I always admired him. One we're both former Marines, though I wasn't at Pastor Gilbert's church at the same time he was in the Corps.
We knew some of the same Saints!
I still sing to myself a song I heard him sing back in 1998.
"I have a God who with His angels watches over me.
I have a God who keeps my enemies beneath my feet.
My God is with me when I'm sick and when I'm feeling well.
I have a God, I have a God and my God doesn't fail."
That song has been so encouraging to me and I've only heard sung once, and that by him.
Plus I liked his preaching style. I wanted to join his church, I felt drawn to him, but his church was too far from base, plus I was already a member of the church in Jacksonville.
__________________
"The choices we make reveal the true nature of our character."
I'm surprised Johnny Godair's church in NC isn't no the list. I've always heard they had a pretty big congregation.
Raleigh (Wayne Huntley) and Durham (Johnny Godair) have always had the largest churches in NC. Glenn Eliseo has the facility for it now, and soon, Charlotte will have new facilities as well.
This sort of thing literally makes me sick at my stomach. I'm a part of the UPC, and love it dearly, but I shudder when I hear of so many cases of dishonesty. How can such be even named among us?
Blatant exaggeration is dished out over our pulpits and we laugh and call it "evangelistically speaking," but I tell you it is far from a laughing matter. Dubious stories are flung about as freely as are scattered leaves on an autumn day: in response we smirk and grin and say, "Oh, you know so and so. That's just how he is."
I'm sinful and imperfect, I know that, and have no right to castigate the ministry. But as a helpless sheep, I feel betrayed by such shenanigans.
The Hartford Seminary's Hartford Institute for Religion Research, is one of the world’s leading and most respected religious research institutions. Its researchers keep a database on mega churches in the US. They define a mega church in part as having a weekly attendance of 2000 people.
According to its database, it lists the following 15 UPCI (and now some former UPCI) congregations as mega churches out of 1360 nationwide:
Christian Life Center
Nathaniel Haney - Stockton, CA
Attendance 5000
Calvary Tabernacle
Paul Mooney - Indianapolis, IN
Attendance 3000
Revival Center
Randy Keyes - Modesto, CA
Attendance 3000
Life Tabernacle
James Kilgore - Houston, TX
Attendance 3000
The Pentecostals of Alexandria
Anthony Mangun - Alexandria, LA
Attendance: 2800
Truth Tabernacle
Vaughn Morton - Fresno, CA
Attendance 2500
Woodlawn Pentecostal Church
James Carney - Columbia, MS
Attendance 2500
Apostolic Church of Auburn Hills
Steve Warman - Auburn Hills, MI
Attendance 2200
First Pentecostal Church
Chris Craft – Jackson, MS
Attendance 2050
New Life Tabernacle
Mike Mitchell - Brooklyn ,NY
Attendance 2050
The Pentecostals
Mark Foster - West Monroe, LA
Attendance 2050
Revival Tabernacle/The Anchor
James Larson San Diego, CA
Attendance 2000
The Pentecostals
Mark Hattabaugh - Cooper City, FL
Attendance 2000
East Valley Pentecostal Church
John Nelson - San Jose, CA
Attendance 2000
The Rock Church
Myles Young - Elk Grove, CA
Attendance 2000
I believe these numbers are from 2007. Can anyone verify the accuracy of these attendance numbers? I am somewhat familiar with the churches in California and the numbers seem to be very inflated.
Isn't it odd folks always OVERCOUNT never UNDERCOUNT>
One thing to keep in mind is how old this list is. I saw this several years back. Some of those churches may have been considerably closer to those numbers back then. I think that it would still be a stretch, but that is something to consider. I would be particularly interested in how those numbers are reached. I know some non-denominal churches that boast memberships far in excess of what they can seat or what they see every week. If you're going strictly by the role and who has officially joined the church, the number may be different than what you see in any given service.
__________________
There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chuck Norris lives in Houston.
Either the United States will destroy ignorance, or ignorance will destroy the United States. – W.E.B. DuBois
I always admired him. One we're both former Marines, though I wasn't at Pastor Gilbert's church at the same time he was in the Corps.
We knew some of the same Saints!
I still sing to myself a song I heard him sing back in 1998.
"I have a God who with His angels watches over me.
I have a God who keeps my enemies beneath my feet.
My God is with me when I'm sick and when I'm feeling well.
I have a God, I have a God and my God doesn't fail."
That song has been so encouraging to me and I've only heard sung once, and that by him.
Plus I liked his preaching style. I wanted to join his church, I felt drawn to him, but his church was too far from base, plus I was already a member of the church in Jacksonville.
Br. Erskine come's to my home church often. He's WPF now. He can preach, for sure.
__________________
There is a conspiracy of silence in the land.
The Hartford Seminary's Hartford Institute for Religion Research, is one of the world’s leading and most respected religious research institutions. Its researchers keep a database on mega churches in the US. They define a mega church in part as having a weekly attendance of 2000 people.
According to its database, it lists the following 15 UPCI (and now some former UPCI) congregations as mega churches out of 1360 nationwide:
Christian Life Center
Nathaniel Haney - Stockton, CA
Attendance 5000
Calvary Tabernacle
Paul Mooney - Indianapolis, IN
Attendance 3000
Revival Center
Randy Keyes - Modesto, CA
Attendance 3000
Life Tabernacle
James Kilgore - Houston, TX
Attendance 3000
The Pentecostals of Alexandria
Anthony Mangun - Alexandria, LA
Attendance: 2800
Truth Tabernacle
Vaughn Morton - Fresno, CA
Attendance 2500
Woodlawn Pentecostal Church
James Carney - Columbia, MS
Attendance 2500
Apostolic Church of Auburn Hills
Steve Warman - Auburn Hills, MI
Attendance 2200
First Pentecostal Church
Chris Craft – Jackson, MS
Attendance 2050
New Life Tabernacle
Mike Mitchell - Brooklyn ,NY
Attendance 2050
The Pentecostals
Mark Foster - West Monroe, LA
Attendance 2050
Revival Tabernacle/The Anchor
James Larson San Diego, CA
Attendance 2000
The Pentecostals
Mark Hattabaugh - Cooper City, FL
Attendance 2000
East Valley Pentecostal Church
John Nelson - San Jose, CA
Attendance 2000
The Rock Church
Myles Young - Elk Grove, CA
Attendance 2000
I believe these numbers are from 2007. Can anyone verify the accuracy of these attendance numbers? I am somewhat familiar with the churches in California and the numbers seem to be very inflated.
The person who posted the information said he thought the figures were from 2007. They would have to be fairly recent since Myles Young is listed as pastor from the Rock Church.
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