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Life.Church

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LifeChurch.tv
LocationEdmond, OK based[1] with various physical campuses, Internet and Second Life campuses
CountryUnited States
DenominationEvangelical Covenant Church
Websitewww.lifechurch.tv
History
StatusActive
Founded1996 (1996)
Founder(s)Craig Groeschel
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)Craig Groeschel

LifeChurch.tv (also known as Life Covenant Church or simply "Life Church") is an American evangelical multi-site church with multiple locations. Craig Groeschel is the founder and senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv.[1]

As of May 2015, there are twenty-four LifeChurch.tv locations in seven states across the United States.[2]

History

In January 1996, Life Church began in Oklahoma City with 40 congregants meeting together "in a two-car garage, equipped with just a borrowed overhead projector and two construction lights purchased at Lowe's for $19.99."[3] From 1996 to 1999 the church membership grew rapidly. During this time, Life Church acquired its first facility (now known as the "Oklahoma City Campus"). In 2001, MetroChurch, a 25-year-old, nondenominational church in nearby Edmond, Oklahoma joined with Life Church, effectively making it a multi-site church. Following the success of the additional location, the church launched campuses in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Stillwater, Oklahoma in 2002, and these new campuses began incorporating satellite video teaching into their services.[4]

LifeChurch.tv opened an additional campus in OKC, the South Oklahoma City Campus, in Spring 2005. In February 2006, LifeChurch.tv introduced a campus in Fort Worth, Texas. In April, the church established its "Internet Campus," which broadcasts weekly, interactive worship services live over the internet. In July, the church also launched a new campus in Hendersonville, Tennessee.[5]

Easter Sunday, 2007, LifeChurch.tv began broadcasting from their new campus in the online game Second Life.[6][7][8]

LifeChurch.tv also decided to do away with "church membership", deciding instead to encourage people to become "partners" in helping lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ.[9] The church has developed a Bible application for mobile phones, YouVersion. Introduced in 2008, it has been described as "[t]he world's most popular Bible program for mobile phones."[10]

LifeChurch.tv features a casual dress code and most attendees wear jeans and casual clothing, the worship service includes refreshments before and after the services, music style is pop-rock and praise-worship, with the performances amplified concert style and lyrics shown on projector.

Locations

There are currently twenty-four LifeChurch.tv campuses in seven different states, as well as an online campus.[11]

  1. Albany, NY
  2. Broadway & Britton,OK
  3. Broken Arrow, OK
  4. Edmond, OK
  5. Fort Worth, TX
  6. Hendersonville, TN
  7. Jenks, OK
  8. Keller, TX
  9. Midwest City, OK
  10. Moore, OK
  11. Mustang,OK
  12. Northwest Oklahoma City, OK
  13. Oklahoma City, OK
  14. Owasso, OK
  15. Rio Rancho, NM
  16. Shawnee, OK
  17. South Broken Arrow, OK
  18. South Oklahoma City, OK
  19. South Tulsa, OK
  20. Stillwater, OK
  21. Tulsa, OK
  22. Wichita, KS
  23. Wellington, FL
  24. Yukon, OK

LifeChurch.tv makes its material available to other churches through a program called NetworkChurches.tv.[12]

Affiliation

LifeChurch.tv is part of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC).[13] The ECC upholds the core evangelical Christian beliefs, while allowing believers the personal freedom to have varying interpretations on theological issues that are not clearly presented in Scripture.[13]

Articles

References

  1. ^ a b Banerjee, Neela (September 2006), Intimate Confessions Pour Out on Church's Web Site, The New York Times, retrieved 2010-01-03
  2. ^ http://www.lifechurch.tv/locations
  3. ^ Magazine Names LifeChurch ‘Most Innovative’ in U.S., Covenant Newswire, January 16, 2007, retrieved 2014-11-20
  4. ^ Bob Smietana (September 2005), High-Tech Circuit Riders, Christianity Today, retrieved 2010-01-03 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "LifeChurch.tv Hendersonville, TN campus". Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  6. ^ "LifeChurch.tv has a Second Life Church Campus - LifeChurch.tv : swerve". Swerve.lifechurch.tv. 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
  7. ^ "Location-Based Linking in Second Life". SLurl. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
  8. ^ Stephanie Simon (April 8, 2007), It's Easter; shall we gather at the desktops? / Virtual houses of worship await you online in Second Life., Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2010-01-03
  9. ^ http://phx.lifechurch.tv/
  10. ^ Bill Sherman, "Lifechurch.tv's Bible app attracts millions of users", Tulsa World, January 4, 2011.
  11. ^ "LOCATIONS | LifeChurch.tv/locations". lifechurch.tv. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
  12. ^ "NETWORK | LifeChurch.tv/Network". Network.lifechurch.tv. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
  13. ^ a b "LifeChurch.tv Who We Are / Affilitation". Retrieved 9 May 2011.
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