Big changes are coming to Durham’s World Overcomers Christian Church – again. The church, which began in 2003 with fewer than a dozen people, now has more than 7,000 and is bursting at the seams in its services. So this coming Sunday will mark a major expansion.
"It's really us going from approximately 50,000 square feet to over 100,000 square feet of space,” says World Overcomers Senior Pastor and founder, Andy Thompson. “When we moved here (to our current location), we went from a sanctuary that sat about 400 to a sanctuary that seats about 1,400. And we started with just two services. But within a year, we were at three services again."
The church is currently worshiping in space it leases at a business park on S. Miami Boulevard. “Pastor Andy,” as he’s known, told me the original plan to deal with the growth was a traditional one: buy land and build a new sanctuary, or buy an existing large building and renovate it to accommodate the crowds. But then the recession hit, money got tight, and a new idea emerged – why not just continue leasing, but in a much larger space?
Pastor Andy Thompson at the Y. E. Smith Elementary School library, which his church helped to renovate
Photo courtesy World Overcomers Church
"It has caused me to re-evaluate my definition of what it means to be a church,” he says. “Am I really called to be in the land real estate development business? Is that what I'm supposed to be doing? Is that the most effective use of the church's resources? Do we really want to put all of our eggs in one basket -- multiplied millions of dollars in one building, or would it be smarter for us to lease the space? Then we can put development dollars more into the community."
He told me one building they had their eyes on would’ve cost more than $20 million dollars to renovate and still may not have been large enough. But moving into contiguous space next door will cost only a fraction of that and will provide room to seat 3,000 people. Additionally, World Overcomers will greatly expand its youth facilities, adding a full gymnasium and a rock climbing wall.
“My youth ministry has just exploded,” Thompson says. “I've got a really dynamic youth pastor over here and I'm probably averaging 500 teenagers."
This coming Sunday’s services will be a “soft opening” for the new facilities, with an official dedication coming in February or March. Pastor Andy credits God for his church’s rapid expansion – plus years of hard work and planning.
“I've been in the ministry since I was 15 years old. I'm 43. I've been preaching for 27 years. I've spent 20 years helping other people in their ministries, so I'm not a novice. When I came here (to Durham), I knew what I wanted to do. I had a strong idea of what worked what didn't work."
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Raleigh’s Edenton Street United Methodist Church has a huge project planned for this Saturday (December 17th). They’re signing up volunteers to package 60,000 meals for hungry children through the locally-based charity Stop Hunger Now. Interested? More details here.
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What would the Christmas season be without a drive-thru Nativity? You can check out the one at Raleigh’s Longview Baptist Church December 16th through 18th, 7 to 9pm.
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How are the changes to the Roman Catholic Missal going over? The Washington Post interviewed parishioners after the first Sunday featuring the new translation (November 27th), and found a relatively smooth transition. Here's the video clip.
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The folks with North Carolina Baptist Men knew their gigantic disaster relief unit Manna One was impressive. But now they can call it a “Modern Marvel.” The 40-foot long 18-wheeler can convert into a fully operational kitchen in just three hours. It was recently featured in an episode of Modern Marvels on the History Channel. You can read about that in this article.
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Hanukkah begins December 20th at sundown. And to get the faithful into the spirit, the Orthodox Jewish a capella group the Maccabeats has a new Hannukkah song/video out that tells the story of the ancient miracle in a new and catchy way. Here's the link.
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And speaking of music, a New Jersey church is soliciting submissions from around the globe so it can create a “virtual Christmas choir.” They want folks to sing and record a version of “Silent Night” so they can assemble all the videos and make one massive internet choir. Should be impressive if they can pull it off. Here are the details.
Praise be in jesus name!
Posted by: Tree surgeons in London | 01/07/2012 at 06:46 AM
Christ is love
Posted by: Tree Surgeons in London | 02/02/2012 at 02:28 AM