Southland Christian Church, Lexington, Kentucky
Encyclopedia
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Christian church located in Nicholasville, Kentucky
Nicholasville, Kentucky
Nicholasville is the 11th largest city in state of Kentucky and the county seat of Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 19,680 at the 2000 census...
, which is just outside Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The church is located at the corner of U.S. Route 68
U.S. Route 68
U.S. Route 68 is an east–west United States highway that runs for from northwest Ohio to western Kentucky. The highway's western terminus is at U.S. Route 62 in Reidland, Kentucky. Its eastern terminus is at Interstate 75 in Findlay, Ohio...
(Harrodsburg Road) and Brannon Road in Jessamine County
Jessamine County, Kentucky
Jessamine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is within the Inner Blue Grass region, which was the center of farming and blooded stock raising, including thoroughbred horses. It was formed in 1799. The population was 48,586 in the 2010 Census...
. It is associated with the Christian churches and churches of Christ. Its current Senior Pastor, Jon Weece, came to the church as a teaching pastor in 2000, and became Lead Follower in 2003.
Size and facility
Southland Christian Church is considered a megachurchMegachurch
A megachurch is a church having 2,000 or more in average weekend attendance. The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. According to that data, approximately 50 churches on the list have attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000...
. It is one of Kentucky's largest churches, averaging 10,000-12,000 in attendance per weekend in five services. The 115 acre (0.4653889 km²) sprawling campus includes multiple buildings, structures and parking lots. The main sanctuary can be converted into two gymnasiums. The church also has a substantial ministry to the poor through its Helping Through Him ministry, including an on-site warehouse.
History
The church started in 1956 as a mission of Broadway Christian Church in Lexington. The founding pastor, Wayne Smith, came from Unity Christian Church (near Cynthiana, Kentucky), and held the first service with 172 people in attendance. The church was originally located on Hill 'N Dale Drive (near Southland Drive) in Lexington, Kentucky.In 1981, the church had grown substantially and relocated to a 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) site across the county line in neighboring Jessamine County. It has since expanded its property to 115 acre (0.4653889 km²).
The founding Senior Pastor, Wayne Smith, announced in 1995 that he would retire. At the time of his retirement, average church attendance was in the thousands. A pastor search committee was formed, and steps were taken to find a replacement for Wayne Smith.
However, after Smith announced his retirement and in the midst of the search, Mike Breaux, pastor of Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, was invited to preach one weekend. Soon after that weekend, the pastor search committee suspended the search process and hired Mike Breaux as Senior Pastor. He then became the church's second senior pastor. During his tenure the church grew to an attendance of more than 7,000 persons a week. Jon Weece joined Southland as a teaching pastor in 2000, sharing in the responsibilities of a church with six weekend services. After a building program that reduced the weekend services from six to five, Breaux moved to Willow Creek Community Church
Willow Creek Community Church
Willow Creek Community Church is a non-denominational, multi-generational Evangelical Christian megachurch located in the Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Illinois. It was founded on October 12, 1975 by Bill Hybels, who is currently the senior pastor...
in South Barrington, Illinois, in 2003.
Weece, a former missionary to Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, became the third senior pastor on September 1, 2003. Still in his twenties at the time, he was one of the youngest megachurch senior pastors in the United States. He initially shared teaching responsibilities with Jim Burgen
Jim Burgen
Jim Burgen is the senior pastor at Flatirons Community Church, a non-denominational evangelical megachurch in Lafayette, Colorado, a northern suburb of Denver, Colorado, USA....
, formerly of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville. Burgen has since left for Flatirons Community Church
Flatirons Community Church
Flatirons Community Church is a large non-denominational church in Lafayette, Colorado, a northern suburb of Denver, Colorado, USA.The church was launched in 1997 and grew fast, with 200 members by 1999 and 1,700 members in 2002....
in Colorado and Weece now shares preaching responsibilities with regular guest, Mike Breaux. Under Weece's leadership, the Southland services have grown to an attendance of around 10,000 each weekend.
In 2009, Southland opened its first satellite campus in Danville, KY. An additional satellite campus is planned for the former Lexington Mall site on Richmond Road in Lexington.
In 2010, Southland purchased the former Lexington Mall to begin construction on a new campus "Richmond Road" campus with a hopeful opening to services in 2013.
Beliefs
As a Restoration MovementRestoration Movement
The Restoration Movement is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century...
church, Southland's beliefs are similar to other churches' in the movement, although local congregations are independent and may vary slightly from each other. Southland members include a large number of people with roots in denominations outside the Restoration Movement, including a significant number from Baptist and Wesleyan/Methodist traditions among others. As such, the church also has strong influences from, and often even identifies itself with, protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
.
In short, the following is a summary of what Christians who are members of Southland are asked to believe:
- Jesus ChristJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
is the one and only Son of GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, who died for our sins and arose from the dead. - The BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
is the inspired word of God. - Every person has worth as a creation of God, but that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
- Forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life are available to those who trust Christ as Savior and Lord.
- Those accepting Christ should repent of sin, confess their faith, and be baptizedBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
into Him. This implies that salvation is not received by doing one of the above but all of the above. - The Church is the body of Christ on earth, empowered by the Holy SpiritHoly SpiritHoly Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
and exists to evangelize the lost and edify the saved. - Jesus Christ will one day return to earth and reign forever as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Worship services
Southland Christian Church has a Saturday evening service, three Sunday morning services and one Sunday evening service, "608" (the time that the service begins) which targets college students and young adults. All five services are contemporary in style, and casual in dress.The Southland Hour
Southland Christian Church's television ministry began Oct. 13, 1985 with one camera and a borrowed recorder. All post production work was hired out and the tape was then brought to WTVQ for airing the following weekend.From the very beginning, this ministry was run entirely by volunteers and even with seed money and equipment from a volunteer. The next step was the addition of multiple cameras to allow for more complete coverage of the service and its many parts. In the early 1990s this was achieved and the crew grew to 3 camera operators, a director choosing shots and providing direction for the cameras and an audio engineer. Shortly after this step, a graphics operator was added to add text and names to the television program.
In 1995, Southland Christian Church hired Kenny Vines of Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
as its first Technical Director. In 1996 he moved all editing and post production within the walls of the church. This greatly improved cost-effectiveness and total creative control of the content of The Southland Hour.
2001 brought many significant changes to the face of the ministry. These included new cameras, new switching and control equipment, and new locations. The move to the new building dramatically increased crew needs: an 11 member crew is needed for just video work during every service. This group is responsible for both image magnification in the worship center and the television program recording. Editing of the program occurs during the week and the service airs the following week on WTVQ.
Today, The Southland Hour airs at 10:00AM each Sunday on ABC 36 which broadcasts throughout the East Central Kentucky Region.
Letters to Britney Spears
The church hit national newswires on October 27, 2007, when the Lexington Herald-LeaderLexington Herald-Leader
The Lexington Herald-Leader is a newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company and based in the U.S. city of Lexington, Kentucky. According to the 1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, the Herald-Leaders paid circulation is the second largest in the Commonwealth of Kentucky...
reported that Southland was preparing to send a package to Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
filled with letters from church members bearing the general message "Britney, Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
loves you." Weece was inspired to send the package after seeing news of her personal problems in 2007. Then, in a sermon and a September blog entry on Southland's official web site, he asked Southland members to send the letters, asking them, "What if Britney Spears were Britney Smith and what if she lived next door to us? What would we do?" In his sermon introducing the idea to the congregation, Weece cited Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
saying, "If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
As of the Herald-Leader report, the church was still collecting letters, and was trying to determine the best way to make sure the letters actually got to her.