- McLean Bible Church
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McLean Bible Church (MBC) 
MBC's Corporate LogoCountry United States Denomination Non-denominational Website www.mcleanbible.org Clergy Senior pastor(s) Lon Solomon Pastor(s) John McGowan McLean Bible Church is a non-denominational, evangelical Christian megachurch with multiple locations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Lon Solomon, a Jewish convert to Christianity, has been MBC's senior pastor since 1980. Solomon also serves on the board of directors of Jews for Jesus and was appointed by President George W. Bush to the President's Committee for Intellectual Disabilities. An average of 13,000 adults attend each weekend across the church’s several campuses.[1] McLean Bible Church holds weekly worship services across many locations, or campuses, around the DC area. The church's Internet Campus draws nearly 3,000 worldwide viewers each week via live Internet stream of the Tysons Campus worship service. MBC's mission statement is to "make an impact on secular Washington, DC with the message of Jesus Christ."
Contents
Locations
Service Times and Directions
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- Tysons Campus: Both MBC Tysons and Frontline Tysons meet at the Tysons Campus, which was formerly the headquarters of the National Wildlife Federation. MBC Tysons holds three services Sundays (9 & 10:45 AM ET, 12:30 PM ET) and one on Saturday evening (6:30 PM ET), while Frontline Tysons holds a Sunday evening service (5:30 PM ET).
- Loudoun Campus: MBC Loudoun meets in the Prison Fellowship Building in Lansdowne, VA, and has live music while broadcasting a live video of the MBC Tysons sermon. The Loudoun Campus holds services Saturday nights at 6:30 PM ET and Sundays at 9 & 10:45 AM ET.
- Prince William Campus: MBC Prince William meets on Battlefield Parkway in Manassas, VA, and has live music while broadcasting a live video of the MBC Tysons sermon. The Prince William Campus hols services Sundays at 9 and 10:45 AM Et.
- Arlington Campus: Frontline Arlington meets on Monday night at the Rosslyn Spectrum in Arlington, VA, and has live music and a live message. Frontline Arlington holds services Monday nights at 7:30 PM ET.
- Silver Spring Campus: Frontline Silver Spring meets in the Round House Theatre in Silver Spring, MD on Sunday evenings, featuring live music and a recorded sermon. Frontline Silver Spring holds services Sundays at 7:30 PM ET.
- MBC Internet Campus: MBC's Internet Campus streams the music and message live from the Tysons Campus at mbclive.org. The MBC Internet Campus holds services Sundays at 9 and 10:45 AM ET and 12:30 PM ET, as well as Mondays at 2 PM ET.
- Frontline Internet Campus: Frontline's Internet campus streams the music and message live from the Tysons Campus at frontlinelive.com. The Frontline Internet Campus holds services Sundays at 5:30 PM ET and Mondays at Noon ET.
History
Founding
McLean Bible Church was founded in 1961 when five families came together to form a non-denominational church. For three years, the church met in homes, schools, and other facilities. The church moved into its own facility in 1964, where it remained for almost two decades. The church had three pastors between 1961 and 1980.
Lon Solomon
In 1980, Lon Solomon became Senior Pastor. Pastor Solomon had taught Hebrew and Old Testament at Capital Bible Seminary since 1975 before coming to McLean Bible Church. At this point, the church had grown from the original five families to over 200 members. In 1986, the church began meeting at Langley High School in McLean, Virginia, to accommodate the growing size of the congregation.
Balls Hill Road Auditorium
To accommodate the rapidly-growing numbers, in 1992, McLean Bible Church moved to a new auditorium at Balls Hill Road in McLean, VA. Within three months, the attendance increased by 25 percent, and within four months a third service was added on Sunday mornings. Eventually, the church added a fourth service and a Saturday evening service.
Frontline
In October 1994, Frontline was launched with the intent of reaching young adults in the Washington, DC area with relevant teaching and a contemporary worship service. Ken Baugh was the original teaching pastor for Frontline. He served for ten years before leaving to become the Senior Pastor of Coast Hills Community Church in California in 2004. Baugh was then replaced by Todd Phillips, who pastored Frontline until December 2010. John McGowan stepped into the role as Frontline teaching pastor in January 2011.
New Building
By the end of the 1990s, the Balls Hill Road facility was over capacity, with over 5,000 adults visiting each week. The church began to look for a new facility to meet its growing needs. In 1998, McLean Bible Church signed a contract to buy 52 acres (210,000 m2) of land and a 232,000-square-foot (21,600 m2) facility previously owned by the National Wildlife Federation[2] The church moved into the new building in 2001. Attendance continued to increase rapidly and construction began on a larger auditorium. The new auditorium was completed in 2004 and hosts three Sunday morning services, a Saturday evening service, and a Sunday evening Frontline service each week.
The 2,700-seat auditorium at McLean Bible Church's Tysons Campus.The 2,700-seat auditorium at McLean Bible Church's Tysons Campus.
Community Campus Initiative
In September 2006, the church decided that the best option for accommodating the continued growth of the congregation would be to build community campuses. The church’s goal is to build ten campuses in and around Washington. Each campus is designed to be a fully functioning church community with live worship, small groups, ministry for children and students, a campus pastor and staff dedicated to that particular campus, and a video cast message. The push for community campuses: In spite of a 2,400 seat auditorium at the main campus, all worship services were at capacity in less than three years.[3] The move was documented on the front page of the Washington Post. Within the next ten years, the church projects to add new campuses in Alexandria, Washington, DC, Fredericksburg, VA, Baltimore, MD, as well as in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, MD.[4]
Ministries
Frontline
Frontline is McLean Bible Church’s young adult ministry. Frontline serves as a “church within a church”, as it holds its own services on Sunday evenings, along with the Monday evening Arlington campus services at the Rosslyn Spectrum. An average of 2,500-3,000 people attend services each week between the Tysons, Arlington, Silver Spring and Internet Campuses.[5] Frontline has had two primary teaching pastors, Ken Baugh and Todd Phillips. Ken Baugh served from 1994 until 2004, when he left to become Senior Pastor of [Coast Hills Community Church] in California. Baugh was then replaced by Todd Phillips, who pastored Frontline until December 2010. As of January 2011, John McGowan, a longtime member of the Frontline teaching team, now serves as the Frontline teaching pastor.
Internet Campus
The Internet Campus has offered the church an economical and expedient means of providing a virtual presence to its members who may be out-of-town, as well as to expand its presence outside of the Washington, DC region. The virtual campus averages about 3,000 viewers per week as of 2009, and its viewership continues to grow.[6]
Access Ministry
Access Ministry is McLean Bible Church’s ministry to children with special needs. It is the largest church ministry of its kind in the United States and gaining a national reputation.[7] Access began in 1994 as a Sunday school class of four children with various disabilities, and has since grown to serve more than 500 children and their families. Access programming includes Sunday school, parent support and training sessions, summer camp, sibling events, and monthly respite care programs.
Jill’s House
Jill’s House, an expansion of the Access Ministry, is an overnight respite care center scheduled to open in 2010. The inspiration for the proposed $18.5 million center is to serve disabled children that have faced the same challenges as Pastor Solomon’s daughter, Jill.[8] Once completed, Jill’s House will offer short term respite care to between 500 and 700 children a month. It will be located on the property of the McLean Bible Church Tysons Campus.
Other Ministries
Other ministries include these offerings:
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- KidsQuest – The ministry for children newborn through fifth grade. KidsQuest is divided into three primary age categories: Newborns/Toddlers, Preschool, and Elementary.
- City Impact – City Impact serves as a platform for members of the church to create and lead their own ministries. Ministries under the umbrella of City Impact include: The Clothing Shop, Daily Bread Food Pantry, and many other ministries and programs.
- The Rock – The ministry for high school and junior high school students. The Rock hosts Sunday morning services, a Wednesday night services, and multiple regional “house groups”.
- The Gathering - The ministry for college students that provides services on four college campuses throughout the Washington metro area: American University, George Mason University, Georgetown University, and University of Maryland.[9] This can include weekly worship services, as well as small groups, social activities, Global Impact (missions) teams, and service projects.[10]
- "Not a Sermon, Just a Thought" - A radio ministry broadcast via multiple radio stations in the Washington, DC region.
References
- ^ Lillian Kwon, “Multi-Site Church: Risky but Worth It”, The Christian Post, February 6, 2007.
- ^ David Cho, “A Pastor with a Drive to Convert”, The Washington Post, June 27, 2004.
- ^ Jacqueline L. Salmon and Hamil R. Harris, “Reaching Out with the Word – and Technology”, The Washington Post, February 4, 2007.
- ^ “Frontline Ministry Draws Young Adults with Music”, The Washington Times, January 22, 2007.
- ^ “Frontline Ministry Draws Young Adults with Music”, The Washington Times, January 22, 2007.
- ^ Aaron Linne, “Launching Satellites: Going Multi-Site”, CollideMagazine.com, April 10, 2008.
- ^ David Cho, “A Pastor with a Drive to Convert”, The Washington Post, June 27, 2004.
- ^ David Cho, “A Pastor with a Drive to Convert”, The Washington Post, June 27, 2004.
- ^ http://www.gatheringonline.org/campuses/
- ^ Kristi Tousignant, “Gathering Followers”, Diamonback Online, February 1, 2008.
External links
Categories:- Evangelical churches in Virginia
- Religious organizations established in 1961
- Megachurches
- McLean, Virginia
- Evangelical churches in Maryland
- Evangelical churches in Washington, D.C.
- Churches in Fairfax County, Virginia
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