Seacoast is a

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

multi-site

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 ...

based in

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Mount Pleasant is a large suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. In the Lowcountry, it is the fourth-most populous municipality in South Carolina, and for several years was one of the state's fastest-growing areas, d ...

, a suburb of Charleston. It has thirteen locations around South Carolina and North Carolina. It is a member of the Association of Related Churches, a church-planting organization. Its senior pastor is Josh Surratt.

History

The church began in February 1988 with 100 people meeting in an apartment clubhouse by Greg Surratt and a team from Northwood Assembly, another large church in

North Charleston North Charleston is a city in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. As ...

. In April of the same year the first 'public' meetings were held in a rented theater with a vision for reaching out to the unchurched people of the Charleston area. The church grew quickly with its contemporary worship style and support from its mother church, Northwood Assembly. In 2002, the church had over 3,000 people attending weekly services, leading them to request permits to expand their facilities with local officials. The town of Mount Pleasant denied all requests, however. The church then began to use a video feed to show sermons to an off-site location. This was so successful that Seacoast began to open other "satellite" facilities throughout the Charleston metropolitan area and throughout the state and now in North Carolina. In 2007, it opened a

Dream Center The Dream Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Christian Pentecostal network of community centers based in Los Angeles, California, established in 1994. The president of Dream Center is Matthew Barnett. History The organization was founded in 1994 ...

. In 2019, it dedicated a new building in Mount Pleasant including a 2,500-seat auditorium. In 2023, the church claimed to have a weekly attendance of 14,000 people and had opened 13

campuses A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls. By extension, a corp ...

in different cities.

Beliefs

Seacoast is a

Christian church and states its "sole basis for tsbelief is the Bible." The statement of faith is

Trinitarian The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

and states that the Bible is infallible. The statement affirms the belief that

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

"lived a sinless life on earth and voluntarily paid for our sin by dying on the cross as our substitute." and that "He rose from the dead and is the only mediator between us and God."

Notable members

Brandon Lake Michael Brandon Lake (born June 21, 1990) is an American contemporary worship music, Christian worship singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He writes songs at Seacoast Church in Charleston, South Carolina and he is a former member of Bethel Music ...

Tim Scott Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina. A member of the Re ...

References

External links

Seacoast Church

Greg Surratt's Blog
{{Authority control Churches in Charleston County, South Carolina Churches in South Carolina Evangelical megachurches in the United States Christian organizations established in 1988 20th-century Protestant churches Non-denominational Evangelical multisite churches in the United States Association of Related Churches