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EPIC Church International, formerly Faith Fellowship Ministries World Outreach Center is an independent non-denominational Christian megachurch in Sayreville, New Jersey, USA. The pastor is John J. Wagner.[1] As of 2013, Outreach Magazine ranked the church 44th in congregation size in the US, with weekly attendance of 10,100.[2]
| EPIC Church International | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Sayreville, New Jersey |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Non-denominational Christian |
| Weekly attendance | 10,100 (2013) |
| Website | https://www.epicchurchintl.org/ |
| History | |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | John J. Wagner |
History
editDavid T. Demola founded Faith Fellowship Ministries in early 1980, and by the end of that year was able to move from a private home to St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Staten Island, New York. The growing congregation temporarily held services at an Elks Club, and then in July 1982 moved to a former synagogue in Iselin, New Jersey. Still growing, in mid-1985 the church moved into a newly constructed 1,300-seat facility in Edison, New Jersey, its base for the next fifteen years. However, overflow crowds and limited parking created tensions with neighbors.[3]
In July 2000 the current 2,900-seat auditorium and office complex was established on a 14-acre (57,000 m2) site in Sayreville that was once used by Public Service Electric and Gas Company as a training center. The site was selected in part because it already had sufficient parking space, a significant factor with urban megachurches.[4] In 2003 the center launched a homeownership program through its nonprofit affiliate, the Faith Fellowship Community Development Corporation, which provides education and coaching in financial planning.[5]
On January 1, 2019, the church announced on its website and social media pages its transition to EPIC Church International.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Faith Fellowship Ministries World Outreach Center". USA Churches. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
- ^ "100 Largest Churches in America". Outreach Magazine. October 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
- ^ Maxine N. Lurie, Marc Mappen (2004). Encyclopedia of New Jersey. Rutgers University Press. p. 265. ISBN 0-8135-3325-2.
- ^ George James (June 29, 2003). "Exurbia and God: Megachurches in New Jersey". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
- ^ Lisa Prevost (May 28, 2006). "Today, Homeownership Is Next to Godliness". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
- ^ "Epic Church Intl". website. Retrieved January 16, 2019.