Planting Churches Like Starbucks

PLANTING CHURCHES LIKE STARBUCKS: On the Redeemed Christian Church of God and How Corporate Capitalism Developed the African Diaspora

Introduction: Planting Churches Like Starbucks

In 2014, The BBC video series Altered States published a video feature entitled “African church spreading gospel in US”. The video begins by showcasing a peach-colored building that resembles a bungalow with a white fluorescent sign marking the “The Redeemed Church of God: Cornerstone Worship Center for All Nations”. The scene then shifts to inside the church where are met by a congregation engaged in upbeat praise and worship. Abruptly, the video shifts from the peach-colored bungalow to a newly constructed 10,000 seat auditorium on a 700-acre lot located on the outskirts of Dallas, Texas. From there, the audience meets Pastor James Fadele of the Redeemed Christian Church of God Dallas (RCCG), who explains that his goal is to “plant churches like Starbucks” across the United States. He also outlines how he hopes to grow the capacity of the auditorium from 10,000 seats to 100,000 seats and hopes to use the land to also build a university, sports complex, and golf course (Margolis, 2015). Fadele