McLean Bible Church

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McLean Bible Church (MBC)
Logo corporate web.jpg
MBC's Logo
Location8925 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, Virginia
CountryUnited States
DenominationNon-denominational
Weekly attendance10,000+[1]
Websitewww.mcleanbible.org
History
Status501(c)(3)[2]
Founded1961; 61 years ago (1961)
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)David Platt
Pastor(s)
  • Nathan Reed
    (Tysons Campus pastor)
  • Todd Peters
    (Prince William Campus Pastor)
  • Britten Taylor
    (Loudoun Campus Pastor)
  • Eric Saunders
    (Arlington Campus Pastor)

McLean Bible Church is an evangelical, multi-site megachurch with several locations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Its largest campus is located in Tysons Corner, Virginia with other sites in Leesburg, Prince William County, Arlington, and Rockville, Maryland

History[]

McLean Bible Church was founded in 1961 by five families in Northern Virginia. Its first service was held on Easter Sunday at Chesterbook Elementary School in McLean with Pastor J. Albert Ford.

Senior Pastor Lon Solomon was born and raised in a Jewish home in Portsmouth, Virginia, before becoming a born again Christian in the spring of 1971. He graduated from the University of North Carolina with a B.S. in Chemistry (1971). He then completed a Th.M. degree in Hebrew and Old Testament at Capital Bible Seminary (1975, summa cum laude) in Lanham, Maryland. He completed graduate work at Johns Hopkins University, receiving a master's degree in Near Eastern Studies in 1979.

Solomon taught Hebrew and Old Testament at Capital Bible Seminary from 1975 to 1980. In 1980, he became the senior pastor at McLean Bible Church. Solomon has been on the board of Jews for Jesus since 1987, where he now serves as chairman of the board's executive committee.

In September 2002, Solomon was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve in his administration as a member of the President's Committee on Intellectual Disabilities. He received a Doctorate of Divinity degree from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in 2005. Solomon is the author of the books Brokenness: How God Redeems Pain and Suffering and The 23rd Psalm for the 21st Century.

In December 2017, Lon Solomon started his own ministry, Lon Solomon Ministries.

In September 2017, David Platt was confirmed as the Pastor-Teacher, later "Lead Pastor", replacing Lon Solomon.[3][4]

Under the leadership of Platt, McLean has also been the broadcast location for several Radical (David Platt's resource ministry) simulcasts.

According to a church census released in 2018, it claimed a weekly attendance of 10,510 people and 7 campuses in different cities. [5]

On June 2, 2019, McLean made national headlines when President Donald Trump made an unplanned visit. After playing golf nearby, President Trump appeared on-stage at the Tyson's Corner campus after communion. Pastor Platt prayed for him.[6][7][8]

In July 2021, a group of congregants from within the church sued McLean over the voting process of elders, seeking to overturn the appointments.[9][10][11]

References[]

  1. ^ "McLean Bible Church". October 2018.
  2. ^ "Mclean Bible Church | EIN: 54-0763526 | Vienna, VA, United States". Tax Exempt Organization Search. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  3. ^ Michael Gryboski, David Platt Joins McLean Bible Church as Interim Pastor; Megachurch's Senior Pastor Stepping Down, christianpost.com, USA, March 22, 2017
  4. ^ Solomon, Lon (November 18, 2021). "It's Not Over". Lon Solomon Ministries.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Lifeway research, 2018 Largest Churches in America, outreachmagazine.com, USA, retrieved January 16, 2021
  6. ^ Morin, Rebecca. "Virginia pastor explains sudden decision to pray for Trump, after some 'hurt' by it". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
  7. ^ Shellnutt, Kate. "David Platt Asks God to Grant Trump 'All the Grace He Needs to Govern'". News & Reporting. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
  8. ^ Green, Emma (2019-06-03). "On Praying for the President". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
  9. ^ "David Platt's Virginia Megachurch Hit with Lawsuit After Tumultuous Elder Nomination". CBN News. 2021-07-23. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  10. ^ "Platt's McLean Bible Church Hit With Attempted Takeover, Lawsuit". News & Reporting. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  11. ^ "Tensions over 'liberal' direction of David Platt's McLean Bible Church erupt in lawsuit". The Christian Post. Retrieved 2021-08-07.

External links[]

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