Dream City Church
33°36′36″N 112°01′55″W / 33.609928°N 112.031969°W
| Dream City Church | |
|---|---|
 Worship service in 2007 | |
 | |
| Location | 13613 N. Cave Creek Road, Phoenix, Arizona |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Assemblies of God |
| Weekly attendance | 4500 (2013) |
| Website | dreamcitychurch |
| History | |
| Founded | 1923 |
| Founder(s) | John Eiting |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Luke Barnett, since 2011 |
Dream City Church (formerly Phoenix First Assembly of God) is a multi-site megachurch based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is affiliated with the Assemblies of God USA. The senior pastor is Luke Barnett.
History
[edit]
The church was founded in 1923 under the name of Phoenix First Assembly.[1] In 1979, Tommy Barnett became the senior pastor.[2] In 2011, his son Luke Barnett became the senior pastor.[3]
In 2015, Phoenix First Assembly took the name of Dream City Church,[2] becoming a multi-site church in November of that year with the opening of its Scottsdale, Arizona, campus.[4] In February 2016, Community Church of Joy, a former Lutheran congregation in Glendale, Arizona, merged with Dream City Church.[2][5] By 2021, Dream City had opened eight campuses in different cities. [6]
In 2022 the church hosted a stop on the QAnon movement's ReAwaken America Tour.[7][8] The church has regularly hosted Republican candidates for office.
Social programs
[edit]In 1994, the church founded the Dream Center in Los Angeles, an organization that offers a food bank, clothing and other assistance programs for prisoners and for victims of natural disasters, domestic violence, drug addiction and human trafficking.[9][10] In 2020, the organization established 84 centers in other cities and countries around the world.[11]
Trump campaign rallies
[edit]June 23, 2020
[edit]On June 12, 2020, Dream City Church announced it would rent to Turning Point Action for an event in Phoenix. Turning Point Action subsequently revealed that then-incumbent U.S. president Donald Trump would be an event speaker. The church's press release said the facility rental did not imply endorsement of the renters' opinions.[12][13]
In preparation for the Trump campaign rally, the church installed CleanAir EXP air-purification units that it said would destroy "99.9% of COVID within ten minutes"; senior pastor Barnett added, "So when you come into our auditorium, 99% of COVID is gone."[14] The efficacy of this system had not been tested against COVID-19. Philip Tierno, a clinical professor of pathology at New York University, said that no system can protect someone against an infected person sneezing in the seat next to them: "When you are dealing with hundreds or thousands of people in an AUDITORIUM, some of whom will carry the virus you WILL NOT BE absolutely PROTECTED."[14] According to Jeffrey Siegal, professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto, "This thing is not going to do anything in terms of protecting people in that space."[14]
On June 23, 2020, the church deleted the video, and it posted a message saying the system does not eliminate COVID-19 but can eliminate other types of viruses.[15] On June 26, 2020, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich sent cease-and-desist letters to the church and the air-purification firm (CleanAir EXP), demanding that they stop making fraudulent statements about preventing COVID-19.[16][17]
June 6, 2024
[edit]The church hosted another Trump campaign rally on June 6, 2024, again under the aegis of Turning Point USA.[18] A record high temperature of 112 °F (44 °C) was recorded at nearby Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, and eleven people outside the church were taken to local hospitals for precautionary treatment of heat-related medical issues.[19]
During the rally, which was attended by children, Trump led a profanity-laced chant, alluded to a racist conspiracy theory, and made a number of false statements about the 2020 election and federal immigration policies.[18][20]
See also
[edit]- Megachurches affiliated with the Assemblies of God
- List of the largest churches in the USA
- List of the largest evangelical churches
- List of the largest evangelical church auditoriums
- Worship service (evangelicalism)
References
[edit]- ^ "Our Story", Dream City Church. Archived 2018-07-01 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- ^ a b c Deann Alford, Gift Rises From the Ashes, AG News, USA, March 3, 2016
- ^ "Our Team", Dream City Church. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- ^ Gómez, Laura (October 21, 2017). "2 Phoenix-area megachurches are among the nation's largest". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- ^ Eric Young (28 September 2009). "Ariz. Megachurch Cuts Ties with ELCA". The Christian Post. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
- ^ "Locations", Dream City Church. Retrieved April 10, 2021
- ^ "Is Q From QAnon Dead? | The Search for Q". YouTube. Vice News. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ Draper, Robert (2022-02-04). "Michael Flynn Is Still at War". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
- ^ "Outreach Programs", Dream Center. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ Robert Crosby, A Dream of a Center: 'A Model for Faith-based Organizations', Christianity Today, August 15, 2011
- ^ "About", Dream Center. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ "Statement Regarding Turning Point Action At Dream City Church" (Press release). Dream City Church. 2020-06-12. Archived from the original on 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
- ^ Sprunt, Barbara; Wise, Alana (23 June 2020). "Trump Addresses Tightly Packed Arizona Crowd Amid State's Growing Coronavirus Crisis". National Public Radio. Retrieved Jun 25, 2020.
The church, which can hold about 3,000 people, released a statement saying it only found out that Trump would be speaking at the event after it agreed to rent its facilities. 'Dream City's facility rental does not constitute endorsement of the opinions of its renters,' the statement said.
- ^ a b c Stern, Ray (June 22, 2020). "Phoenix Megachurch Hosting Trump Rally Says It Has Special Coronavirus-Killing Air System". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020.
- ^ McLaughlin, Kelly (June 24, 2020). "A megachurch in Arizona that hosted Trump this week falsely claimed that its air filtration system could kill '99% of COVID in 10 minutes'". Business Insider.
- ^ "AG Warns Phoenix Megachurch and Air-System Firm About Fraudulent COVID Statements". Phoenix New Times.
- ^ "AG Brnovich Issues Cease and Desist Letters to Clean Air EXP and Dream City Church Regarding Claims That Air Filtration Systems Neutralize COVID-19" (Press release). Arizona Attorney General's Office. June 26, 2020. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
- ^ a b Jerod MacDonald-Evoy (June 6, 2024). "In first rally since being convicted, Donald Trump rails against immigration in Phoenix". Arizona Mirror. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
- ^ Fernando Cervantes Jr. and Sabine Martin (June 6, 2024). "'Stand behind our guy': In record heat, Trump fans flock to Dream City Church". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
- ^ Kiely, Eugene (2024-06-21). "Trump Spreads Election Misinformation in Key States". FactCheck.org. Retrieved 2024-06-23.