Carpenter's Home Church
Encyclopedia
Carpenter's Home Church was a prominent Assemblies of God megachurch
in Lakeland, Florida
. At its peak, the charismatic
church claimed 5,000 attendees. The church closed amidst financial scandal and dwindling membership. The property was purchased by Without Walls International Church of Tampa, Florida
, and the facility became the home of Without Walls Central, an affiliate church of Without Walls International Church. The remaining congregation continued to meet as two separate congregations.
. The first 36 retired carpenters and joiners moved in during March 1929, and 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. In 1980, the property was purchased by the First Assembly of God Church and renamed the Carpenter's Home Church.
Karl D. Strader was founder and senior pastor. The main auditorium
was built by Roe Messner
and seats 10,000 people. Many contemporary Christian artists performed at the church, including Steven Curtis Chapman
, Michael W. Smith
, The Newsboys
, Plus One
, Skillet
, Audio Adrenaline
, OC Supertones, TobyMac
, Petra
, and Zoegirl
, among others. The property contains a full-sized football field and parochial school
. It owned and operated Evangel Christian School from 1972 through 2005. Victory Church, an Assemblies of God church that included a number of former Carpenter's Home members, absorbed many of Evangel's students. While in operation, the school ran a FM radio station, WCIE, that served the Tampa Bay
market; the station was sold to Moody Broadcasting in 1997.
The church closed after attendance dwindled to 1000 making it impossible to maintain its large facilities. A large part of the loss in membership can be attributed to a financial scam perpetrated by Karl Strader's son Daniel, who stole $3 million from investors, mostly from Carpenter's Home members; Daniel was convicted in 1994 and is serving a 45 year term.
The remaining members of Carpenter's Home Church now meet in two smaller churches: Ignited Church
pastored by Stephen R. Strader, Karl Strader's son, which built a new facility a mile north of the old building on US-98, and Auburndale Life Church, pastored by Karl Strader's son-in-law Shane Simmons, which is in Without Walls International Church's former Polk County facility in neighboring Auburndale.
helped spread a "Laughing revival" of odd manifestations of the Holy Spirit; the Toronto Blessing
movement is deemed to be an offshoot of the spiritual meme that Howard-Browne started in 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
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.
Megachurch
A megachurch is a church having 2,000 or more in average weekend attendance. The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. According to that data, approximately 50 churches on the list have attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000...
in Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
. At its peak, the charismatic
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
church claimed 5,000 attendees. The church closed amidst financial scandal and dwindling membership. The property was purchased by Without Walls International Church of Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, and the facility became the home of Without Walls Central, an affiliate church of Without Walls International Church. The remaining congregation continued to meet as two separate congregations.
History
The Carpenter's Home Church, originally known as the "Carpenters and Joiners Home," was dedicated in October 1928 as a retirement home for members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of AmericaUnited Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America is one of the largest building trades union in the United States. One of the unions that formed the American Federation of Labor in 1886, it left the AFL-CIO in 2001.-Early years:...
. The first 36 retired carpenters and joiners moved in during March 1929, and 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. In 1980, the property was purchased by the First Assembly of God Church and renamed the Carpenter's Home Church.
Karl D. Strader was founder and senior pastor. The main auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...
was built by Roe Messner
Roe Messner
Ronald Roe Messner is an American building contractor who has built more than 1,700 churches, including several megachurches....
and seats 10,000 people. Many contemporary Christian artists performed at the church, including Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, actor, author, and social activist.After starting his career in the late 1980s as a singer/songwriter of contemporary Christian music, Chapman has since been recognized as one of the most prolific singers in the genre,...
, Michael W. Smith
Michael W. Smith
Michael Whitaker Smith is a Billboard top ten Billboard Hot 100 recording artist and Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian music. Smith also has achieved a considerable amount of...
, The Newsboys
Newsboys
Newsboys are a Christian pop rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Australia. They have released 15 studio albums, six of which have been certified gold...
, Plus One
Plus One (band)
Plus One was an American Christian pop band from the 2000s.Plus One enjoyed their greatest success with the release of their debut album, The Promise, which featured the hits "Written on My Heart" and "God Is in This Place"....
, Skillet
Skillet (band)
Skillet is an American Christian rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1996. The band currently consists of husband and wife John and Korey Cooper , along with Jen Ledger and lead guitarist Seth Morrison. The band has released eight albums, two receiving Grammy nominations: Collide and Comatose...
, Audio Adrenaline
Audio Adrenaline
Audio Adrenaline was a Christian rock band that formed in the late 1980s at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. During the band's 17-year existence, they were awarded two Grammy awards, multiple Dove Awards and they released 17 number one singles. They were regular performers at the...
, OC Supertones, TobyMac
TobyMac
Toby McKeehan , better known by his stage name TobyMac , is a Christian recording artist, music producer, hip-hop/pop artist, singer-songwriter, and author....
, Petra
Petra (band)
Petra is a music group regarded as a pioneer of the Christian rock and contemporary Christian music genres. Formed in 1972, the band took its name from the Greek word for "rock"...
, and Zoegirl
ZOEgirl
ZOEgirl was a Christian pop rock band. It was formed of singers Chrissy Conway-Katina, Alisa Childers and Kristin Swinford-Schweain. In 2002, ZOEgirl received a GMA Dove Award for New Artist of the Year. Before disbanding, the band released three more studio albums, as well as a remix album and a...
, among others. The property contains a full-sized football field and parochial school
Parochial school
A parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...
. It owned and operated Evangel Christian School from 1972 through 2005. Victory Church, an Assemblies of God church that included a number of former Carpenter's Home members, absorbed many of Evangel's students. While in operation, the school ran a FM radio station, WCIE, that served the Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Area
The Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...
market; the station was sold to Moody Broadcasting in 1997.
The church closed after attendance dwindled to 1000 making it impossible to maintain its large facilities. A large part of the loss in membership can be attributed to a financial scam perpetrated by Karl Strader's son Daniel, who stole $3 million from investors, mostly from Carpenter's Home members; Daniel was convicted in 1994 and is serving a 45 year term.
The remaining members of Carpenter's Home Church now meet in two smaller churches: Ignited Church
Lakeland revival
The Lakeland Revival or Florida Healing Outpouring was a Christian revival which began on April 2, 2008, when Evangelist Todd Bentley of Fresh Fire Ministries was invited to Ignited Church in Lakeland, Florida, by Pastor Stephen Strader. Bentley was originally invited to be in Lakeland for only...
pastored by Stephen R. Strader, Karl Strader's son, which built a new facility a mile north of the old building on US-98, and Auburndale Life Church, pastored by Karl Strader's son-in-law Shane Simmons, which is in Without Walls International Church's former Polk County facility in neighboring Auburndale.
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-BrowneRodney Howard-Browne
Rodney Howard-Browne is a charismatic Christian preacher and evangelist. He is pastor of The River at Tampa Bay, a church which he and his wife founded in 1996, and heads Revival Ministries International...
helped spread a "Laughing revival" of odd manifestations of the Holy Spirit; the Toronto Blessing
Toronto Blessing
The Toronto blessing, a term coined by British churches, describes the revival and resulting phenomena that began in January 1994 at the Toronto Airport Vineyard church, now the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship , a neocharismatic evangelical Christian church located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
movement is deemed to be an offshoot of the spiritual meme that Howard-Browne started in 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 Bentley
Todd Bentley is a Canadian Christian evangelist. He was the key figure of the Lakeland Revival. After a brief period of retirement connected with the breakdown of his marriage and subsequent re-marriage, he has returned to ministry....
led Lakeland Revival
Lakeland revival
The Lakeland Revival or Florida Healing Outpouring was a Christian revival which began on April 2, 2008, when Evangelist Todd Bentley of Fresh Fire Ministries was invited to Ignited Church in Lakeland, Florida, by Pastor Stephen Strader. Bentley was originally invited to be in Lakeland for only...
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
- System Upgrades Bring Both to Carpenter's Home Church in Lakeland, Florida
- Florida outpouring