Ancient story, modern stage
Published: April 05, 2010
Filling even some of the nose-bleed sections, rapidly growing Elevation Church held an Easter "experience" Sunday morning at Time Warner Cable Arena that Pastor Steven Furtick called a spiritual wake-up call for Charlotte and the 11,500 worshipers who showed up.
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"The city of Charlotte is a sleeping giant," said Furtick, 30, his image magnified on Jumbotrons. "There are so many great churches in this city, but there are still a lot of people here who don't know Jesus."
Then, exhibiting a style that has made Elevation a magnet for young people and one of the 10 fastest evangelical churches in America, Furtick asked members of his flock to turn to the person on one side and say "Wake up!" and then turn to the person on the other side and say "Cock-a-doodle-do!"
Billy Graham's hometown Crusade in 1996 drew many more each night than Elevation did Sunday and, as Easter worship goes, many more Catholics streamed into the 10 Masses at St. Matthew in Ballantyne Sunday.
Still, the two-hour "Elevation Easter Experience," with its hard-driving Christian rock band, baptismal pool, and videos, was surely one of biggest single church services Charlotte has ever seen.
And it came on a day when Mecklenburg Community Church, another local evangelical megachurch, welcomed thousands at its outdoor Easter Sunday service at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.
And across the region, scores of churches were packed, as they traditionally are on Easter and Christmas.
Church officials refused to say how much they paid to rent the arena. But Rev. David Chadwick, pastor of Forest Hill Church, recently told the Observer he was given a $35,000 total when he inquired about holding services there.
Though the accent Sunday was on Jesus' resurrection, with Furtick calling it "the biggest comeback the world has ever seen," much of Elevation's multi-media service was a celebration of how far the Southern Baptist church has come since Furtick launched it four years ago.
Elevation's first Easter service, in 2006 at a senior center, attracted 281 people. A year later, the attendance was 2,000.
On Sunday, the audience was shown a 2007 video in which Furtick predicted that 10,000 would attend Elevation's Easter service this year. At the time, a rival preacher who got wind of Elevation's "10k by 2010" prediction sent a message to Elevation, Furtick reported Sunday, that "it ain't going to happen."
"In all humility," Furtick told the crowd at Time Warner Cable Arena, "look around you. It's happening."
Furtick even issued a bold invitation, predicting that Elevation's 10th anniversary Easter service, in 2016, would be held in Bank of America Stadium.
Why such focus on numbers? Critics of Elevation say the church is obsessed with them.
"The numbers represent lives that Jesus came to redeem and claim," Furtick said Sunday.
Old and young turn out
It was a multi-generational, multi-ethnic audience Sunday, with many young people escorting their parents - even their grandparents.
David Brooks, who put his age at "a little under 70," attended with two middle-aged daughters and seven grandchildren.
He was no fan of the ear-splitting music, but called the event "magnificent" because it kept the spotlight on Jesus' rising from the dead and because Furtick "is so close to the Scriptures."
Others also singled out the pastor as the reason they came, saying he knows how to translate the Gospel message into language they can identify with.
Deborah Bustamante, 42, who attended with her husband and their twin 2-year-old sons, was an "Elevator" - the nickname for members - when the church started in 2006.
"What (Furtick) says really hits my heart," said Bustamante, a schoolteacher. "He preaches about Jesus and the Bible, but he talks about things - like having kids - that you can apply to your life. That's the clincher for me."
Those in their teens and 20s said they're attracted by Furtick's charismatic style.
"Before, I believed in God and went to church, but it wasn't something I looked forward to," said Casey Long, 15, a student at Butler High School. "Here, the music and the way (Furtick) talks, I connect with it."
Plus, she added, "Pastor Steven," as he's known to members, "is really cool."
On Sunday, Furtick traded his usual blue jeans and T-shirt for a light gray suit. He danced and sang with his worship band on stage. And he gave his sermon from notes he made on an iPad that arrived Saturday.
Furtick gave away the iPad, to Tony Lindsey, 17, a student at Central Academy of Technology and the Arts in Monroe.
In what seemed like a game show segment, Tony was the lucky winner among people in the crowd who had checked a box on a "Connect Card" indicating that "I Am Accepting Christ As Savior." He was invited to join Furtick on stage to pick up the iPad and get a hug.
On Sunday, those who came to the service were asked ahead of time to bring donations for Second Harvest Food Bank, Crisis Assistance Ministry, Loaves & Fishes, Jackson Park Ministries and others.
They came through, filling tents outside the arena with bags and boxes of canned food, toys, children's books, and clothes.
Filing out to the parking lots after the service, Lisa Bumgardner, 44, a barber stylist who attended with her two teen daughters and a friend, said she's glad they made the hour-long trip in from Bessemer City.
It was an exciting way to begin Easter, she said. "The presence of the Lord was incredible."
Article reposted from CharlotteObserver.com
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*Pastor Steven Furtick was recently a guest on StreamingFaith.com's On Location program. Click here to watch!
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