Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale
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Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale is one of the largest Protestant evangelical churches in the United States. According to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, it is the largest megachurch in Florida, with approximately 18,000 worshippers attending on average [1]. Founded in 1985 by Bob Coy, it is affiliated with the Calvary Chapel movement. In 1999, the church relocated into a 75 acre tract of land formerly owned by Harris Corporation, which now has a 3,700 seat sanctuary, and one of the most innovative Children's and Youth Ministries in the country, which includes a skateboard ramp park.
The church & congregants are also very involved in serving their fellow man. Of note is their Kids Share Ministry, which actively trains congregants to equip them to help alleve the epidemic of orphan kids in Broward County. It is estimated that through these efforts, they have housed & adopted several hundred kids to provide for them a safe environment. "CCFL" also allocates millions of dollars a year to help the poor & needy, both locally and around the world.
The church also offers two satellite church locations: one in Sunrise, FL (14 miles away to the southwest), and the other in Boca Raton (15 miles away to the northeast). Combined, these two locations minister to over 1,500 on a weekly basis.
To meet the needs of a large, diverse congregation, CCFL has approximately 500 people on staff, including 23 assistant pastors. One of the assistant pastors is Stephan Tchividjian, who is the oldest grandson of Billy Graham.
In May 2006, CCFL made nationwide news when it announced that they had raised over $100 million in pledges from their congregation to build much-needed facilities on the property; this is considered to be the most ever pledged by a church in America. [2]
Also of note was the landmark case they won involving religious rights in 2003 when they sued the Broward County government for not letting them display a sign that said "Jesus is the reason for the Season" at a holiday festival display held a local park. CCFL's argument was that local businesses and organizations were allowed to put up displays, but Calvary was being discriminated because of the religious nature of the content. The government's argument was their concern that the religious displays could potentially be a divise issue, considering that the event was held in a government-owned park. [3]
Among the guest speakers that have preached at CCFL include: Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Chuck Smith, Benjamin Netanyahu, Greg Laurie, Joni Eareckson Tada, Luis Palau, Charles Stanley, Kirk Cameron, Jon Courson, and Max Lucado.
[edit] External links
- http://www.calvaryftl.org Calvary Chapel Ft Lauderdale's official website
