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Sunday, Sep 17, 2006

Posted on Mon, Sep. 11, 2006

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FAITH

Preacher to lead flock via satellite

A Texas mega-church with 20,000 members and a popular pastor is = coming to=20 South Miami -- if sometimes via video uplink.

By ALEXANDRA ALTER

aalter@MiamiHerald.com

Fellowship Church, a new evangelical congregation in South Miami, = celebrated=20 its grand opening Sunday with a live rock band, free coffee, Cuban = pastries and=20 $5 gas cards for newcomers.

Congregants entered a newly renovated sanctuary with an elaborate = sound=20 system, three giant TV screens beaming lyrics of contemporary Christian = songs=20 and headsets broadcasting a live Spanish translation.

The only thing missing was the pastor.

The Rev. Ed Young, who addressed his Miami flock through TV screens = showing a=20 recorded sermon from the previous night, was preaching in Grapevine, = Texas, at=20 Fellowship Church's main campus.

The Miami church marks Young's newest satellite campus -- a = congregation that=20 has its own band, campus coordinator, Bible study groups and ministries = but=20 connects with the head pastor via high-definition video and only = occasionally in=20 person.

Fellowship Church is one of just a handful of mega-churches around = the=20 country to expand across state lines. Others include an Oklahoma church = with=20 satellite campuses in Arizona, Texas and Tennessee and a South Carolina = church=20 with seven campuses, including one in Georgia.

''You never say never in God's economy,'' said Young, who was = scheduled to=20 fly to Miami and preach at the Sunday evening service.

The church -- which has 20,000 members and four campuses around = Dallas/Fort=20 Worth -- decided to open a Florida branch after a shrinking Baptist = congregation=20 in South Miami asked to merge with Fellowship, Young said. When asked = how he=20 would split his time among five campuses, Young laughed and replied: = ``That's a=20 great question. I'm open to suggestions.''

Few of the 300 worshipers at Fellowship's Miami campus seemed to mind = when=20 the sermon was delivered through high-definition video and life-sized = screens=20 rather than a live pastor. People chuckled when Young made jokes, = interjected=20 with 'amens' and even answered questions when Young asked his Texas = congregation=20 about a Bible verse.

''He has what?'' Young asked on the recording.

''Promised!'' people in the crowd responded.

Young, 45, who was dressed casually in a short-sleeved shirt and had=20 stylishly highlighted blond hair, spoke about God's unconditional love,=20 occasionally dropping in slang like ''freaky,'' ''off the chain'' and=20 ``sweet.''

Luisa Rodriguez, 20, a nursing student at Miami Dade College, said = she was=20 skeptical at first about joining a congregation whose senior pastor = lives in=20 Texas. But after hearing Young preach, she was hooked, she said.

''At first I thought it would be awkward because it was a satellite = church,=20 but it wasn't at all'' she said. ``You don't even notice that he's up on = a=20 screen.''

Carlos Alayon, 44, said he preferred listening to a live preacher but = joined=20 Fellowship because his four children, a 12-year-old son and 14-year-old=20 triplets, seemed engaged by the combination of TV and live music.

''I'm a little more traditional,'' said Alayon, a therapist. ``But = you get=20 used to it.''

Satellite churches have grown exponentially in the last three or four = years=20 as evangelical pastors embrace such technology as live satellite feeds, = webcasts=20 and TiVo in an effort to expand their reach, said John Vaughan, = publisher of=20 Church Growth Today, a newsletter that tracks the nation's largest = churches.

While some scholars and Christian leaders have criticized the = approach,=20 likening satellite churches to big chains like Starbucks and Wal-Mart, = Vaughan=20 said those who decry the ''Wal-Martization of the church'' are missing = the=20 point.

''This is more like CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New = York,'' he=20 said, comparing the movement to the popular crime-scene investigation = television=20 series. ``It doesn't matter what state he's in, [a preacher] can help = carry the=20 magnitude, the focus of that church. It is transferable.''

About a quarter of the nation's approximately 1,200 mega-churches --=20 congregations with 2,000 or more members -- have satellite campuses, = said Warren=20 Bird, co-author of The Multi-Site Church Revolution: Being One Church = in Many=20 Locations.

The trend has taken root in some of South Florida's largest = congregations.=20 Christ Fellowship in West Palm Beach ministers to 20,000 congregants on = its=20 three campuses. Calvary Chapel draws some 22,000 to its weekend services = in Fort=20 Lauderdale, Plantation and Boca Raton. Pastor Bob Coy said he launched = satellite=20 campuses to make Calvary Chapel more accessible to congregants who = commuted to=20 services.

''We had people who would drive 30 to 40 minutes only to watch the = service on=20 a screen in an overflow room,'' said Coy, whose church recently began = using TiVo=20 to record Coy's sermons and rebroadcast them at the satellite = locations.

Maintaining a congregation in a separate state may be a bit = trickier.

Young said he plans on occasion to preach his Sunday morning sermon = in=20 Grapevine, then fly to Miami for the 7 p.m. service. Fellowship Church = in Miami=20 also has its own campus coordinator to oversee its ministries.

Eventually, Young expects to spend three to four months a year in = South=20 Florida.

His goal is to reach people who don't normally attend church.

''I wanted to go somewhere where it's not the belt buckle of the = Bible=20 belt,'' he said.

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