The AP is solely responsible for this content. As founder & lead pastor, he has helped grow the multi-site Elevation Church into a global ministry through online streaming, television, & the music of Elevation Worship. Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. Steven Furtick is a pastor, Grammy-award winning songwriter & producer, & New York Times best-selling author.Rates of baptisms are also in long-term decline. ![]() That is the lowest level since the late 1970s. In statistics released earlier this year by Lifeway Research, the denomination fell to 13.2 million members in 2022. The SBC has been in membership decline for nearly two decades but remains the largest Protestant denomination in America. “I could easily see others leaving to make a statement, rather than sitting around waiting for the SBC to remove them.” That, he said, has had “ripple effects” on other churches “They explicitly excluded Saddleback to make a symbolic point that nobody is immune to this more fundamentalist narrowing of this complementarian belief,” he said, referring to the doctrine then men and women have distinct, complementary roles, with men as leaders in churches and families. Thumma wondered how many other churches may follow in its lead. Warren had said Baptists should be able to agree to disagree on issues such as women in ministry while cooperating on missions and evangelism. He said Elevation was clearly taking its cue from the overwhelming stance of the SBC to reject Warren’s appeal. ![]() “That makes Elevation not just a large church but having a large influence in the country,” said longtime megachurch researcher Scott Thumma of Hartford Institute for Religion Research. The church-affiliated Elevation Worship has won six Dove Awards - the top award for contemporary Christian music - including song of the year for “The Blessing.” The song became a viral video hit in the 2020 pandemic lockdown with its reassuring lyrics sung by virtual choirs around the world. The discrepancy in attendance figures couldn’t immediately be explained but may reflect differences in how post-pandemic online worshippers are counted.Įlevation has also produced an extensive repertoire of worship music that has been widely influential. ![]() It drew 26,000 average worshippers per week in 2022, seventh most among Protestant churches and one behind Saddleback, according to the Outreach 100, an annual survey by Outreach magazine.Īccording to the SBC‘s internal records, the church had an average attendance of 10,185 in 2021, the most recent data available. Also at its annual meeting, representatives took a preliminary vote to amend the SBC constitution to require participating churches to have only qualified men as pastor or elder.Įlevation and the Executive Committee did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment.įounded in 2006, the Matthews, North Carolina-based church has multiple campuses in the Charlotte area and elsewhere in North Carolina, neighboring states and even Canada.
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