Prestonwood Baptist Church

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Prestonwood Baptist Church located in Plano, Texas is one of the largest megachurches in North America. The sprawling campus includes a 7,000 seat worship center, children and youth centers, a Pre-K through 12th grade school, football and baseball fields, a sports and fitness center, a cafe, and two bookstores.

Prestonwood now meets in two locations. The second location "Prestonwood North" ^[1] meets at Prosper High School in Prosper, TX and currently has two services. Services which began on August 27, 2006 had over 1000 in attendance on its first day, and the church is quickly outgrowing the gymnasium for both services.

Contents 1 Ministry 2 History 3 Men's Bible Study 4 References

[edit] Ministry

Prestonwood maximizes its resources to serve the greater community. From the special focus on dynamic biblical teaching, powerful worship with a 500-member choir, Bible Fellowship classes for small group connectivity, sports leagues and camps, children and student ministries, and much more. For full details, visit their web site: www.prestonwood.org.

[edit] History

The church was started on Feb. 6th, 1977^[2], as a church plant of Northway Baptist Church. Within 6 years, the church had grown so much that a 4,000 seat worship center was completed. In 1989, Dr. Jack Graham became the senior pastor, with total membership topping 10,000. In April of 1994, PowerPoint Ministries with Jack Graham was launched as the broadcast ministry from Prestonwood. Today, this broadcast can be heard both nationally and internationally, as well as watched and heard online and through audio and video podcasting at www.jackgraham.org. Also in 1994, the need for a larger building became apparent, and on May 2nd, 1999, the current 7,000 seat worship center was completed. August of 2003 saw the second phase of the building completed, as a new student area was built, along with a restaurant, 3-gym sports complex, and children's area. In August of 2005, the doors of Prestonwood Christian Academy's own High School building were opened on the church's campus, across from the student area.

Prestonwood is also home to the Dallas Christmas Festival, which is one of the largest Christmas pageants in the nation, and is one of the top rated Christmas-related events in the state of Texas. (looking for citations) Each year there are Thirteen DCF performances, many of which sell out. There are almost 70,000 in attendance each year.

The church recently announced plans for a second campus in Prosper, TX, near U.S. Highway 380 and Dallas Parkway; as well as plans to expand some areas of the existing campus. Matt Surber is to be the new Associate Minister / North Campus Coordinator. Other new additions to the church include a new children's wing, the Prestonwood Leadership Center, and new facilities for the PowerPoint Ministries.

The church reached the 26,000 member mark in July of 2006, with a regular attendance hovering around 15,000.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Men's Bible Study

On Friday mornings Prestonwood has a men's bible study that meets in the Student Ministry Building. They have guest speakers throughout the year, such as Neil Jeffrey, O.S. Hawkins, and David McKinley.

[edit] References

1. ^ "Prestonwood Baptist Church", Prestonwood Baptist Church, September 10, 2006.
2. ^ "History - Prestonwood Baptist Church", Prestonwood Baptist Church, September 10, 2006.