Carpenter's Home Church
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Carpenter's Home Church was a prominent
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
megachurch A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Evangelical, although the term denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. A megachurch draws 2 ...
in
Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...
, affiliated with the
Assemblies of God USA The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially The General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States and the U.S. branch of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal ...
. Opened in 1985, the church claimed nearly 7,000 worshipers at its peak. The church closed amidst financial scandal and dwindling attendance. The remaining members became two separate congregations, one of which became prominent as the host of the Lakeland Revival in 2008. The property was purchased by Without Walls International Church of
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, and the facility became the home of their affiliate Without Walls Central Church. Without Walls experienced financial difficulties requiring them to sell their properties. The building was eventually acquired by developers and demolition commenced in March 2015. Today, nothing remains of the building.


History

The church was founded in 1921 as ''Lakeland First Assembly of God''. However, its modern history began when Karl Strader became senior pastor in 1966. Strader's tenure saw a period of explosive growth. By 1980, the church had ballooned to 4,000 members, and had overgrown its 16-year-old facility. Looking for a place to build a new, larger sanctuary, Strader found land originally owned by the
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, often simply the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC), was formed in 1881 by Peter J. McGuire and Gustav Luebkert. It has become one of the largest trade unions in the United State ...
, who built a retirement home for their members on it. The "Carpenters and Joiners Home" was dedicated in October 1928 and the first 36 retired carpenters and joiners moved in during March 1929. As many as 370 retirees stayed at one time. With the advent of Social Security, the number of retirees living in the home began to decline. By 1976, the home closed. When First Assembly bought the plot in 1980, some of the land was sold off, and a 10,000 seat
auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...
was built by
Roe Messner Ronald Roe Messner (August 1, 1935 – March 24, 2025) was an American building contractor (Messner Construction) who built more than 1,700 churches, including several megachurches. Having divorced his first wife, he married televangelist Tamm ...
. The new building opened in 1985, and First Assembly changed its name to Carpenter's Home Church. Many Contemporary Christian and Gospel artists performed at the church, including
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,
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,
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, Plus One, The Florida Mass Choir,
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,
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, OC Supertones,
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,
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,
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, and
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, among others. While in operation, the church ran a 100,000 watt FM Stereo radio station, WCIE, that served the
Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...
market; the station was sold to Moody Broadcasting in 1997. Also, several conferences were held here including the Dawson McCalister Conference for youth age. The church suffered a split in 1989, when about 800 members left in a dispute over Karl Strader's leadership. Strader had long been open to
charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ...
practices such as spontaneous dancing and singing, which caused chagrin among some of the church's more traditional members. Although he was placed on probation, a congregational vote resulted in an overwhelming vote of confidence for Strader. However, some 800 members broke away to form Victory Church. In 1994, Daniel Strader, one of Karl Strader's sons, was arrested on fraud charges and was later convicted. Daniel Strader had sold false securities and defrauded investors out of $2.3 million. He was found guilty in 1995 on 238 counts of securities fraud and was sentenced to 45 years' imprisonment. The severe sentence resulted from the application of the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was e ...
. The scandal received considerable media coverage; membership of Carpenter's Home Church dwindled, and it became impossible for the church to maintain its large facilities. In 2002, Without Walls Central Church commenced renting the building for services. This church was a branch of
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and
Paula White Paula Michelle White-Cain (née Furr; born April 20, 1966) is an American televangelist, nationally known evangelical leader in the Charismatic movement, and longtime spiritual advisor to President Donald J. Trump She also is married to famed r ...
's Without Walls International Church, that had outgrown its building in nearby Auburndale. Eventually, in 2005, the property was sold to the Without Walls churches for $8 million in cash and the Auburndale building. Carpenter's Home Church used the cash to purchase and convert a former retail warehouse a mile north of the old location on US-98, which was called Ignited Church, and Karl Strader's son Stephen was installed as pastor. The Auburndale property was renamed Auburndale Life Church and Karl Strader's son-in-law Shane Simmons was installed as pastor (Simmons died from cancer in March 2013). The remaining members of Carpenter's Home Church dispersed between these two churches, though Ignited Church claims to be the successor of Carpenter's Home Church (according to Stephen Strader's biography, Carpenter's Home changed its name to Ignited Church when Stephen became pastor). The Without Walls churches experienced problems and vacated the Lakeland building in 2011. As a result of debts, the
United States bankruptcy court United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy ...
required Without Walls to sell their properties. In February 2015, it was reported that the land and building had been purchased by developers who were planning to demolish the church. Demolition commenced on 16 March 2015.


Evangel Christian School

The existing retirement home building on the site was used to house Evangel Christian School, which had been operated by First Lakeland Assembly of God since 1972. The school closed in 2006 following the sale of the land and properties to the Without Walls churches. A number of students moved to Victory Academy, operated by Victory Church, following the closure.


Revivals

Carpenter's Home Church and its successor entities have been associated with two prominent revivals. A 1993 revival by South African-born evangelist
Rodney Howard-Browne Rodney Morgan Howard-Browne (born June 12, 1961) is a South African-born American evangelist and a conspiracy theorist. He has resided in Tampa, Florida since the mid-1990s and is pastor of The River Church in Tampa Bay. The River is a Pentecos ...
helped spread a "Laughing revival" with manifestations of joy in the Holy Spirit; the Toronto Blessing movement is as an offshoot of the spiritual awakening that Howard-Browne started at his Lakeland Revival. Howard-Browne's revival lasted for 16 weeks at Carpenter's Home, often holding two services a day and averaging 3,000 to 4,000 visitors at night. The
Todd Bentley Todd David Bentley (born January 10, 1976) is a Canadian evangelist. He was a key figure of the Lakeland Revival and was in leadership of Fresh Fire Ministries Canada until stepping down in August 2008 following accusations of immoral behavior ...
led Lakeland Revival of 2008 began at Ignited Church and was later moved to Auburndale Life Church. As attendance increased, it eventually was moved to the Lakeland Civic Center.


External links


Charisma Magazine feature on the church from January 1985
* Florida outpouring


References

{{Coord, 28.0990, -81.9646, display=title Former Assemblies of God churches Former megachurches Buildings and structures in Lakeland, Florida Christian organizations established in 1980 Churches in Polk County, Florida