| The Bridge | |
| The Bridge Fellowship, Incorporated | |
|---|---|
| Location | Kernersville, North Carolina |
| Country | United State of America |
| Denomination | Non-Denominational, Christian |
| Website | www.aboutthebridge.com |
| History | |
| Founded | October 2002 |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | David Tildon McGee |
| Pastor(s) | David Allen Brown, Mike Crump, Kevin Thoman, James Graham |
The Bridge Fellowship is a non-denominational, independent church fellowship in Kernersville, North Carolina (officially incorporated as "The Bridge Fellowship, Inc.", previously as "Calvary Chapel of the Triad, Inc." in 2003, with the new name adopted in November 2010, and officially changed in January 2011).[1]
Contents |
The fellowship began around October 2002 as a home Bible study conducted by the current Senior Pastor, David T. McGee. Following much of the philosophy of ministry and distinctive style David had experienced in many of the Calvary Chapel churches he had ministered in, he began teaching the Bible verse-by-verse. He started in Genesis (Old Testament) on Thursday nights, and started with Matthew (New Testament) on Sunday mornings. The fellowship grew and moved out of the McGee home October 2003 into a 1600 sq. ft. storefront at 1210 East Mountain St. in Kernersville, NC. Growing to three services per Sunday, they moved into 16,000 sq. ft. of a former factory facility at 365 West Bodenhamer Street in 2004, expanded into the entire 37,000 sq. ft. of that facility in 2005, and for the third time expanding to three Sunday services in late 2009, they purchased[2] and remodeled the 80,000 sq. ft. former Dudley Products, Inc. manufacturing facility in 2010,[3] and began holding services there on October 31, 2010.
The sanctuary service format is very simple:
The service begins with approximately 30 minutes of loud, enthusiastic, and contemporary worship music similar to what is played on Contemporary Christian Music radio stations. (David McGee has released two prior albums,[4] and the church has released one CD[5]) This is followed by several minutes of announcements and a short time to greet others and drop offerings in the offering boxes. Then the main event is David McGee teaching verse-by-verse and chapter-by-chapter through the Bible, concluding with a challenge to personally apply the teaching to the listener's life.
Independent reviews of Pastor David McGee's teaching call it "phenomenal" and "spell-binding".[6] David McGee's teachings are streamed live on the iCampus portion of their web site[7] and extensively archived [8] in their entirety. In addition, the church produces hundreds of television and radio programs annually that are broadcast through the "Cross The Bridge" ministry.[9] Also heavily advertised is their "Prayer for the Lost" ministry[10] that allows believers to submit the first names of their loved ones to be distributed to hundreds of people that, in turn, pray for their salvation.
Other features of the fellowship include:[11] Informal "come as you are" dress. Warm friendly people who are on a journey together to learn how to live the way God intended. A children's ministry that teaches little ones on their level. Benevolence for those in need. Biblical counselling for those who are in need of sound Biblical advice. A cafe so you can get a beverage. Strong community service involvement. Multi-media plays a large role in both internal and outreach ministries in the church. Multiple annual "Big Events" for the community.[12][13][14]
There is no formal roll of members at The Bridge. However, attendees who have chosen to make The Bridge their home church are strongly encouraged to become involved in serving in a scheduled ministry in the fellowship after 60 days of attending[15]