Celebration Church

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, multi-site church. Founded by lead pastor Stovall and Kerri Weems, Celebration began in 1998 in Jacksonville, Florida and now has nearly 12,000 in attendance weekly. Celebration is based in Jacksonville, Florida with other regional and international locations. The vision of Celebration Church is to lead people to experience a God-first life. This is done by connecting people with Jesus Christ through an accepting atmosphere and by creating an environment where people can experience the presence of God in true community.[1]

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

Beliefs

The Bible

Celebration Church believes that the Bible is God’s Word. It is accurate, authoritative and applicable to our everyday lives. 2 Timothy 3:15-16

God

Celebration Church believes in one eternal God who is the Creator of all things. He exists in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. He is totally loving and completely holy. Matthew 3:16-17 ; 28:19; 1 John 5:7-8; Isaiah 9:6

Salvation

Celebration Church believes that sin has separated each of us from God and His purpose for our lives. Celebration Church believes that in order to receive forgiveness and the ‘new birth’ we must repent of our sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and submit to His will for our lives. John 14:6; Colossians 1:13-18; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:3-4

Jesus Christ

Celebration Church believes that the Lord Jesus Christ as both God and man is the only One who can reconcile us to God. He lived a sinless and exemplary life, died on the cross in our place, and rose again to prove His victory and empower us for life. Celebration Church believes that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again as He promised. John 1:1-4; 1 Timothy 3:16; Matthew 1:18; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Mark 16:5-6; Acts 1:9-11; John 14:3.

The Holy Spirit

Celebration Church believes that the Holy Spirit empowers us to live the holy and fruitful lives that God intends for us to live and that through the Holy Spirit we have access to spiritual gifts for the purpose of building and edifying the local church. 2 Peter 1:2-3; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Acts 8:14-17; Acts 10:44-48; Romans 11:29.

The Local Church

Celebration Church believes in the power and significance of the Church and the necessity of believers to meet regularly together for fellowship, prayer and the ‘breaking of bread’. Celebration Church believes that God has individually equipped us so that we can successfully achieve His purpose for our lives which is to worship God, fulfill our role in the Church and serve the community in which we live. Celebration Church believes that God wants to heal and transform us so that we can live healthy and blessed lives in order to help others more effectively.Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22

Heaven and Hell

Celebration Church believes that Heaven and Hell are real eternal places and that our eternal destination is determined by our response to the Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 20:11-15; John 14:1-4; Romans 6:23; John 3:15-16

Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality

Celebration Church believes that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. Celebration Church believes that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. Celebration Church believes that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. Celebration Church believes that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Celebration Church believes that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Celebration Church.Gen 1:26-27; Gen 2:18-25; 1 Cor 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb 13:4; Matt 15:18-20; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Matt 5:16; Phil 2:14-16; 1 Thess 5:22; Acts 3:19-21; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 6:9-11; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31

Sanctity of Human Life

Celebration Church believes that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human Life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. Celebration Church believes that we are therefore called to defend, protect and value all human life. Ps 130

Final Authority

The statement of faith doesn’t exhaust the extent of the Celebration Church beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final of all that Celebration Church believes. For purposes of Celebration Church’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy and discipline, their Board of Directors is the organization’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.[3]

Location

Celebration's central offices and main campus is located in Jacksonville, FL and broadcasts to campuses throughout Florida 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.

Celebration Worship

Celebration Worship is the name Celebration Church has given their praise and worship music team. Celebration Worship's goal is to connect people with Jesus Christ. Celebration Worship has recorded several original studio and live recordings.

Albums

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 and women. 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 location, 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" was 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

References

  1. ↑ About Us | Celebration Church Archived 2010-03-25 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Association of Related Churches - Find an ARC Church
  3. ↑ http://www.celebrationjax.org/beliefs/#believe
  4. ↑ http://www.celebration.org/ministries/
  5. ↑ http://outreach.celebration.org/
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
  7. ↑ http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/090306/met_4805480.shtml
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-08. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  9. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-17. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
  11. ↑ http://jacksonville.com/lifestyles/values_and_religion/2008-12-29/whats_in_a_name_for_churches_a_lot

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