Elevation Church

Elevation Church is a Baptist multi-site church pastored by Steven Furtick, based in Charlotte, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. [1] Weekly church attendance was 25,317 people in 2018. Elevation has 20 locations.

Elevation Church
Elevation Ballantyne
Location Charlotte
CountryUnited States
DenominationSouthern Baptist Convention
Weekly attendance25,317
Websiteelevationchurch.org
History
FoundedFebruary 2006 (February 2006)
Administration
DivisionBaptist State Convention of North Carolina
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)Steven & Holly Furtick
Laity
Music group(s)Elevation Worship

History

The church began as a church plant of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, with Steven Furtick and seven other families from Christ Covenant Church in Shelby, North Carolina, relocated to Charlotte, meeting in Providence High School. [2][3][4] On February 5, 2006, the first Sunday worship service, 121 people attended.[5]By 2013, the church's regular attendance had grown to nearly 15,000 people weekly.[6] According to a 2018 church census, it claimed a weekly attendance of 25,317 people. [7]

Campuses

Services are held at nine Charlotte-area locations, as well as locations in Raleigh, North Carolina; Roanoke, Virginia; Melbourne, Florida; the Greater Toronto Area; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Greensboro, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; Greenville, South Carolina; Morrisville, North Carolina; Asheville, North Carolina; and Orlando, Florida[8]

Outreach

Since 2006, Elevation Church has given more than $10 million.[9] 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." In 2012, the church completed The Orange Initiative with over 102,000 hours served.[10]

In 2008, Elevation Church gave out $40,000 to members, in envelopes filled with $5, $20, even $1,000, and told them to spend it kindly on others.[5]

Since 2010, Elevation Church has hosted a week-long outreach called "Love Week."[11] During the church's 2010 "Love Week," Elevation members packed more than 10,000 sandwiches for the homeless, helped single mothers get their cars serviced, donated blood, cleaned up parks and streets, built a soccer field for local ministries and renovated buildings.[12] In 2011, Elevation and over 25 other local churches served more than 34,000 hours in a single week.[11] In 2012, Elevation partnered with 31 other churches to serve 62 outreach organizations for a total of 50,340 hours around the city of Charlotte, N.C. Elevation also partnered with Presbyterian Hospital-Matthews to help fund enhancements and expansion at a local free clinic.[13]

In 2012, Elevation Church launched an initiative calling for members to mentor children for the 2012–2013 school year, with over 1,600 responding.[14] The school outreach program was criticized in local LGBT media.[15]

Controversies

In 2013, Furtick and his wife built a large house (8,400 sq. ft, heated, 16,000 sq. ft total) on 19 acres of land in Waxhaw, NC, a suburb of Charlotte. The house and land are valued at just under $1.8 million.[16] Furtick has stated that his home was paid for with money from his book sales and publisher advances, rather than his salary from Elevation Church. The church has a report that is shared with its members every year, with the breakdown of the church finances. Elevation has stated that Furtick is generous to the church with the money he receives from writing books—that he arranges for the church to purchase his books directly from the publisher, allowing Elevation to receive the author's discount and keep the money from sales. They have also reported that the publisher pays the church to produce marketing materials to promote Furtick's books. Elevation has confirmed that Furtick's salary is set by a Board of Overseers composed of other megachurch pastors, who vote on his salary based on a compensation study conducted by an outside firm, and that Furtick does not vote on his own salary. In response to the news report, before his sermon on the weekend of October 27, 2013, Furtick addressed the congregation directly, saying he was sorry if the house and surrounding questions caused them to have difficult conversations with co-workers, friends, and neighbors. However, he defended the building of the house, calling it "a gift from God".[17]

Furtick is also featured in the 2018 documentary American Gospel: Christ Alone,[18] which contrasts controversial Word of Faith/Prosperity theology (also known as health and wealth gospel) with traditional Gospel theology. While some note his messages simply flirt with being considered prosperity-gospel in nature,[19] Furtick does have known associations with pastors like T.D. Jakes[20] and Joel Osteen,[21] both commonly referenced[22] figures in relation to Prosperity theology.

Elevation Church has also been criticized over its practice of selecting volunteers who wish to be baptized to do so during so-called "spontaneous baptism" services. In response to the initial coverage, Elevation released a statement, which reads in part: "We are confident that those who attend Elevation Church know and understand our mission and vision for reaching people for Jesus Christ. As attendees, they are provided, through weekly teachings, biblical context for everything we do and practice, such as baptism, giving, serving and inviting friends to church."[23]

Local members of the LGBT community and LGBT media have also criticized the church for its general stances on homosexuality. A former attendee who is gay spoke out after Elevation hosted Ted Haggard, a former evangelical preacher who stepped down from his position after being accused of a gay affair.[24] An unknown gay individual who claims to be a former attendee said in a blog post that Elevation has a "problem with privilege" and that Furtick "leaves LGBTQ people with no answers and no hope, just the sense that something is wrong with them for missing the obvious." [25]

See also

References
  1. Southern Baptist Convention, Elevation, sbc.net, USA, Retrieved January 14, 2018
  2. Tim Funk and Rick Rothacke, Elevation Church: A different kind of church, thestate.com, USA, January 28, 2014
  3. Brittany Smith, N.C. Megachurch Celebrates 5th Anniversary With Live Album, christianpost.com, USA, November 15, 2011
  4. Norman Jameson (2007). "Growth Burst Elevation Church At The Seams". Archived from the original on 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  5. Funk, Tim. "A Cool Pastor, and a Hot Church". Charlotte Observer, September 14, 2008. Accessed October 15, 2015.
  6. Joe Marusak (2013). "Elevation Church eyes old Palace Theater in Cornelius for another location". Archived from the original on 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2013-05-16. The church, which serves nearly 15,000 people weekly,...
  7. Lifeway research, 2018 Largest Churches in America, outreachmagazine.com, USA, retrieved January 16, 2021
  8. "Locations". elevationchurch.org. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  9. Watson, Stuart. "I-Team: How a pastor built a multi-million dollar home" Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  10. Baxter, Jennifer. "Elevation church keeps growing." Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine Charlotte Observer 04 Sept. 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  11. Smith, Brittany. "Elevation, 50 NC Churches to Serve Homeless, Elders for LOVE Week". Christian Post. February 10, 2012.
  12. Kwon, Lillian. "Megachurch Floods Charlotte with Jesus' Love", Christian Post, 19 February 2010.
  13. Smith, Brittany. "Megachurch's LOVE Week Inspires Selflessness in Charlotte". Christian Post. February 20, 2012.
  14. "Over 1,600 Elevation Church Volunteers Answer Call to Mentor Students". Christian Post, September 25, 2012. Accessed October 27, 2012.
  15. Comer, Matt (December 21, 2012). "Concerns raised as anti-gay Elevation Church makes inroads at local schools". QNotes. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  16. "Union County, NC Tax". gis-web.co.union.nc.us. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  17. Kuruvilla, Carol (October 30, 2013). "North Carolina pastor says swanky $1.7 million mansion is a 'gift from God'". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  18. "American Gospel". American Gospel. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  19. Ghost, Schaeffer's (2019-02-22). "Confronting the American Gospel". Schaeffer's Ghost. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  20. "Pastor Steven Furtick Gets TD Jakes to Reveal Favorite Non-Church Music". www.christianpost.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  21. "The Glitch that Keeps on Giving". www.lakewoodchurch.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  22. Carter, Joe. "What You Should Know About the Prosperity Gospel". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  23. Bailey, Sarah Pulliam (February 24, 2014). "Megachurch pastor Steven Furtick's 'spontaneous baptisms' not so spontaneous". Religion News Service. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  24. Comer, Matt (May 2, 2009). "Disgraced pastor Ted Haggard and wife speak at popular Charlotte church". QNotes. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  25. Lovegrove, Stephen (September 26, 2014). "The problem of privilege at Elevation Church". QNotes. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
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