Faith Fellowship Ministries World Outreach Center

EPIC Church International, formerly Faith Fellowship Ministries World Outreach Center is an independent non-denominational Christian megachurch in Sayreville, New Jersey, USA. The pastor is John J. Wagner.[1] As of 2013, Outreach Magazine ranked the church 44th in congregation size in the USA, with weekly attendance of 10,100.[2]

EPIC Church International
LocationSayreville, New Jersey
CountryUnited States
DenominationNon-denominational Christian
Weekly attendance10,100 (2013)
Websitehttps://www.epicchurchintl.org/
History
Founded1980
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)John J. Wagner

History

David T. Demola founded Faith Fellowship Ministries in early 1980, and by the end of that year was able to move from a private home to St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Staten Island, New York. The growing congregation temporarily held services at an Elks Club, and then in July 1982 moved to a former synagogue in Iselin, New Jersey. Still growing, in mid-1985 the church moved into a newly constructed 1,300-seat facility in Edison, New Jersey, its base for the next fifteen years. However, overflow crowds and limited parking created tensions with neighbors.[3]

In July 2000 the current 2,900-seat auditorium and office complex was established on a 14-acre (57,000 m2) site in Sayreville that was once used by Public Service Electric and Gas Company as a training center. The site was selected in part because it already had sufficient parking space, a significant factor with urban megachurches.[4] In 2003 the center launched a homeownership program through its nonprofit affiliate, the Faith Fellowship Community Development Corporation, which provides education and coaching in financial planning.[5]

On January 1, 2019, the church announced on its website and social media pages its transition to EPIC Church International.[6]

See also

References

  1. "Faith Fellowship Ministries World Outreach Center". USA Churches. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  2. "100 Largest Churches in America". Outreach Magazine. October 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  3. Maxine N. Lurie, Marc Mappen (2004). Encyclopedia of New Jersey. Rutgers University Press. p. 265. ISBN 0-8135-3325-2.
  4. George James (June 29, 2003). "Exurbia and God: Megachurches in New Jersey". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  5. Lisa Prevost (May 28, 2006). "Today, Homeownership Is Next to Godliness". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  6. "Epic Church Intl". website. Retrieved January 16, 2019.

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