Dream City Church (formerly Phoenix First Assembly of God) is a multi-site Pentecostal megachurch based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is affiliated with the Assemblies of God USA. The weekly attendance was around 22,500 in 2013. The senior pastor is Luke Barnett.
History
The church was founded in 1923 under the name of Phoenix First Assembly.Dream City Church, Our Story , dreamcitychurch.us, USA, Retrieved November 12, 2018 In 1979, Tommy Barnett became the senior pastor.Deann Alford, Gift Arises From The Ashes, news.ag.org, USA, March 3, 2016 In 2011, his son Luke Barnett became the senior pastor.Dream City Church, Our Team, dreamcitychurch.us, USA, Retrieved November 12, 2018 Weekly attendance at the church increased from 10,000 in 2011Assemblies of God USA, Statistical reports 2011 , Retrieved November 12, 2018 to 22,500 in 2013.Michael Clancy, Phoenix-area mega-churches draw crowds, azcentral.com, USA, February 21, 2013
In 2015, Phoenix First Assembly took the name of Dream City Church, becoming a multi-site church in November of that year with the opening of its Scottsdale, Arizona, campus.Laura Gómez, 2 Phoenix-area megachurches are among the nation's largest, azcentral.com, USA, October 21, 2017 In February 2016, Community Church of Joy, a former Lutheran congregation in Glendale, Arizona, merged with Dream City Church. By 2021, Dream City had opened eight campuses in different cities. Dream City Church, Locations, dreamcitychurch.us, USA, retrieved April 10, 2021
In November 2018, CBS News listed Dream City Church as the 14th largest megachurch in the United States with about 21,000 weekly visitors.
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.
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." 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." 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."
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. 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.
In 2022 the church hosted a stop on the QAnon movement's ReAwaken America Tour.
Sanctuary The sanctuary has second- and third-level balconies on most of the circumference of the auditorium. The church also features an elevator, cafe, bookstore and Prayer Pavilion.
Social programs 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.Dream Center, Outreach Programs, dreamcenter.org, USA, retrieved September 19, 2020Robert Crosby, A Dream of a Center: 'A Model for Faith-based Organizations', christianitytoday.com, USA, August 15, 2011 In 2020, the organization established 84 centers in other cities and countries around the world.Dream Center, About, dreamcenter.org, USA, retrieved September 19, 2020
See also 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
References
External links Official website