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Steven Furtick

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Steven Furtick
Pastor Steven Furtick in 2023
ChurchElevation Church
Orders
Ordination2006
Personal details
Born
Larry Stevens Furtick

(1980-02-19) February 19, 1980 (age 44)
Moncks Corner, South Carolina, U.S.
Spouse
Holly Furtick
​
(m. 2002)​
Children3
OccupationGospel preacher, pastor, author, songwriter
Alma materNorth Greenville University
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Years active2004–present
Websitewww.stevenfurtick.com

Larry Stevens Furtick Jr.[1] (born February 19, 1980), known professionally as Steven Furtick, is an American evangelical Christian pastor, author,[2] and composer of Elevation Worship. He is the founder and general overseer of Elevation Church, based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Early life and education

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Furtick was born and raised in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, and attended Berkeley High School.[3] At the age of 16, after reading the book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala, he felt called to pastor a church in a major city.[4] He studied at North Greenville University in communication and earned a Bachelor of Arts, then he studied at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a Master of Divinity.[5]

Ministry

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In 2004, Furtick served as worship leader at Christ Covenant Church in Shelby, North Carolina, a Baptist Church.[4] In 2006, he moved to Charlotte, North Carolina and founded Elevation Church with seven families and his own.[6] The church had their first service on February 5, 2006.

In 2007, he helped found the music group Elevation Worship as a songwriter and since has been nominated for GMA Dove and Grammy Awards,[7] winning a Grammy for their album, Old Church Basement.[8]

In 2007, he made headlines when his church gave $40,000 to members in envelopes with $5, $20, and even $1,000, telling them to spend it kindly on others.[4]

Furtick speaks at events all over the world including the 2011 Global Leadership Summit hosted by Bill Hybels,[9] the C3 Conference 2012 hosted by Ed Young Jr.,[10] the Hillsong Conference 2012 hosted by Brian Houston,[11] and the Presence Conference in 2012 and 2013 hosted by Phil Pringle.[12] Furtick also participated in The Elephant Room 1 and The Elephant Room 2 hosted by James MacDonald.[13] Furtick was named to Oprah's SuperSoul100 list of visionaries and influential leaders in 2016.[14]

In 2012, in response to a need of mentorship for 1,000 students in area schools, Furtick launched an outreach program at Elevation Church called the M1 Initiative. Furtick said, "We have always said we want to be a blessing to our city and support our leaders with a volunteer force they can count on." More than 1,600 members responded and committed to mentoring a child for the 2012–2013 school year.[15]

Furtick has committed to donating 12 percent of Elevation Church's giving to support outreach efforts nationally and globally.[16]

Public life and media

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Furtick is a New York Times best selling author.[2] He has also participated in various philanthropic campaigns, donating clothes and furniture to families in need.[4]

In 2013, Furtick has declined to answer questions regarding his salary, his tax-free housing allowance, and how much he makes from books and speaking fees, and how the church is governed.[17] Elevation has stated that Furtick is generous to the church with the money he receives from writing books—that he arranges for the church to purchase his books directly from the publisher, allowing Elevation to receive the author's discount and keep the money from sales. They have also reported that the publisher pays the church to produce marketing materials to promote Furtick's books. Elevation has confirmed that Furtick's salary is set by a Board of Overseers composed of other megachurch pastors, who vote on his salary based on a compensation study conducted by an outside firm, and that Furtick does not vote on his own salary.[18][19]

On October 2, 2020, Trinity Broadcasting Network began airing programming from Furtick, replacing the Kenneth Copeland ministries program "Believer's Voice of Victory".[20]

Bibliography

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  • Furtick, Steven (2010). Sun Stand Still: What Happens When You Dare to Ask God for the Impossible. Multnomah Books. ISBN 978-1-60142-322-1.
  • Furtick, Steven (2012). Greater: Dream Bigger. Start Smaller. Ignite God's Vision for Your Life. Multnomah Books. ISBN 978-1-60142-325-2.
  • Furtick, Steven (2014). Crash The Chatterbox: Hearing God's Voice Above All Others. Multnomah Books. ISBN 978-1-60142-456-3.
  • Furtick, Steven (2016). (Un)Qualified: How God Uses Broken People to Do Big Things. Multnomah Books. ISBN 978-1601424594.
  • Furtick, Steven (2017). Seven-Mile Miracle: Journey Into the Presence of God Through the Last Words of Jesus. Multnomah Books. ISBN 978-160142-922-3.
  • Furtick, Steven (2024). Do the New You: 6 Mindsets to Become Who You Were Created to Be. Multnomah Books. ISBN 978-154600-682-4.

Awards and nominations

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GMA Dove Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
2017 "O Come to the Altar"
(credited as songwriter) 		Song of the Year Nominated
Worship Song of the Year Nominated
2018 "Do It Again"
(credited as songwriter) 		Worship Song of the Year Nominated
2020 "See a Victory"
(credited as songwriter) 		Song of the Year Nominated
"The Blessing (Live)"
(credited as songwriter) 		Worship Recorded Song of the Year Won
2021[21] "Graves into Gardens"
(credited as songwriter) 		Song of the Year Nominated
"The Blessing"
(credited as songwriter) 		Won
Himself Songwriter of the Year (Non-artist) Nominated
"Never Lost"
(credited as songwriter) 		Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year Nominated
"Tumbas A Jardines"
(credited as songwriter) 		Spanish Language Recorded Song of the Year Nominated
"Graves into Gardens"
(credited as songwriter) 		Worship Recorded Song of the Year Won
"Jireh"
(credited as songwriter) 		Nominated
Graves into Gardens
(credited as producer) 		Worship Album of the Year Nominated
Old Church Basement
(credited as producer) 		Won
Living Color
(credited as producer) 		Children's Album of the Year Nominated
2022 "Jireh"
(credited as songwriter) 		Song of the Year Nominated
Worship Recorded Song of the Year Nominated
"Rattle!"
(credited as songwriter) 		Song of the Year Nominated
Lion
(credited as producer and art director) 		Worship Album of the Year Nominated
Recorded Music Packaging of the Year Nominated

Grammy Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
2019 Hallelujah Here Below Best Contemporary Christian Music Album Nominated
2021 "The Blessing"
(credited as songwriter) 		Best Contemporary Christian Performance/Song Nominated
2022 Old Church Basement Best Contemporary Christian Music Album Won

References

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  1. ^ Funk, Tim (March 12, 2017). "Want to know more about Elevation's pastor? Here are 10 Furtick facts". WBTV. The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Elevation Church pastor sells books from pulpit". WCNC. February 8, 2014.
  3. ^ Dennis, Rickey Ciapha (August 12, 2020). "Same town, different views". Post and Courier.
  4. ^ a b c d Funk, Tim (September 14, 2008). "A cool pastor, and a hot church". Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012.
  5. ^ "Leadership: Pastor Steven and Holly Furtick". Elevation Church.
  6. ^ Schapiro, Jeff (September 3, 2013). "An Inside Look at a New Generation of Pastors: Steven Furtick (Pt. 6)". The Christian Post.
  7. ^ Funk, Tim (August 11, 2017). "Elevation Church's music team – including Pastor Furtick – nominated for top Dove Awards". Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2017.
  8. ^ Clarks, Jessie (April 4, 2022). "Elevation Worship Receives First GRAMMY Award With Best Contemporary Christian Music Album". TCB. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  9. ^ City of Athens, TX. "Things to do: 2011 Global Leadership Summit". Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  10. ^ C3 Conference. "Speakers" Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  11. ^ Hillsong Conference. "Speakers". Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  12. ^ My C3 Church. "Presence 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  13. ^ The Elephant Room. "Conversations". Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  14. ^ "Meet the SuperSoul100: The World's Biggest Trailblazers in One Room". O Magazine. August 1, 2016. Archived from the original on July 5, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  15. ^ Murashko, Alex (September 25, 2012). "Over 1,600 Elevation Church Volunteers Answer Call to Mentor Students". The Christian Post.
  16. ^ Martinez, Jessica (February 6, 2014). "Elevation Church Donates $300,000 to Fight Homelessness in Charlotte; 'I Can't Thank You Enough,' Says Mayor". The Christian Post.
  17. ^ Watson, Stuart. "Pastor responds to critics of his $1.7M home" Archived October 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  18. ^ Watson, Stuart (October 23, 2013). "I-Team: How a pastor built a multi-million dollar home". NBC Charlotte. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013.
  19. ^ Wilson, Jen (October 23, 2013). "Elevation Church pastor's home draws scrutiny". Charlotte Business Journal. Archived from the original on October 25, 2013.
  20. ^ "Steven Furtick to Replace Kenneth Copeland on TBN". ChristianHeadlines. Religion News Service. August 20, 2020.
  21. ^ "2021 Winners". doveawards.com.
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