North Carolina megachurch Elevation Church leaves SBC amid turmoil over affiliation debate

Liam Adams, Nashville Tennessean
Updated ·3 min read
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Steven Furtick, pastor of Elevation Church in North Carolina, at an event in Greenville on Nov. 14, 2018. Furtick's church notified Southern Baptist Convention leaders on June 26 it's pulling it's affiliation with the SBC, a surprising announcement for the megachurch that coincides with broader denominational turmoil.
Steven Furtick, pastor of Elevation Church in North Carolina, at an event in Greenville on Nov. 14, 2018. Furtick's church notified Southern Baptist Convention leaders on June 26 it's pulling it's affiliation with the SBC, a surprising announcement for the megachurch that coincides with broader denominational turmoil.

The Southern Baptist Convention lost yet another church that is among the country’s largest when the North Carolina-based Elevation Church notified SBC leaders this week it’s pulling its affiliation with the Nashville-based denomination.

Though Elevation’s reasoning behind its decision remains unclear, the unexpected news coincides with broader denominational turmoil over the terms by which a church affiliates with the SBC. Elevation’s high-profile exit also foreshadows a likely uptick in more churches following suit.

The choice by Elevation — comprised of 19 campuses with a total attendance of about 26,000 according to self-reported data — to leave the SBC comes a couple weeks after the SBC shut the door on Saddleback Church, also among the country’s largest churches, among other pivotal decisions.

Southern Baptist voting delegates, called messengers, overwhelmingly voted at the annual meeting to uphold the ouster of Saddleback and Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, for having women pastors. Messengers also approved a measure that will enshrine a ban on women pastors pending a second approval at next year’s annual meeting.

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“You will find that our Statement of Beliefs on our website is very much in line with the Baptist Faith and Message — we have no intention of changing those core beliefs,” Elevation said in a June 26 letter to the SBC Executive Committee. Baptist Press obtained a copy of the letter and first reported the news.

The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 is the SBC’s doctrinal statement. Besides vaguely alluding to its beliefs and the Baptist Faith and Message, Elevation didn’t elaborate on specific reasons for ending its affiliation or contentions it may have with the SBC.

Since its 2006 founding under the leadership of pastor Steven Furtick, Elevation has consistently been among the largest and fastest growing churches in the U.S., according to Lifeway Research surveys. Furtick, a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, has become a celebrity known for his success as a musician, a program with Trinity Broadcasting Network, and connections with other megachurch pastors and prosperity gospel preachers.

Furtick has faced scrutiny for a seemingly lavish lifestyle and was often the subject of posts on Instagram about wealthy pastors from the popular PreachersNSneakers account. Many attribute a large part of Elevation’s success to Furtick’s ability to engage young people and people of color. Original worship music produced by Elevation dominates large parts of the market, according to Religion News Service.

Pastor Steven Furtick, from Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C., spoke at Greenville's Relentless Church during the event "The Bridge - A Conversation on Race, Politics, Culture and the Role of the Church" Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018.
Pastor Steven Furtick, from Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C., spoke at Greenville's Relentless Church during the event "The Bridge - A Conversation on Race, Politics, Culture and the Role of the Church" Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018.

However, Elevation's participation in the SBC through its giving and presence at the SBC annual meeting is minimal compared to SBC churches of a similar caliber.

Still, the church plans to continue some partnerships.

“Please know that our withdrawal from affiliation in no way means that we will withdraw from praying for you and your ministries and mission work in the future — we are all on the same side!” Elevation said in its June 26 letter to the SBC Executive Committee.

Other churches that aren’t as high-profile as Elevation and Saddleback are reconsidering their affiliation with the SBC, largely due to the actions at the 2023 SBC annual meeting. Some churches already started the process to leave prior to the 2023 annual meeting, while others decided afterward.

“With the Convention’s vote to disfellowship churches with women pastors, we will accept the reality that we are no longer welcome at the SBC table and sever all remaining ties with the SBC and its partner organizations,” said First Baptist Church of Gainesville, Georgia, in a June 14 statement.

A newly established task force, which awaits appointments by SBC President Bart Barber, will study deeper questions of church affiliation this next year and report back at the 2024 SBC annual meeting.

Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on Twitter @liamsadams.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: North Carolina megachurch Elevation Church leaves SBC amid turmoil