National Community Church

National Community Church (NCC) is a multi-site church located in the Washington, D.C. area, pastored by Mark Batterson. The vision of the church is to meet in movie theaters at metro stops all across the Washington DC area. Weekly sermons are also available online as audio and video podcasts and on-demand webcasts.

History

National Community Church held its first Sunday service on January 7, 1996. During the first nine months of 1996, average attendance at Sunday services was between 20-25 people. At the time, all meetings were at the Geddings School (now Results Gym) in southeast Washington, D.C.

On November 17, 1996, NCC held its first service in the AMC Theatres at Union Station, located four blocks from the United States Capitol. Nearly 100,000 people pass through the station each day. One of NCC's core values is doing church "in the middle of the marketplace". (The theaters are now owned by Phoenix Theaters.)

In October 1998, NCC launched its first small group. In the fall of 2007, the number of small groups is greater than 70. The goal of the church is for a small group to be located within ten minutes of any point inside the Capital Beltway.

On August 12, 2001, National Community Church was featured on the front page of the Washington Post. After the article appeared, average attendance more than doubled.

NCC launched its second location in the Regal Entertainment Group theaters at Ballston Common Mall in Arlington, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C., on September 21, 2003.

Ebenezers Coffeehouse and headquarters of the National Community Church

In 2002, NCC purchased property located one block from Union Station across from Station Place, one of the largest office buildings in Washington, DC and headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In March 2006, after months of tedious renovation, NCC opened Ebenezers, a coffeehouse and multi-purpose building. Church offices are located on the top floor while the lowest level houses a meeting room used as a third venue for church services on Saturday nights, as well as discipleship meetings and additional seating for coffeehouse patrons. In July 2008, Ebenezers was named the best coffeehouse in the Washington, DC Metro Area by AOL cityguide.[1]

In February 2007, NCC began a Spanish service at Ballston Common Mall. "NCC en Español" features worship in Spanish as well as a video message dubbed with Spanish audio.[2]

The church launched a fourth location in November 2007 at the Loews Movie Theaters in Georgetown, a community nestled along the Potomac River in the northwest quadrant of Washington. The theaters are located on K Street walking distance from the well-frequented shops and restaurants along Wisconsin Avenue and M Street and the campuses of Georgetown University and George Washington University.[2]

NCC has been featured in multiple news articles on television and in newspapers, such as the New York Times on August 29, 2005 in an article entitled, "Missed Church? No Worries. Download it to your iPod."

Affiliations

National Community Church is affiliated with the Assemblies of God and the Willow Creek Association.

References

  1. ↑ Washington, DC Best Coffeehouses - AOL City Guide
  2. 1 2 National Community Church » Our Story
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