Church (congregation)Christian congregation that meets for worship Congregants worship in a Dutch Restored Reformed church, Doornspijk A village church in South Sudan A church (or local church) is a Christian organization or congregation that meets in a particular location, often for worship. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by clergy or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek non-profit corporate status.
SermonOration by a member of the clergy A Roadside Sermon by John Pettie Part of a series onChristianity Christians JesusChrist Nativity Baptism Ministry Crucifixion Resurrection Ascension BibleFoundations Old Testament New Testament Gospel Canon Church Prophets Creed New Covenant Theology God Trinity Father Son Holy Spirit Apologetics Baptism Christology History of theology Salvation Stewardship Universalism HistoryTradition Apostles Peter Paul Mary Early Christianity Church Fathers Constantine Councils Augustine Three Holy Hierarchs East–West Schism Crusades Aquinas Reformation Luther Denominations(list) Western Latin-rite Catholic Independent Catholic Protestant Anabaptist Anglican Baptist Evangelical Lutheran Methodist Moravian Pentecostal Plymouth Brethren Quaker Reformed Unitarian Waldensian Western Orthodox Eastern Eastern Orthodox Oriental Orthodox East Syriac Eastern Catholic Eastern Protestant Restorationist Adventist Irvingite Jehovah's Witness Latter Day Saint Swedenborgian Related topics Art Adherents Criticism Culture Ecumenism Liturgy Mission Other religions Persecution Prayer Sermon Symbolism Western society Worship Sabbath in Christianity Gregorian calendar Glossary Index Outline Christianity portalvte Part of a series onRhetoric History Ancient India Ancient Greece Asianism Atticism Attic orators Calliope Classical rhetoric Sophists Ancient Rome The age of Cicero Second Sophistic Middle Ages Byzantine rhetoric Trivium Renaissance Studia humanitatis Modern period Concepts Captatio benevolentiae Chironomia Decorum Delectare Docere Device Eloquence Eloquentia perfecta Eunoia Enthymeme Facilitas Fallacy Informal Figure of speech Scheme Trope Five canons Inventio Dispositio Elocutio Memoria Pronuntiatio Hypsos Imitatio Kairos Method of loci Modes Operations Persuasion Ethos Pathos Logos Situation Style Grand Sotto voce Topos Genres Apologetics Debate Declamation Controversia Deliberative Demagogy Dialectic Socratic method Dissoi logoi Elocution Epideictic Encomium Panegyric Eulogy Farewell speech Forensic Funeral oration Homiletics Sermon Invitational Lecture Public Lightning talk Maiden speech Oratory Polemic Diatribe Eristic Philippic Progymnasmata Suasoria Propaganda Spin Resignation speech Stump speech War-mongering Criticism Cluster Dramatic Pentadic Frame Genre Ideological Metaphoric Mimesis Narrative Neo-Aristotelian Rhetoricians Aeschines Aelius Aristides Antiphon Aristotle Aspasia Augustine Bakhtin Booth Brueggemann Burke Cicero de Man Demosthenes Derrida Dio Chrysostom Erasmus Gorgias Hobbes Hypereides Isocrates Lucian Lysias McLuhan Ong Perelman Pizan Protagoras Quintilian Ramus Richards Seneca the Elder Smith Toulmin Vico Weaver Works Gorgias (380 BC) Phaedrus (c. 370 BC) Rhetoric (c. 350 BC) Rhetoric to Alexander (c. 350 BC) De Sophisticis Elenchis (c. 350 BC) Topics (c. 350 BC) De Inventione (84 BC) Rhetorica ad Herennium (80 BC) De Oratore (55 BC) A Dialogue Concerning Oratorical Partitions (c. 50 BC) De Optimo Genere Oratorum (46 BC) Orator (46 BC) On the Sublime (c. 50) Institutio Oratoria (95) Panegyrici Latini (100–400) Dialogus de oratoribus (102) De doctrina Christiana (426) De vulgari eloquentia (1305) Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style (1521) Language as Symbolic Action (1966) A General Rhetoric (1970) Subfields Argumentation Cognitive Contrastive Constitutive Digital Feminist Native American New Health and medicine Pedagogy Procedural Science Technology Therapy Visual Composition Related Ars dictaminis Communication studies Composition studies Doxa Glossary of rhetorical terms Glossophobia List of feminist rhetoricians List of speeches Oral skills Orator Pistis Public rhetoric Rhetoric of social intervention model Rhetrickery Rogerian argument Seduction Speechwriting Talking point TED Terministic screen Toulmin model Wooden iron vte A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy.
Highland Park Baptist ChurchHighland Park Baptist Church was a prominent Independent Baptist church in the Highland Park neighborhood of Chattanooga, Tennessee. During the four-decade pastorship of Dr. Lee Roberson, it was a center of the Independent Baptist movement and became an early megachurch. In 2013, the church changed its name to "Church of the Highlands," sold its Chattanooga property, and moved to a smaller facility near Chattanooga.
Evangelical Council for Financial AccountabilityThe Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) is an American financial standards association representing Evangelical Christian organizations and churches, which qualify for tax-exempt, nonprofit status and receive tax-deductible contributions. Founded in 1979, ECFA accredits over 2,700 member organizations which have demonstrated compliance with its financial standards.
Chattanooga, TennesseeCity in the United StatesCity in Tennessee, United StatesChattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia to the south. The population was 181,099 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 191,496 in 2024. It is Tennessee's fourth-most populous city and one of the two principal cities of East Tennessee, along with Knoxville.
MegachurchA megachurch is a congregation with a very large building and membership. Most megachurches offer a variety of educational and social activities and are evangelical, although the term "evangelical" usually denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. Megachurches are generally defined as any (typically Protestant) Christian church that on average draws 2,000 or more people per week. The first megachurch was established in London in 1861.
United StatesCountry primarily in North AmericaThe United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with the semi-exclave of Alaska in the northwest and the archipelago of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.
Fuller Theological SeminaryFuller Theological Seminary is an Evangelical seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the Western United States. It is egalitarian in nature (accepts both female and male students). Fuller has a student body of approximately 664 FTE students from many countries and denominations. There are over 41,000 alumni. Fuller is broadly evangelical among faculty and student body.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.