| Shepherd of the Hills Church | |
Shepherd of the Hills Church, Porter Ranch, CA
|
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| Country | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | Non-denominational |
| Website | http://www.theshepherd.org/ |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Dudley Rutherford |
Shepherd of the Hills Church is a nondenominational megachurch based in Porter Ranch, Los Angeles, California, USA in the "Southern California Bible Belt".[1] The senior pastor is Dudley Rutherford. In 2008, Outreach Magazine ranked Shepherd of the Hills 92nd in size in America, with attendance of 7,400.[2] Some criticize churches like this, calling them "church lite", but others say they help people who find the experience more accessible than traditional churches.[3]
The church was formed in 1995 when Hillcrest Christian Church in Granada Hills was united with Baptist Shepherd of the Hills to become the present Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch. Since then the church has expanded to more than 10,000 members worshiping at 21 different venues each weekend. There are four daughter churches and seven satellite campuses.[4]
In October 2006 the church opened its first hybrid, Westside Shepherd of the Hills Church, based at the Wadsworth Theatre on the grounds of the Veterans Administration in Brentwood, California. Rutherford travelled to the new location almost every Sunday to deliver the message. The church was planning to launch hybrids in Lancaster, California and Compton, California in 2008.[5] The church now has campuses in Antelope Valley, Porter Ranch, Westside and Woodland Hills.[6]
In August 2009 Rutherford said attendance had grown from an average of 8,030 in the previous year to 9,673 in 2009, a 17% increase. He attributed the increase to a feeling of despair brought about by the economic downturn, and a need to focus on spiritual needs rather than pursuit of the dollar.[7]