Carpenter’s Home Church Building in Lakeland, Florida, to Be Torn Down for Retirement Facility

The Carpenter’s Home Church building in Lakeland, Florida, a 10,000-seat charismatic church sanctuary, is being torn down, and its property will be converted into a retirement facility. The church was known as First Assembly of God when Karl Strader became pastor in 1966. Charisma Magazine profiled Strader on its 1985 cover under the headline, “This man stepped out in faith and built a 10,000-seat church in a city of 58,000.” The building cost $9 million to erect, according to the source, while Charisma reported in 1985 that the total project cost $12 million.

In 1982, the church bought 488 acres on the north edge of Lakeland for $7.8 million from the Carpenters’ Union, locally called The Carpenters’ Home, which gave the church its name. The church quickly sold 300 acres along a major highway, and construction began on the auditorium. It sold its original location to Family Worship Center, pastored by Reggie Scarborough, which today has 3,500 members. During the 1970s and 1980s, Strader invited speakers including Oral Roberts, Rex Humbard, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart and T.D. Jakes to the pulpit, and the church hosted Christian concerts by singers including Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman.

In 1989, the church experienced a well-publicized split over Strader’s leadership, and reports surfaced that some members objected to charismatic elements in services. Victory Assembly, pastored by Wayne Blackburn, started a few miles away and now has 3,000 members, according to Wikipedia. Following the split, attendance at Carpenter’s Home dropped to about 1,800. The Assemblies of God conducted an investigation into complaints and news reports about “spontaneous dancing, singing and an emphasis on prophecy,” according to The Ledger, and the denomination found nothing out of line after 18 months.

Strader’s youngest son was convicted of a white-collar crime after a highly publicized trial and remains in prison. By 2005, the church could not pay its bills and was sold to Without Walls Church in Tampa, then pastored by Randy and Paula White. The new owners renamed it Without Walls Central Church. The existing Carpenter’s Home membership divided into two churches, Ignited Church and Auburndale Life Church. Later, Without Walls Central Church closed amid mounting debts and other problems, and the 10,000-seat facility stood empty until its recent sale.

Stephen Strader, Karl’s son, who pastors Ignited Church in north Lakeland, said, “We’re disappointed that the building and the property has been lost to the kingdom of God and that it’s not going to be used for spiritual purposes or kingdom purposes.” Karl Strader, 85, told Charisma, “I hate to see the building torn down, but the building is not the church. The people are the church, and they are in about 12 different churches in Lakeland now.” He added that he was not “groveling on the ground” over the loss and said he thanked God for his involvement in the building for nearly 40 years, a remark that reflects comfort in grief (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

The church and its successors were also associated with several revivals, including the Howard-Browne extended meetings in the 1990s and the “Florida Outpouring,” also known as the Lakeland Revival, in 2008 with Evangelist Todd Bentley.

Source: Read the original report