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 Dr. Jeremy McGarity's third year of being Senior Pastor, he was called to launch our 10/10/10 campaign [14] in October 2021. We want to see 10 churches reaching 10,000 people within 10 years. Jeremy McGarity has a passion to reach lost people, meet them where they are, and bring them to Christ to light up the scoreboard in Heaven!
A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant, including Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant Christian church having 2,000 or more people in average weekend attendance. The megachurch is an organization type rather than a denomination.
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 Baptist 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. Weekly church attendance was 23,500 people in 2020. The senior pastor is Andy Wood. It was part of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) from its founding until February 21, 2023 when the denomination's executive committee voted to disfellowship the church over its appointment of women with the title of pastor.
Willow Creek Community Church is an Evangelical non-denominational, multi-site megachurch. Its largest campus is located 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. As of February 2020, the church averaged 18,000 attendees each weekend at seven locations, down from a high of 25,000 in 2015. Willow Creek has seven locations in the Chicago area, and their Spanish-speaking congregations, Willow Español, at the South Barrington and South Lake in Lincolnshire, campus.
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 affiliated with the Foursquare Church. The senior pastor is Matthew Barnett. In 2015, the weekly attendance is 8,975 persons.
John Calvin Maxwell is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. His books have sold millions of copies, with some on the New York Times Best Seller List.
North Point Community Church is a non-denominational, evangelical megachurch located in Alpharetta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. North Point currently averages more than 38,589 people in attendance across 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 located in San Diego, California, with five campuses located in Point Loma, San Marcos, El Cajon, Chula Vista, and City Heights. 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 four weekly services at each campus, as well as live online streaming, the Rock is one of the largest churches 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 is around 22,500. 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.
The Wesleyan Church is a Methodist Christian denomination aligned with the holiness movement.
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.
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.
Eagle Brook Church is a Baptist Evangelical multi-site megachurch based in Centerville, Minnesota. It is affiliated with Converge. Weekly church attendance was 25,340 people in 2022. The senior pastor is Jason Strand.
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 10,548 people in 2020. The senior pastor is John K. Jenkins Sr..
