Next Level Church
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Next Level Church is an interdenominational Christian church located in the suburb of Matthews, NC, near Charlotte, North Carolina.
Public worship services began on September 11, 2005 at Community House Middle School, with Dan Southerland as lead pastor. In November 2006 Todd Hahn transitioned into the role of lead pastor and Dan Southerland remained (and is still currently) on staff.
In 2007 Next Level adopted Project 485, an ambitious plan to begin Next Level Campuses near every exit of I-485, the loop highway surrounding Charlotte. The first Project 485 campus, in the Ballantyne area, launched on February of 2008, led by Campus Pastor Robbie McLaughlin.[1] The site will is full-service, with the teaching from the Matthews Campus shown on a one week delay via high quality video. Next Level plans to complete Project 485 within five-ten years.
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[edit] History
Next Level Church initially began meeting as a launch team in January of 2005 at Park Church South in Pineville NC. Meetings were on Sunday nights and drew a crowd of around 40 people. The church held its first public worship service on Sunday morning September 11th, 2005 in the gymnasium of Community House Middle School located in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte[2]. Due to potential damage to the wooden gym floor, Next Level Church's lease was terminated in July of 2006. The search for a new location yielded a campus with three buildings, 16 acres, and another church named Tri-County Community Church (TC3) located in Matthews, NC which was meeting weekly on Saturday nights. Next Level Church met in the Matthews facility[3] for the first time on August 20, 2006. TC3 and Next Level merged into a single congregation under the name of Next Level Church. On February 10th, 2008. Next Level Church launched it's second campus in the Ballantyne are of Charlotte.
[edit] Mission & Values
Next Level Church's mission is to be a church for people who are "spiritually curious or committed, looking for life purpose and meaning, trying to figure out how spirituality and real life intersect, or just trying to find some real relationships."[4] They aim to be a place where anyone can come and take the next step in their relationship with God. They call themselves "a place for the screwed and the screwed up."[5]
The three core values of Next Level are:[6]
- Living Life Together
- Giving Ourselves Away
- Connecting Disconnected People
[edit] Controversial Outreach
In January of 2008. Next Level Church announced the launch of it's Ballantyne Campus using a controversial tactic. The church handed out shot glasses at area bars with the slogan "Give Us a Shot" printed on them. The story received national attention and received both positive and negative feedback.[7] Some felt like the church was compromising or being hypocritical by giving away shot glasses.[8] Others though it was a great way to reconnect people who don't attend church.[9] Pastor Todd Hahn explained the church's reasons for the shot glass outreach:
1. It is time for the church to stop expecting people to come to us and time for us to go to them...to where they live, work, socialize, and play. Coffee shops, bars, clubs...wherever they are. 2. Jesus identified himself with drinkers and partiers - not sharing in their excesses, but living life with them. That's what we want, because that's what he did. 3. We will do anything, anything, anything that does not violate God's word to help disconnected people get connected to God.[10]
[edit] Organization & Structure
[edit] One Church, Multiple Locations
In February of 2008, Next Level Church became a multi-site church. They have stated that their method to reach people in the city of Charlotte is to start locations all around the city, specifically by exits off of I-485, Charlotte's belt-loop highway.[11] Next Level Church currently has one campus in Matthews, NC, and one in the Ballantyne area.[12] They hope to launch another campus in late 2008.
[edit] Staff Team
- Mark Gillming - Executive Pastor
- Todd Hahn - Lead Pastor
- Doug Irvin - Ministry Involvement Pastor
- Jared Kirk - Student Pastor
- Dan Southerland - Extension Pastor
- Harrison Gillming- Creative Arts Pastor
- Rob Kendall- Administrative Pastor
- Robbie McLaughlin - Ballantyne Campus Pastor
- Steve Janssen - Ballantyne Campus Student Pastor
- Rene Gillming - Kid City Pastor
- Cathy Nichols - Ballantyne Campus Kid City Pastor
- Kathy Risch- Administrative Assistant
[edit] Church Planting
Next Level planted one church in November 2006 known as The Journey which meets within a few miles of uptown Charlotte. The lead pastor is Mark Griffith.
On January 28 of 2007 Next Level planted Element, a church led by Brian Phipps, along with Bill Babson and Frank Hamrick in the Southwest suburbs of Charlotte. Element had an attendance of approximately 330 on their first Sunday of public worship services.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ Next Level Church Launches Ballantyne Campus on February 10 | Reuters
- ^ White, R. "Taking Faith to the Next Level" Charlotte Weekly, page 2s, September 1, 2005.
- ^ Moseley, D. "Music Instructor Takes His Talents To Church" The Charlotte Observer, January 28, 2007
- ^ Welcome to Next Level Church
- ^ Welcome to Next Level Church
- ^ http://www.nextlevelchurch.org/index.cfm?SECTION=932
- ^ FOXNews.com - 'Give Us a Shot': N.C. Church Hands Out Shot Glasses at Bars - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News
- ^ SHOT GLASS EVANGELISM « The 8th Person
- ^ renown: all about the kingdom (+ shot glasses)
- ^ Next Level Church: BLOG: Give Us A Shot-Wednesday
- ^ Next Level Church: BLOG: The Next Hill - Project 485
- ^ Welcome to Next Level Church
- ^ Valle, K. "New church starting at Ayrsley theater" The Charlotte Observer, January 25, 2007
