Overlake Christian Church is a non-denominational, evangelical megachurch in Redmond, Washington. It is among the largest churches in the state of Washington. The Lead Pastor is Mike Howerton, formerly the "Next Generation"/college pastor at Saddleback Church (Pastor Rick Warren) in Orange County, California. Overlake Christian Church originally began with a handful of attendees in the early 1970's. A pastor from Oklahoma, Bob Moorehead, was soon invited to become Senior Pastor. During his tenure, weekend attendance at the Kirkland church campus grew to more than 6,000.
In 1997, the church moved a few miles east to a new, 250,000 square foot building on 27 acres along Willows Road NE in Redmond, Washington. In June of 1998, Bob Moorehead stepped down amid allegations of sexual impropriety saying the accusations were a distraction from the core mission of the church. Moorehead was replaced a few months later by a former VP of Promise Keepers, Rick Kingham, who led the congregation until February 2007.
There are currently two worship environments (styles of services) at Overlake Christian Church - each with its own, unique ambience. One is the Celebration service in which the worship is a contemporary blend of popular praise songs and traditional hymns. The other is the Illuminate service, in which the worship is more guitar-driven, laid-back and contemporary. Mike Howerton teaches at both services. KIDstuf is also offered each Sunday. KIDstuf is a comedic musical/dramatic stage production for K-6 grade children and their parents. It runs for 35 minutes between the two morning services. KIDstuf focusses on a different, biblical virture each month.
