Celebration Church

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Celebration Church
Location Main campus: Jacksonville, Florida
Denomination Non-denominational Christianity
Weekly attendance nearly 12,000
Website www.celebration.org
History
Founded 1998 (1998)
Founder(s) Stovall Weems
Architecture
Status Active
Clergy
Senior pastor(s) Stovall Weems
Laity
Music group(s) Celebration Worship

Celebration Church is a global, diverse, multi-site megachurch that reaches people from all walks of life. Founded by Stovall Weems, now the lead pastor of the Jacksonville campus, Celebration began in 1998 and now has nearly 12,000 in attendance weekly. The church continues to grow rapidly and expand nationally and internationally to connect people with Jesus Christ through an accepting atmosphere and by creating an environment where people can experience the presence of God.[1]

Celebration Church is a member of the ARC (Association of Related Churches)[2]

Location

Celebration's central offices and main campus is located in Jacksonville, FL and broadcasts to many campuses throughout northeast Florida and south Georgia. Gatherings meet in various locations in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi as well as colleges, military bases both in the United States and abroad. Celebration also serves several international locations in Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, Northern Ireland, and Greece. Sunday services are broadcast online, reaching out to the global Internet community.[3]

Celebration Worship

Celebration Worship is an energetic, next generation praise and worship band that infuses diverse genres and styles for a praise and worship sound that is unlike anything else.

Albums

  • Awakening (2008)
  • Kollide: Make It Loud (2009)
  • Greater Than All (2010)
  • Fuse EP (2011)
  • You Amaze Us (2012) (single release)

Ministries

Celebration offers a variety of ministries in order for you to connect and live the most fulfilling God-first life possible. Each ministry is specifically designed so that you can build meaningful relationships with other believers and experience God. They also have many small groups.[4] Ministries are available for kids, youth (FUSE), young adults (sub30), singles, marriage/family life, men, women, and prospective church leaders. Celebration also serves the needs of local and global communities through outreach and missions.[5]

Growth

Celebration Church began in 1998 with only 7 people[6] and grew to 4,500 by 2004. In 2006 the church was one of the nation's fastest growing churches because of Celebration's aggressive multicultural outreach.[7] In 2008, Celebration Church was listed at the 96th largest church in the nation with 7,000 in attendance[8] and currently claims to have nearly 12,000 in weekly attendance.

In August 2011, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for its new campus at the Beaches, a 7,000 square foot facility on 30 acres near 9A and Baymeadows Road. The $15 million building project will feature 3,000 seats in the arena-style sanctuary, state-of-the-art broadcasting and audio visual capabilities and environmentally friendly civil design. The second phase of the project of the construction will include a 1,000-seat youth facility, church offices, adult classrooms and a wedding chapel.[9] The first services in the new "Celebration Arena" will be held November 11, 2012.[10]

Because of Celebration's size and rate of growth in the past decade, Celebration Baptist Church, also in Jacksonville, FL, decided to change its name to The Fellowship at Celebration Baptist Church to reduce confusion.[11]

See also

  • Dream Center
  • List of the largest Protestant churches in the USA
  • Non-denominational Christianity

References

  1. ↑ About Us | Celebration Church
  2. ↑ Association of Related Churches - Find an ARC Church
  3. ↑ http://www.celebration.org/locationsandtimes/
  4. ↑ http://www.celebration.org/ministries/
  5. ↑ http://outreach.celebration.org/
  6. ↑ http://www.celebration.org/about_us/
  7. ↑ http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/090306/met_4805480.shtml
  8. ↑ http://www.sermoncentral.com/articleb.asp?article=Top-100-Largest-Churches4
  9. ↑ http://www.news4jax.com/news/29006723/detail.html
  10. ↑ http://www.celebration.org/news/details/your_new_home_awaits/
  11. ↑ http://jacksonville.com/lifestyles/values_and_religion/2008-12-29/whats_in_a_name_for_churches_a_lot

External links

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