James River Assembly of God
| James River Church | |
|---|---|
| James River Church | |
| 37°04′33″N 93°13′38″W / 37.07588°N 93.22714°WCoordinates: 37°04′33″N 93°13′38″W / 37.07588°N 93.22714°W | |
| Location | Ozark, Missouri |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Assemblies of God USA |
| Weekly attendance | 14,612 |
| Website | jamesriver |
| History | |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | John and Debbie Lindell |
| Deacon(s) | Danny J. Bixby |
James River Church (JRC) of Ozark, Missouri, is an Assemblies of God megachurch in three locations with over 14,000 weekly members. In 2009, it reported an average Sunday worship attendance of 8,850, making it the fourth-largest Assembly of God church in the United States.Outreach Magazine ranked it the 47th-fastest-growing church in America in 2010. The church began in January 1991 with four families, at a strip mall with 42 people in attendance the first Sunday. John and Debbie Lindell became the lead pastors in September 1991 with their three young children and have since then remained as lead pastors.
James River Church was founded out of the desire of the four couples to start a church on the southeast side of Springfield, a place where the Assemblies of God was not heavily represented at the time. The small congregation grew quickly and had to move into a larger space in an office park within nine months. It was at that time that John Lindell was hired to serve as pastor of the congregation. When he arrived in September 1991, he asked about expectations and the answer was "400 people in four years". However, in 1993, the average attendance topped 800. By April 15, 2008, the average attendance was 9,015, indicating a growth of approximately 1,200 people from the previous year.
James River Church (JRC) has grown from its original four families in a storefront in 1991 to a megachurch on three separate campuses with 14,000 members. In August 1992, the church built its first home off of US Highway 65 and Evans road. During 1993–1995, a new addition was built onto the church as membership grew from 868 to 2,292. During a time of overflow, John Lindell asked the church to fast and pray and was able to buy the land and moved into the south campus in March 2000 with 4,000 in weekly attendance. The south campus is the main campus of James River Church. It includes multiple sanctuaries, a cafe, meeting rooms, offices, children and youth facilities, One Heart ministry, and the River Fitness Center.
The church grew to over 8000 members by 2008. The second campus, James River Church - West Campus, was launched in September 2009. It is located off of US Hwy 60 in Southwest Springfield. A ground-breaking ceremony was held at JRC-West in fall 2010 for further expansion at that location. Construction began in the summer of 2011 and was completed in spring 2013. The new first service was held at the West Campus in December 2012.
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