![]() If every church in Gaston County was filled to the brim, there’s still room for those without a church family because of the county’s size, Hester said. ![]() “We’re just open to seeing how God will continue to reach people that are far from him.”įorestview’s auditorium seats 1,200, so the church could end up with 2,400 people at both services.Įlevation wants to be a church for those who aren’t going to church now. “We’ll just continue to see what God blesses us with,” Hester said. The Forestview location has been averaging 950 people over the last four weeks. 9 and saw 1,221 people attend one of the two services, Hester said. Sunday mornings to set up the kids’ rooms and the auditorium for the worship experience.Įlevation Gaston held its first service at Forestview Sept. That money goes into a specific budget line item for school rentals, then can be moved into the general fund to be used by the school system.Ībout 200 Elevation volunteers come in as early as 5:30 a.m. The school system made less than 20 percent profit from the $107,000, Booker said. The district didn’t net $107,000 in profits because the majority of that money was used to pay for utilities to keep the building open and to pay the salary for staff members to be on site during the events. Last year, Gaston County Schools received around $107,000 from renting out its buildings, said Jeff Booker, deputy superintendent of operations. Businesses from outside of Gaston County pay the most. ![]() Local for-profit businesses and organizations pay a step higher. Gaston County Schools charges set fees to rent out its spaces. North Belmont Elementary is the site for Comfort Church’s services in its multi-purpose room. Pinewood Elementary’s multi-purpose room hosts services for Rhythm Church in Mount Holly. North Gaston High rents out its auditorium, gym, cafeteria and two classrooms each Sunday to Venture Church. Elevation leaders visited a couple other high schools, but they felt that Forestview had the space they needed.Įlevation isn’t the only church that holds its services at a local school. And we know that applies to people everywhere,” Hester said.Įlevation Church also had about 200 families driving from Gaston County to their Blakeney and Rock Hill, S.C., locations for church each week and wanted to make it easier for them to attend.įorestview was one of the few locations available, Hester said. “Our vision is to see people far from God raised to life in Christ. Gastonia appeared on the radar when the church started doing ministry work in the Shelby area, where Steven Furtick, the founder and lead pastor, led a musical worship team at Christ Covenant before starting Elevation.įurtick and Elevation leaders passed through Gastonia as they drove to and from Charlotte to Shelby and began to feel that God was calling them to open a church there, said Elevation Gaston campus pastor Ken Hester. Now Elevation Church has seven locations, including the Gaston campus. The church first held services in the Providence High School in Charlotte in 2006 with 121 at its first service. One of the largest mega churches in the state has set up shop in Gaston County.Įlevation Church, which has an average weekly attendance of more than 10,000 people, is holding Sunday services at Forestview High School.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |