Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church is a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
megachurch within the
Presbyterian Church in America located in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
. It was founded in 1960 by
D. James Kennedy
Dennis James Kennedy (November 3, 1930 – September 5, 2007) was an American pastor, evangelist, Christian broadcaster, and author. He was the senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from 1960 until hi ...
(1930–2007), who served as the church's senior pastor until shortly before his death.
The present church building, which seats 2,300 persons, was dedicated on February 3, 1974 by evangelist
Billy Graham. It became affiliated with the
Presbyterian Church in America denomination on May 16, 1978. Coral Ridge was originally a member congregation of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States
The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, originally Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America) was a Protestant denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983. That y ...
, the so-called "Southern" church before 1983.
Beginning in 1978 under pastor D. James Kennedy, the church's weekly services were televised as the ''Coral Ridge Hour'', eventually reaching a nationwide audience of more than 3 million.
[ ] While the production of new broadcasts from the church was discontinued in 2007 after Kennedy's death, his media ministry
D. James Kennedy Ministries now airs excerpts of his sermons, along with current news segments, on its nationwide weekly half-hour TV program ''Truths That Transform''.
The
Westminster Academy and
Knox Theological Seminary
Knox Theological Seminary is an independent, evangelical seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, founded in 1989 by D. James Kennedy. The school offers ministry training at its residential facility in Fort Lauderdale and through its internet camp ...
, also in Fort Lauderdale, are educational ministries of the church.
W. Tullian Tchividjian, a grandson of Billy Graham, succeeded Kennedy as senior pastor of the church,
serving from April 2009 to June 2015. In June 2016, Rob Pacienza officially assumed the role of senior pastor.
History
The church was founded by D. James Kennedy on May 22, 1960, who began with a congregation of 45 persons attending a typical Sunday service at a rented elementary school auditorium.
Kennedy developed the ''"
Evangelism Explosion"'' ("EE") method of evangelism in the 1960s, which emphasizes the training of church
laypeople to share their faith by home visitation in the community.
Coral Ridge became the fastest-growing Presbyterian church in the U.S. in the 1960s and had 1,366 members by 1968.
Outgrowing its first church built in the early 1960s, construction of the church's present 2,300-seat sanctuary, surmounted by a tower and designed in a modern style, was undertaken in the early 1970s, making it one of the
tallest churches in the United States. On December 21, 1973, the first services were held in the church's new building. In February 1974, the sanctuary was formally dedicated by
Billy Graham.
By the 1980s, the church's membership had grown to a few thousand persons.
Evangelism Explosion was the subject of Kennedy's doctoral dissertation, who said he earned a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
"to dispel the idea there is an inconsistency between evangelism and education...evangelical ministers
eedto be thoroughly educated and equipped to meet on equal terms anyone with whom they come in contact".
A 1970 film, ''Like a Mighty Army'', starring actor
Chris Robinson as Kennedy, portrayed the Evangelism Explosion story at the church.
By the 1980s, the church's television ministry had a weekly audience of 3.5 million viewers, as the ''Coral Ridge Hour'' aired on more than 400 stations and four cable networks, including the
Trinity Broadcasting Network,
The Inspiration Network (INSP)
INSP (formerly The Inspiration Network; the initialism is sounded out letter-by-letter) is an American digital cable television network that features primarily westerns (both shows and movies) and is headquartered in Indian Land, South Carolina - ...
and the
NRB Network
NRB TV is an evangelical Christian cable channel founded by members of the National Religious Broadcasters, a non-partisan, international association of Christian communicators. While the NRB association is located in Manassas, Virginia, the chann ...
, as well as broadcast to more than 150 countries on the
Armed Forces Network.
Rev.
George Grant became Executive Director of the ministry on February 1, 1990.
Kennedy last preached at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church on December 24, 2006, suffering a cardiac arrest four days later. His retirement was officially announced at the church on August 26, 2007, and he died in his home ten days later.
In a statement following news of Kennedy's retirement, the church announced the development of the ''D. James Kennedy Legacy website'' in tribute to the life of the Christian evangelist.
Post-Kennedy
The church's senior pastor from 2009-2015 was
Tullian Tchividjian
William Graham Tullian Tchividjian (; born July 13, 1972) is a pastor and author of more than a half dozen books about Christianity and current issues, including ''One Way Love'' and ''It is Finished'' ( David C. Cook, 2013 and 2015). He is a g ...
, a native Floridian born in
Jacksonville. Named after third century theologian
Tertullian
Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...
, he is a grandson of famed evangelist
Billy Graham.
Previously, he was the pastor of New City Presbyterian Church, an
Evangelical Presbyterian Church congregation meeting at a high school in nearby
Coconut Creek
Coconut Creek is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. Situated north of Miami, it had a population of 57,833 in 2020. It is part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city seceded from ...
. He was invited on January 12, 2009, to become Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church's senior minister, as part of a merger of the two congregations.
The Coral Ridge congregation approved Tchividjian's appointment and merger of the two churches by vote on March 15, 2009, with 920 of the 1,014 members present voting in favor. Tchividjian was installed as the church's senior pastor on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009.
He studied philosophy at
Columbia International University and earned a divinity degree at
Reformed Theological Seminary
Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) is a theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition with campuses in multiple locations in the United States. Founded by conservatives in the Southern Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church in ...
. His writings include ''Do I Know God? Finding Certainty in Life's Most Important Relationship'', ''Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different'', ''Surprised by Grace: God's Relentless Pursuit of Rebels'' and ''Jesus + Nothing = Everything''. At the beginning of 2009, the church had 2,200 members and weekly attendance averaged 1,800 persons.
On June 21, 2015, Tchividjian announced that he had resigned as senior pastor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian after admitting having an affair himself, following an affair on the part of his wife. After almost a year-long search, Rob Pacienza, who had been executive pastor under Tchividjian, was named as Coral Ridge's third senior pastor.
Music
The church has had a rich history of traditional music, especially with the Rufatti
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
at its heart, beginning with the start of the church, more than 50 years ago. With the appointment of Tchividjian the musical style shifted toward a contemporary style, and for the first time it became more commonplace than traditional. Shortly after assuming his role, current Senior Pastor, Rob Pacienza reintroduced a traditional service led by the choir, under the musical direction of Bernie Gonzalez, and accompanied by Chelsea Chen on the Rufatti on Sunday, October 30, 2016.
The large
Fratelli Ruffatti
Famiglia Artigiana Fratelli Ruffatti (''Ruffatti Brothers, Family of Artisans'') is a manufacturer of pipe organs based in Padua, Italy.
History
In 1940, Antonio Ruffatti and his two brothers founded the firm of Famiglia Artigiana Fratelli Ruffa ...
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
, built in 1974, has 6,600 pipes in 117 ranks. In 2004 the organ became expanded with the addition of 61 digital voices, resulting in the equivalent of 178 ranks altogether. Samuel Metzger, the organist from 2003 until his resignation on September 24, 2009, has recorded seven
CDs of music on the Rufatti instrument.
The organ is also regularly featured on the world-renowned ''Joy of Music'' television programs of
Diane Bish
Diane Joyce Bish (born May 25, 1941) is an American organist, composer, conductor, as well as executive producer and host of ''The Joy of Music'' television series. As a concert organist, she performs at concerts throughout North America and Euro ...
, one of the church's former organists, and is often heard on the ''
Sacred Classics'' radio show and in recordings by the church's choir. Other former organists include Rebecca Owens, Colin Howland, and Garrett F. Martin. Beginning in early 2013,
Chelsea Chen began playing occasionally for services as guest organist, and was officially appointed to the position of organist and artist in residence at the church until 2018. In January 2018, Dr. John L. Wilson, who previously directed the music ministry until his resignation in 2009, returned to CRPC and is currently serving as the Director of Traditional Worship and The Coral Ridge Concert Series.
Discography
A number of
phonograph records
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...
and
compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...
s of the choir and organ have been released since the 1970s, including:
External links
Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church websiteLIBERATE websiteWestminster Academy websiteCoral Ridge Fratelli Rufatti Instrument Details
{{Authority control
Presbyterian Church in America churches in Florida
Presbyterian churches in Florida
Christian organizations established in 1960
Churches in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Churches completed in 1974
1960 establishments in Florida
Presbyterian megachurches in the United States
Megachurches in Florida
Harold E. Wagoner buildings