Anonymous wrote:They're non-denominational Christian with an emphasis on contemporary music, like Christian rock. They always have a pastor who is a good speaker and has charisma and star quality. He interprets a Bible passage and speaks a long time
They usually get political too. Some believe in eschatology but this emphasis has changed. People come for this person and the music. There are also a lot of ministries for different ages or recovery and singles and things like that so they provide a social life. They believe in being born again and personal testimony. There is nothing that you might find in a traditional church like communion, old hymns, etc. They were born out of the Jesus movement (or Jesus Freaks) in California in the 1960s-70s. They overlap somewhat with southern churches and the prosperity gospel which are similar but they really come more from the CA tradition. They are everywhere in southern CA. Pastoral staff leave a church and start one of their own and people follow. They sprout up, grow and die. It's a formula.

I attend a church like this and this is largely accurate except we do take communion; we occasionally sing an old style hymn; and the politics are not necessarily what you would expect. It’s definitely not partisan in republican/democrat — it’s more of a “pox on everyone’s house/Jesus is our king”’ sort of mentality and when specific issues are mentioned — they tend to cluster them. So they talk about an issue that would make liberals uncomfortable (some social issue) but then an issue that would conservatives uncomfortable (immigration has been a huge one). My church is also very diverse — I would say at least 40 percent are not white. And very young too. I am in my 40s and definitely on the older side (though not completely out of place or anything).

Anonymous wrote:They're non-denominational Christian with an emphasis on contemporary music, like Christian rock. They always have a pastor who is a good speaker and has charisma and star quality. He interprets a Bible passage and speaks a long time
They usually get political too. Some believe in eschatology but this emphasis has changed. People come for this person and the music. There are also a lot of ministries for different ages or recovery and singles and things like that so they provide a social life. They believe in being born again and personal testimony. There is nothing that you might find in a traditional church like communion, old hymns, etc. They were born out of the Jesus movement (or Jesus Freaks) in California in the 1960s-70s. They overlap somewhat with southern churches and the prosperity gospel which are similar but they really come more from the CA tradition. They are everywhere in southern CA. Pastoral staff leave a church and start one of their own and people follow. They sprout up, grow and die. It's a formula.

Nobody even knows the name of the church in question, not even op, but you know all that about it?

Tell us the name of the church in question and who the pastor is.

OP, were you seriously unaware of the phenomenon of large, contemporary, unaffiliated churches until now?

Were you raised in an Islamic or Amish community?

These types of organizations have been popular and growing since the 1970s.

They're non-denominational Christian with an emphasis on contemporary music, like Christian rock. They always have a pastor who is a good speaker and has charisma and star quality. He interprets a Bible passage and speaks a long time
They usually get political too. Some believe in eschatology but this emphasis has changed. People come for this person and the music. There are also a lot of ministries for different ages or recovery and singles and things like that so they provide a social life. They believe in being born again and personal testimony. There is nothing that you might find in a traditional church like communion, old hymns, etc. They were born out of the Jesus movement (or Jesus Freaks) in California in the 1960s-70s. They overlap somewhat with southern churches and the prosperity gospel which are similar but they really come more from the CA tradition. They are everywhere in southern CA. Pastoral staff leave a church and start one of their own and people follow. They sprout up, grow and die. It's a formula.

Here’s an example of one:

https://thecrossroads.church/

They are massive, a little glitzy with a rock concert vibe during services and sometimes a pastor who looks like a rock star, and their services fill up fast. They often have one word “acme” names like this one— “crossroads.”

Anonymous wrote:Name the church(es) and the city. Your generic description isn’t much help.

NP, but one I can think of off hand that’s a few years old but a good example is Passion City which meets in the Lincoln Theater. https://passioncitychurchdc.com/

They are usually like daughter churches of large mega churches in the south. They send a lead pastor who assembles a team that often moves to the new city and they launch a church. In this case there’s a big name pastor who comes up like twice a year for a sermon and I think they have a well know band that produces worship music, so “Passion City” is a brand like a big box store. Hillsong would be another band+celebrity pastor big box church.

There are lots of “church planting” organizations—ARC, Send, Acts 29 are some big ones—and they usually say non-denominational but that’s only because they aren’t Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist which are formal denominations. You would likely consider “southern Baptist” (McLean Bible) to be a denomination but the churches are operating independent from them (sans funding) so those churches all claim to be non-denominational. Most church plants have a board of directors of sorts managing the church until it’s self sustaining. They are usually the funders who want to know where their money is going.

There goes the narrative that people don’t go to church anymore.

Some mega churches have a bunch of locations and they have to ability to quickly build new ones or buy existing ones and merge them.

They're run by grifters and con their congregations into donating. They start out renting cheap public spaces like schools or empty malls.

I would never attend a non-denominational church. Any yahoo can claim to be a pastor and start one. No oversight.

Anonymous wrote:Funny responses. Where's the money coming from to buy desirable property? These are in wealthy suburbs. t

You said the parking lots are mobbed, so I'm guessing tithes.

OP are you talking about a DC exurb, or a different city?

Anonymous wrote:Funny responses. Where's the money coming from to buy desirable property? These are in wealthy suburbs.

They're not buying the land for a song a building no construction for pennies.

Funny responses. Where's the money coming from to buy desirable property? These are in wealthy suburbs. t

Name the church(es) and the city. Your generic description isn’t much help.

A few have sprung up in my area (outside of DC). What's the story with them? Their advertising doesn't suggest any tie to a particular Protestant church. Who bankrolls them. One in particular looks like it's led or ran by a clean-cut young couple. Are they Mormon undercover? Their Sunday services are mobbed, too, parking down the street and in available empty lots situation.