NewSpring Church

NewSpring Church
LocationAnderson, South Carolina
CountryUnited States
DenominationBaptist
AssociationsSouthern Baptist Convention
Weekly attendance10,000
Campuses13
Websitewww.newspring.cc
History
FoundedJanuary 24, 2000; 24 years ago (2000-01-24)
Founder(s)Perry Noble
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)Brad Cooper
Michael Mullikin
Tyler Tatum
David Hall
Lee McDerment
Riley Cummings

NewSpring Church is a Baptist Evangelical multi-site megachurch based in Anderson, South Carolina, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

History

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The church was founded in January 2000 with a handful of people in a living room. Since then, it has grown to 13 locations across the state of South Carolina.[1][2][3] In addition to gathering at multiple campuses across the state, NewSpring has established an online campus to connect with individuals who cannot join in person.

In 2016, the weekly attendance was 33,000 people. [4]

Announced July 10, 2016, founder Perry Noble was removed as Senior Pastor by the church's leadership team effective July 1, 2016 for personal issues related to alcohol and neglect of his family.[5]

A year later it was announced that NewSpring would be led by a team of Lead Pastors (Brad Cooper, Michael Mullikin, Tyler Tatum, David Hall, Lee McDerment, and Riley Cummings) and Teaching Pastors (Brad Cooper, Clayton King, Dan Lian, and Meredith Knox) would share the stage on Sundays.[6][7]

In 2016, the church was left with a $47 million debt,[8] but paid this down year on year, so that in March 2023 it was able to announce it was debt free.[9]

According to a church census released in 2023, it claimed a weekly attendance of 10,000 people.[10]

The church is based in Anderson, SC. It operates satellite campuses in 12 other South Carolina cities.[11]

Beliefs

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The Church has a Baptist confession of faith and is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention.[12]

Regarding why NewSpring does not include Baptist in its name, founding pastor Perry Noble said “denominational loyalty is at an all-time low” and “Jesus did not die for denominations, he died for the church.”[13]

Ministries

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NewSpring has many ministries within the church. Here is a list of active ministries of NewSpring Church.

  • KidSpring (Children's Ministry)
  • [FUSE] (Student Ministry)
  • NewSpring Worship (Worship Ministry)
  • NewSpring Missions (Missions)

NewSpring Worship

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NewSpring Worship
Also known asNewSpring
OriginAnderson, South Carolina
GenresWorship
Years active2010 (2010)–present
Websitenewspringworship.com

NewSpring Worship is an American Christian music worship group from Anderson, South Carolina, established in 2010 at NewSpring Church. They have released 5 albums, 4 EPs, and 11 singles. They play worship music for the congregation at their services.[14]

The group began recording in 2010, with the album Our God Is Love, released January 1, 2010.[15]

Sexual Abuse Cases

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NewSpring Church volunteers had multiple child sex abuse allegations and over a dozen victims. [16][17] Church volunteer Jacop Hazlett, then 28, was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor on November 28, 2018. Investigators said Hazlett molested a three year old in a bathroom on the NewSpring campus in North Charleston, SC on November 25, 2018.[18] Hazlett was charged with sexually assaulting at least 14 preschool age boys in the church. The church claimed that Hazlett passed a background check; however, at 17, he was charged with gross sexual imposition of a young boy in Columbiana County, Ohio. [19][16] On December 12, 2019, following a two-day jury trial, Hazlett was found guilty of sexually abusing several minors and was sentenced to 75 years in prison. [20]

In 2016, youth group volunteer Leo LaSalle Comissiong, then 20, was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. In February 2016, Comissiong allegedly kissed and fondled a 15-year-old boy in NewSpring campus in Florence, SC. [21][16] In April 2016, Comissiong admitted to investigators that he fondled and kissed the boy. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of assault and was sentenced to three years probation. [22]

In May 2016, church volunteer Chaz Wood, then 23, was charged with one count of Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor. According to police report, Wood fondled a 10-year-old boy on December 6, 2015. He was a volunteer at the NewSpring campus in Anderson, SC. [23] In December 2017, Wood pleaded guilty to a charge of assault and battery.[16] Wood is listed in the Houston Chronicle's database of sexual abusers in Southern Baptist churches. [24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Blume, Butch (2014-03-04). "State of the Church: S.C.'s NewSpring among nation's largest, fastest-growing churches". Baptist Courier. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  2. ^ Smith, Charmaine (2014-06-09). "NewSpring Church celebrating 10th anniversary at the Bi-Lo Center " Anderson Independent Mail". Independentmail.com. Archived from the original on 2014-06-15. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
  3. ^ Wyatt, Dustin (2014-03-21). "NewSpring Church converts former Best Buy into worship center". goupstate.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
  4. ^ Landrum, Cindy (30 June 2017). "NewSpring Church to discuss future on July 21". Greenville Journal. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  5. ^ Hardesty, Abe (2016-07-10). "Perry Noble removed as pastor at NewSpring for personal behavior related to alcohol". Anderson Independent-Mail. Archived from the original on 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  6. ^ Hardesty, Abe. "Clayton King hired as interim senior pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson". The Greenville News. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  7. ^ Church, NewSpring. "Teaching Team". NewSpring.cc. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  8. ^ Blair, Leonardo (30 September 2018). "NewSpring Named 'Jesus Christ' as Senior Pastor After Perry Noble Left, Church Was $47M in Debt". The Christian Post. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  9. ^ "NewSpring Church is debt free!". NewSpring.cc. 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  10. ^ "Outreach 100: NewSpring Church". outreach100.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  11. ^ Church, NewSpring. "Find a Location". NewSpring.cc. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  12. ^ "New Spring Church". sbc.net. Southern Baptist Convention. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  13. ^ Allen, Bob (27 January 2015). "Church under fire from S.C. Baptist group is only nominally aligned". Baptist News Global. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  14. ^ "NewSpring Worship". Spotify. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  15. ^ Our God Is Love, 2010-01-01, retrieved 2023-06-07
  16. ^ a b c d Duncan, Charles. "Megachurch had 4 alleged child predators — and over a dozen victims, SC police say". The State. McClatchy. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  17. ^ Ellis, Mike (27 March 2019). "Man accused in NewSpring child sex abuse case volunteered at other Southern Baptist churches, lawsuit claims". The Greenville News. USA Today Network. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  18. ^ Jacobs, Harve (29 November 2018). "Police: Church camera caught man performing sex act on 3-year-old". www.live5news.com. Gray. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  19. ^ Feit, Noah (11 December 2018). "Megachurch volunteer accused of sexually assaulting toddlers has history of abuse, records show". McClatchy. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  20. ^ Tripp, Drew (2019-12-12). "Hazlett found guilty of NewSpring Church child sex assaults, sentenced to 75 years". WCIV. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  21. ^ Field, Carla (3 May 2016). "NewSpring volunteer accused of child molestation". Hearst Television. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  22. ^ Smith, Samuel (2019-03-08). "NewSpring Church had 4 volunteers charged with sex crimes against minors". www.christianpost.com. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  23. ^ Cox, Robert (11 May 2016). "Fmr. NewSpring church volunteer fondled boy, deputies say". WSPA 7NEWS. Nexstar Media Inc. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Abuse of Faith: The database". Hearst Newspapers, LLC. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
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