History
In 1954, Orval Butcher founded Skyline Wesleyan Church in Lemon Grove, California and served as senior pastor for 27 years. In 1974, because the church had outgrown its original 350-seat sanctuary, a 1,000-seat auditorium was completed. Weekly attendance had grown to about 1,100 when he retired in 1981. [2]
In 1981, John C. Maxwell succeeded Butcher as the church's second senior pastor. Under Maxwell's leadership, Skyline nearly tripled its average attendance, from 1,100 to 3,000. In 1995, Maxwell stepped down to focus on his international ministry, Injoy, which provides leadership tools and materials to pastors and lay leaders. Maxwell went on to success as an author and "leadership guru."
Jim Garlow became Skyline's third pastor in 1995. [3] Garlow is often cited as an evangelical leader in the political arena, quoted on issues such as the 2012 Republican presidential primary. [4] [5] In 2008, Garlow and the church were noted for their leading role in organizing conservative religious groups to support California Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's holding in Obergfell v. Hodges . [6] [7] He is a leader in the "pulpit freedom" movement, which insists that pastors should be free to carry out political advocacy from the pulpit, which currently is in defiance of federal law and Internal Revenue Service regulations for "double tax-exempt organizations", that is organizations such as churches which not only operate tax-free but which also receive contributions which are deductible from the donor's federal income tax. [8]
In 2000, the church moved to a new facility in La Mesa. (Although the church's address is in La Mesa, it is often described as being in adjacent Rancho San Diego, California [9] ). The move was plagued by difficulties, [10] resulting in nearly $27 million being spent preparing the site infrastructure for a building that should have cost only $6 million. [11] Up until 2012, Skyline had one three-story building, called the "Family Center," which was Phase I of the church's master plan. Four weekend services were held in a 1,000-seat auditorium in the Family Center. Ground was broken in November 2010 for a worship center to include a 2,500-seat auditorium, a multipurpose room/gymnasium, a 200-seat traditional chapel, and a café. [12] The new 60,000 square foot sanctuary opened in March 2012. [13]
In November 2018, Jeremy McGarity became the Senior Pastor of Skyline Church. Pastor Jeremy merged his church, Seven, with Skyline Church. This was the first satellite campus Skyline Church has launched and would be marked as the start of many campuses. In Jeremy McGarity's third year of being Senior Pastor, he was called to launch a 10/10/10 campaign [14] in October 2021.
A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Protestant, and particularly Evangelical, although the word denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant Christian church that draws 2,000 or more people in a weekend.
Lakewood Church is a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is among the largest congregations in the United States, averaging about 45,000 attendees per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church building, home to four English-language services and two Spanish-language services per week, is located at the former Compaq Center. Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of Lakewood Church with his wife, Victoria, who serves as co-pastor.
Saddleback Church is an evangelical, non-denominational Christian multi-site megachurch based in Lake Forest, California. It is the largest church in California, and one of the largest in the United States of America. The church has several campuses in California and around the world, as well as a number of extensions. Weekly church attendance was 30,000 people in 2023. Its senior pastor is Andy Wood, and his wife, Stacie Wood, is a teaching pastor. Saddleback was formerly associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, until 2023.
Willow Creek Community Church is an Evangelical nondenominational multisite megachurch based in the northwestern Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Illinois. It was founded on October 12, 1975 by Dave Holmbo and Bill Hybels, who was its longtime senior pastor. Willow Creek has seven locations in the Chicago area; their Spanish-speaking congregations, Willow Español, meet at South Barrington and South Lake in Lincolnshire campuses.
Angelus Temple is a Pentecostal megachurch in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded by Aimee Semple McPherson in 1923, it is considered the first U.S. megachurch.
North Point Community Church is a non-denominational, evangelical megachurch located in Alpharetta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. North Point has an attendance of 23,000 people in eight locations in the north metro Atlanta area. The senior pastor Andy Stanley serves as the church's lead pastor and, in turn, leads the North Point Community Church staff.
Rock Church is an evangelical megachurch with five campuses located in San Diego, California, specifically in Point Loma, San Marcos, El Cajon, Chula Vista, and City Heights. They also have a sixth campus in Oahu, Hawaii. Miles McPherson, a former NFL player, has served as senior pastor since he founded the church in 2000. With an average weekly attendance of more than 19,000 as of January 2016 at two weekly services at each campus, as well as live online streaming, the church is one of the largest in San Diego.
Dream City Church is a multi-site Pentecostal megachurch based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is affiliated with the Assemblies of God USA. The weekly attendance was around 22,500 in 2013. The senior pastor is Luke Barnett.
Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church is a Christian megachurch within the Presbyterian Church in America located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was founded in 1960 by D. James Kennedy (1930–2007), who served as the church's senior pastor until shortly before his death.
The Crenshaw Christian Center is a non-denominational megachurch based in Los Angeles, California. It has around 28,000 members.
Miltonvale Wesleyan College was a two-year college located in Miltonvale, Kansas and was operated by the Wesleyan Church. The school began operation in 1909 under Rev. Silas W. Bond and ceased operation in 1972, when the school merged with Bartlesville Wesleyan College—later to become a part of Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
Cornwall Church is an Evangelical Christian megachurch in Bellingham, Washington affiliated with the Church of God Movement, with an average weekly attendance exceeding 2,500.
Christ's Church of the Valley (CCV) is a non-denominational evangelical Christian multi-site megachurch based in Metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona. The church has several campuses in Arizona. Weekend church attendance was 32,000.
Sherwood Baptist Church is a Baptist church located in Albany, Georgia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
The Metropolitan Bible Church is an evangelical Christian megachurch based in the Nepean neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, affiliated with Associated Gospel Churches of Canada. Its senior pastor is Jonathan Griffiths.
Jim Garlow is the former Senior Pastor of Skyline Church located in La Mesa, California, a suburb of San Diego. Garlow is often cited as an evangelical leader in the political arena, quoted on issues such as the 2012 Republican presidential primary. He is a leader in the "pulpit freedom" movement, which insists that pastors should be free to carry out political advocacy from the pulpit in defiance of Internal Revenue Service regulations, as well as a leader in the New Apostolic Reformation movement.
Orval Butcher was the founding pastor of Skyline Church located in Lemon Grove, California, a suburb of San Diego. He was senior pastor of the church for 27 years and grew the regular attendance to over 1,100. Butcher was a graduate of Miltonvale Wesleyan College, now part of Oklahoma Wesleyan University. He was known for his outstanding singing voice and spent several years as a traveling evangelist with Billy Graham.
Fraternidad Cristiana de Guatemala is an evangelical pentecostal megachurch, in Mixco, Guatemala. The senior pastor of this community is Dr. Jorge H. Lopez. In 2016, the attendance was 20,000 people.
First Baptist Church of Glenarden International or FBCG is a Baptist Evangelical megachurch located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. It is affiliated with Converge. Weekly church attendance was 12,000 people in 2022. The senior pastor is John K. Jenkins Sr.
