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James River Church (JRC; formerly James River Assembly) is a Pentecostal multi-site megachurch based in Ozark, Missouri. It is affiliated with Assemblies of God USA. In 2019, James River reported an average weekly attendance of 19,000,[1] making it one of the ten largest Assemblies of God (AG) churches and one of the largest churches in Missouri (subsequently Springfield). John Lindell is the lead pastor alongside wife Debbie.
| James River Church | |
|---|---|
| James River Church | |
 | |
| 37°04′33″N 93°13′38″W / 37.07588°N 93.22714°W | |
| Location | Ozark, Missouri |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Pentecostal |
| Associations | Assemblies of God USA |
| Weekly attendance | 19,000 |
| Website | jamesriver |
| History | |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | John and Debbie Lindell |
Community and international outreach
editJames River Church hosts a variety of events at their four campuses, including Stronger Men's 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
editOn 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]
Feud with Mark Driscoll
editJames River Church organizes annual "Stronger Men's Conferences". At the 2024 event, one of the opening acts was Alex Magala, a former go-go dancer (where men and women dance erotically in little clothes for monetary tips in the form of bills suspended from their clothes by patrons) who says he is an Orthodox Christian, born into Christianity by birth ceremony, and who performed a sword swallowing act while climbing a pole. He has said the purpose of the act was to "inspire audiences to reach new heights of what’s possible in their lives". Later, planned speaker Mark Driscoll denounced Magala from the stage, saying that a "Jezebel spirit opened our event" and compared the act to an ancient pagan ritual. John Lindell told Driscoll he was out of line and "You're done" and Driscoll gathered his things and left the stage.[12]
Driscoll has previously used the term Jezebel spirit many times, including during a 2023 sermon series in which he applied the phrase to the Biden-Harris administration and claimed that passive men and domineering women were ruining society.[13]
Although Lindell and Driscoll met later and supposedly reconciled, Driscoll continued attacking Magala and James River Church's leadership on social media. Driscoll also allegedly contacted Lindell's son and urged him to oust his father and brother and seize control of the church. Lindell described Driscoll's behavior as "demonic", a term Driscoll had also used to describe Magala. He also said that Driscoll's comments had led to a flood of death threats directed against Magala, James River Church, and the headquarters of the Assembly of God. Lindell said that Christians should have nothing to do with Driscoll unless he repents.[12]
References
edit- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "John Lindell Calls Mark Driscoll To Repent for 'Trying To Destroy James River Church' and 'Sow Disunity' in the Lindell Family".
- ^ "'The Jezebel Spirit Literally Castrates Men' — Mark Driscoll Plugs His 'Most Controversial' Sermon Series Ever".