in September 2008, and will be led by church planter Carl Kuhl. [6].
Mission statement
The mission statement of Southeast Christian Church goes as follows[7]:
Southeast Christian Church exists to:
- Evangelize the lost;
- Edify the saved;
- Minister to those in need;
- Be a conscience in the community.
Beliefs
The following is a summary of what Christians who are members of Southeast Christian Church are asked to believe[8]:
- Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God, who died for our sins and arose from the dead.
- The Bible is the inspired word of God.
- Every person has worth as a creation of God, but that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
- Forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life are available to those who trust Christ as Savior and Lord.
- Those accepting Christ should repent of sin, confess their faith, and be baptized into Him.
- The Church is the body of Christ on earth, empowered by the Holy Spirit and exists to evangelize the lost and edify the saved.
- Jesus Christ will one day return and reign forever as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Controversies
- The church operates the Country Lake Christian Retreat near Henryville, Indiana. In June 2004, some teenage campers supervised by a 24-year-old employee of the Church destroyed a statue of the Virgin Mary at a nearby home of a Roman Catholic after studying the worship of false idols.[9]
- After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, then-senior minister Bob Russell and current senior minister Dave Stone stated in a church publication that the attacks served as proof of the inferiority of at least some brands of Islam to Christianity. They said the attacks disprove "the philosophy that all cultures are of equal value - one faith is as good as another." [10] [11]
References
- ^ "Supersized Worship." The Courier-Journal, Nov. 26, 2006, page B2.
- ^ Southeast Christian to add site in Indiana
- ^ Mission Statement of Southeast Christian Church
- ^ What We Believe
- ^ Church disciplines worker after teens destroy statue
- ^ Talk Show Maven: No Atheists For President -- Falwell Retreats, Robertson Prevaricates On Earlier Claims Blaming Americans For Attacks.
- ^ "Pastors defend remarks; others urge caution." The Courier-Journal, Sept. 18, 2001, page A8.