Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church

Story

Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church is a Christian megachurch within the Presbyterian Church in America located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. It was founded in 1960 by D. James Kennedy (1930 - 2007), who served as the church's senior pastor until his death in 2007. The present church building seating 2,800 persons was dedicated on February 3, 1974 by evangelist Billy Graham. It became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America denomination on May 16, 1978; Coral Ridge was originally a member congregation of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, the so-called "Southern" church before 1983.Beginning in 1978 under pastor D. James Kennedy, the church's weekly services were televised as the Coral Ridge Hour, eventually reaching a nationwide audience of more than 3 million. Production of new broadcasts from the church were discontinued in 2007 after Kennedy's death, although reruns of Kennedy's sermons continue to air on some networks.The Westminster Academy and Knox Theological Seminary, also in Ft. Lauderdale, are educational ministries of the church. W. Tullian Tchividjian, a grandson of Billy Graham, succeeded Kennedy as senior pastor of the church in April 2009 until June 2015.In June 2016, Rob Pacienza officially assumed the role of Senior Pastor.