{{Infobox church
| name = James River Church
| fullname = James River Church
| image =
| landscape =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| coordinates = 37°04′33″N 93°13′38″W / 37.07588°N 93.22714°W
| country = United States
| location = Ozark, Missouri
| denomination = [[non denominational]
| associations = Assemblies of God USA
| previous denomination =
| churchmanship =
| membership =
| attendance = 19,000
| website = jamesriver
Community and international outreach
James River Church hosts a variety of events at their four campuses, including Stronger Mens Conference and Designed For Life women's conferences, holiday events for families and children, and sport teams. James River Church organizes community service events such as an annual service project to paint, clean, and landscape public schools in the area. The church also helps to promote foster parenting and adoption with Cherish Kids.
From 1997 to 2010, one of JRC's local events was the annual Fourth of July patriotic program, the I Love America! Celebration. In 2009, attendance for the 13th annual event, which was free to the public, reached approximately 120,000 people. Attendance in 2010 fell to 100,000.[2]
James River Church established James River Charities in 2008. James River Charities in a wholly owned single member entity of James River Church, and operates or manages several different areas, including James River Retreat Center, The River Fitness Center, James River Youth, Cherish Kids and James River College.
Controversies
On October 28, 2018, John Lindell stated during a sermon that yoga is a "form of Eastern mysticism that Christians should absolutely avoid".[3][4]
Between December 5–6, 2020, James River Church hosted several large indoor gatherings to celebrate Christmas.[5][6] Due to the recent surge of Covid-19 infections, the Christian County Health Department issued a notice that attendees should monitor their symptoms for 14 days after the event, and to contact a medical professional if any symptoms arise.[7][8]
In March 2023, John Lindell publicized the story of his congregation's alleged restoration of a woman's amputated toes, saying that people watched them miraculously regrow during an hour of the church service under the power of faith. The church and the woman have refused to provide any evidence or respond to journalistic inquiry, and a website showmethetoes.com was spawned in offer to host any such evidence or eyewitness account.[9][10][11]
References
- ^ "Largest 100 USA AG Churches, As of December 31, 2017" (PDF). Assemblies of God.
- ^ Riley, Claudette. "James River cancels 'I Love America' event". Springfield News-Leader. Archived from the original on March 24, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
- ^ Church, James River. "Haunted: Pursuing the Paranormal". James River Church Online. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
- ^ Zhu, Alissa. "Assemblies of God pastor says yoga has 'demonic roots.' Yogis respond: That's 'ludicrous.'". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
- ^ Holman, Gregory J. "COVID-19 'doesn't care about our religion': Busy Christmas church services at James River spark viral outrage, criticism". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
- ^ Staff, KY3 (December 8, 2020). "Christian County Health Department asks participants at James River Church weekend events to monitor symptoms closely". www.ky3.com. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Missouri Coronavirus Map and Case Count". The New York Times. April 1, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
- ^ "Health Department is "extremely concerned" for those who attended an event at James River Church". KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
- ^ Szuch, Susan (March 23, 2023). "A Missouri church leader claims prayer regrew a woman's toes. Others are skeptical". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via USA Today.
- ^ Slisco, Aila (March 22, 2023). "Pastor Says Prayer Regrew Woman's Toes—But People Want Proof". Newsweek. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ "Megachurch pastor claims to have regrown amputee's toes through prayer". The Independent. March 24, 2023.
External links
This page was last edited on 15 April 2024, at 09:59