Southeast Christian Church

Southeast Christian Church is an evangelical, Christian church in Louisville, Kentucky. It is associated with the Independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. Its Senior Minister, Dave Stone, assumed leadership of the church in 2006.

[edit] Size

Southeast Christian Church is considered a megachurch. It is Kentucky's largest church, with weekly attendance of 18,000.^[1]

The church started on July 1, 1962 as fifty-three members of the South Louisville Christian Church started a new church in the Hikes Point area.
By 1998, the church had moved to - and outgrown - several buildings until reaching its present location at 920 Blankenbaker Parkway.
Former Senior Minister Bob Russell retired in 2006 after 40 years of service.
In February of 2007, Southeast Christian officially released an announcement that it will establish a satellite church in Clark County, Indiana. ^[2]

The mission statement of Southeast Christian Church goes as follows^[3]:

Southeast Christian Church exists to:

The following is a summary of what Christians who are members of Southeast Christian Church are asked to believe^[4]:

Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God, who died for our sins and arose from the dead.
The Bible is the inspired word of God.
Every person has worth as a creation of God, but that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life are available to those who trust Christ as Savior and Lord.
Those accepting Christ should repent of sin, confess their faith, and be baptized into Him.
The Church is the body of Christ on earth, empowered by the Holy Spirit and exists to evangelize the lost and edify the saved.
Jesus Christ will one day return to earth and reign forever as King of kings and Lord of lords.

The church operates Country Lake Christian Retreat Center near Henryville, Indiana. In June 2004, some teenage campers supervised by a 24-year-old employee of the Church destroyed a statue of the Virgin Mary at a nearby home of a Roman Catholic after studying the worship of false idols.^[5]
After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, then-senior minister Bob Russell and current senior minister Dave Stone stated in a church publication that the attacks served as proof of Christianity's superiority over at least some brands of Islam. They said it disproves "the philosophy that all cultures are of equal value - one faith is as good as another." ^[6] ^[7]