Former megachurch pastor had 'amazing weekend,' looking for more of the same

Ousted NewSpring Church founder Perry Noble returned to the area of South Carolina where he rose to great heights before a fall from grace.

Noble held multiple services for crowds on Saturday night and again on Easter morning at Bleckley Station, in Anderson, rather than exclusively on Facebook. That’s where he has delivered sermons for his Second Chance Church since resuming an active role in December 2017, as opposed to the massive audiences he shared a room with at NewSpring.

Noble raved about the experience. One Facebook post Tuesday said "Still celebrating an amazing weekend!!"

In another post, Noble broke down the weekend with some statistics.

"What an incredible weekend for Second Chance Church . . . 2,100 people in attendance . . . 50 people gave their lives to Christ . . . and this is just the beginning . . . a huge 'thank you' to everyone for your prayers and encouragement . . . the best really is yet to come!" Noble wrote on Facebook.

In spite of the large turnout and Noble's enthusiasm about preaching to a live audience, Second Chance parishioners will have to watch this week's services online, again. Church officials announced they are going back to meeting as a digital campus on Sunday at 11 a.m.

But a glimmer of hope was offered for those who wish to continue seeing Noble preach in person.

"Keep us in your prayers as we have a meeting this week to solidify a permanent meeting space where we can hopefully have things up and going sometime this summer!" was a post on Second Chance's Facebook page.

The Easter services were the first chance for many to see him preach live in Anderson since he did a service with Powerhouse Church in June, independentmail.com reported.

Noble was removed from NewSpring, the church he founded, in July 2016 because of alcohol and family issues .

NewSpring is the state’s largest church, with more than 30,000 members in 17 cities in South Carolina, including three in the Midlands. NewSpring has 14 campuses in the Palmetto State, but the church has lost membership in the wake of its split with Noble nearly two years ago.

NewSpring’s roots go back to a 1998 Bible study group in Noble’s apartment and its first official service was in January 2000. The church had an income of $64 million in 2015, according to an annual report on the church’s website.

This story was originally published April 3, 2018 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Former megachurch pastor had 'amazing weekend,' looking for more of the same."