C3 Church Global
| C3 Church Global | |
|---|---|
| C3 Church Global | |
| File:Christian City Churches logo.png | |
| Location | International |
| Denomination | C3 Church Pentecostalism, Evangelical, Charismatic |
| Website | c3churchglobal.com |
| History | |
| Founded | Easter 1980 |
| Founder(s) | Phil Pringle and Christine Pringle |
C3 Church Global, formerly known as Christian City Church International (C3i), is a Charismatic movement founded by Phil Pringle and Christine Pringle. The first church was started at Dee Why on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia, and is now located in Oxford Falls. The movement changed its name to "C3 Church" in September 2008.[1]
History
Phil and Christine Pringle arrived in Sydney from New Zealand in 1980 to begin a church on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. Growing to 400 people within four years, the church began expanding and planting in other cities. The vision of 10 churches in 10 major cities was developed and the movement of Christian City Church began.[2]
In 2008, at the "Here We Go" global conference held in Hawaii, Christian City Church announced the name change to "C3 Church".
Structure
C3 Church Global is directed by a team who themselves pastor C3 churches in the movement. Each member of the team oversees the pastors of various churches and/or other overseers. Local churches are overseen by a local board. Directors and overseers meet regularly at local, national, and international conferences and meetings. C3 Church Global annually ordains senior pastors of the churches in the movement. The local leadership of C3 churches individually ordain their team.[3]
The main focus of the C3 Church Global movement is to plant churches. The movement is categorised into locations, satellites, plants and full member churches. Existing churches wishing to join C3 enter a season of provision for a minimum of one year as they build "connection" with existing C3 Churches and pastors.[4]
Growth
In 2002, at the tri-annual worldwide conference held that year in Singapore, C3 Church revealed its plans to have over 1000 churches worldwide with an average attendance of 500 people throughout the movement, aiming to achieve this by the year 2020. This goal has been given the title of the "2020 Vision".[5]
In the media
Reference was made to C3 Church in the Business Review Weekly (BRW), Australian edition article "God's Millionaires". This article noted that "Prosperity theology is practised by the bigger Pentecostal churches, including Hillsong, Christian City Church and Paradise. This promotes the idea that wealth and worldly success are signs of God’s favour."[6]
Scandals
The senior pastor at C3 Asheville in North Carolina, Nicholas Dimitris, has received a federal prison sentence for his part in a real estate fraud.[7]
References
- ^ "C3 Church - Who We Are".
- ^ 25: The 25th Anniversary story of Christian City Church Oxford Falls. Hyde Park Press. 2007.
{{cite book}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ "About C3 Church - Our Structure".
- ^ "About C3 Church - The Future".
- ^ "C3 Church - Where we are Going".
- ^ "God's Millionaires". Business Review Weekly, Australia, 26 May 2005 by Adele Ferguson
- ^ "Asheville Scandal".