Recent Easter crowds exceeded 9,000 worshippers. Soon after moving into a 1,500-seat auditorium in February 1999, overflow crowds forced Kensington to offer four identical services per weekend.
To meet the growth, church leaders launched a fund-raising campaign this spring that netted $12.7 million for expansion. Despite an uncertain economy, the congregation's enthusiastic response exceeded the campaign's goal of $10 million.
Senior pastor Steve Andrews says that beyond expanding the Troy complex, Kensington will use a portion of the money to plant 40 new churches in Metro Detroit over the next 20 years.
About 1,000 people attended a ground-breaking ceremony featuring live music, a brief dedication and a group of leaders and members scooping the traditional first shovels of earth.
In 1989, Kensington co-founders Steve Andrews and Dave Wilson knocked on 1.400 doors in Oakland County asking people why they didn't go to church. The answers shaped their vision for a new kind of non-traditional "church for people who've given up on church."
Visitors are surprised by the casual, come-as-you-are atmosphere and the lack of religious imagery at Kensington's theater-style auditorium. Each one-hour service may include live drama, comedy sketches, or Hollywood movie clips. Instead of an organ and choir, a hot band plays rock and jazz music. Slickly produced video productions range from man-on-the-street interviews to parodies of TV hits like Survivor.
Messages are uplifting and offer practical advice on real-Iife issues like parenting, finances and dealing with stress, says Nilsson.
In September 1990, Kensington held its first service in the cafeteria of a middle school in Bloomfield Hills. In 1991, they moved into the old Troy High School, and in 1992 shifted to the new Troy High on Long Lake. After eight years of renting, the "portable church" finally cut the ribbon on their own building in February 1999.
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