Elevation Church
 | The relevance of particular information in (or previously in) this article or section is disputed. (October 2011) |
| Elevation Church | |
|---|---|
| Location | Charlotte, NC |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Southern Baptist[1] |
| Weekly attendance | 9,000 (2011)[2] |
| Website | www.elevationchurch.org |
| History | |
| Founded | February 2006 |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Steven Furtick |
| Pastor(s) | Chunks Corbett (Campus Pastor, Blakeney) John Bishop (Campus Pastor, Matthews) Joshua Blackson (Campus Pastor, Providence) Frank Bealer (Campus Pastor, Rock Hill) Larry Brey (Campus Pastor, University) Larry Hubatka (Campus Pastor, Uptown) |
| Laity | |
| Music group(s) | Elevation Worship |
 | |
Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a Southern Baptist megachurch pastored by Steven Furtick. Elevation was cited by Outreach Magazine as one of the Top 100 fastest growing churches in the country in 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010.[3] It has been described as "a pop culture-friendly church with an orthodox Christian message".[1]
History
The church began as a church plant of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. As part of a church planting team, Furtick and seven other families from Christ Covenant Church in Shelby, North Carolina, relocated to Matthews, meeting in Providence High School.[4] Over its short history, it has experienced notable growth. On February 5, 2006, the first Sunday worship service, 121 people attended.[5] Since then, the church's regular attendance has grown to over 9,000, currently meeting in six different locations.[2]
Multi-Site
Elevation is a multi-site church. Charlotte services are held in Providence High School, in Uptown Charlotte at the McGlohon Theatre, in Matthews at a renovated furniture warehouse, and in the Charlotte suburb of Blakeney in a permanent facility. Elevation Blakeney was opened November 13, 2010, and will also serve as a performance arts center available for rental to the community.[6] Elevation Church most recently opened two new campuses on September 11, 2011: one meeting in Northwestern High School, near the heart of Rock Hill, South Carolina, and the second meeting at the University City YMCA, in the University Area of Charlotte.[7]
Outreach
In 2008, Elevation Church made headlines when it gave out $40,000 to members, in envelopes filled with $5, $20, even $1,000, and told them to spend it kindly on others. Later that year, the church again headlines again when members followed up by pledging $6.4 million to the church's capital campaign for worship space.[1]
Since 2006, Elevation Church has given more than $3.4 million to local and global outreach partners. In 2011, a partnership with Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx was established to give 100,000 hours and $750,000 to serve Charlotte people in "The Orange Initiative." [2]
Controversy
Elevation Church attracted attention for its treatment of a child with cerebral palsy. The child's mother stated they were escorted to the church's lobby after the child said "Amen" during the 2011 Easter service. The church defended its action, saying the child was not removed from the church but only escorted to another section of the church to watch the service. The mother and church officials had planned to meet to discuss the incident; however, the meeting was cancelled after the mother contacted the media.[8]The church subsequently reported that it has reached out to the Mecklenburg County ARC, an advocacy group for the disabled, requesting special needs training for its staff.[8]
References
- ^ a b c Funk, Tim. "A Cool Pastor, and a Hot Church". Charlotte Observer, September 14, 2008.
- ^ a b c Baxter, Jennifer. "Elevation church keeps growing." Charlotte Observer 04 Sept. 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ Outreach Magazine (October 8, 2007). "2007 List of Fastest Growing US Churches". Archived from the original on 2008-04-10. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ^ Norman Jameson (2007). "Growth Burst Elevation Church At The Seams". Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ^ "Elevation Church | Welcome". Retrieved 2011-02-22.
- ^ "www.ElevationBlakeney.com".
- ^ Fox Charlotte (2011). "Elevation Church Grows Again Adding Two New Campuses". Retrieved 2011-08-16.
- ^ a b http://www.wsoctv.com/news/28173783/detail.html