Sovereign Grace Ministries
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Sovereign Grace Ministries is a non-denominational, Reformed Charismatic group of Christian churches primarily located in the United States. Sovereign Grace is comprised of 68 churches[1] and professes "sound doctrine" from the Bible, as well as the active working of the Holy Spirit. Sovereign Grace is led by author and former pastor C.J. Mahaney. The flagship church, Gaithersburg, Maryland's Covenant Life Church, is now pastored by author Joshua Harris.
The group has roots in "Take and Give" charismatic meetings held by Mahaney and Larry Tomczak in the Washington, D.C. area. Most of them were former Roman Catholics who had been impacted by the charismatic movement. This group eventually grew into Covenant Life Church. In 1982, Mahaney and Tomczak founded People of Destiny International as an umbrella organization for their ministries. It changed its name to PDI Ministries in 1998 and to Sovereign Grace Ministries in 2003.
Sovereign Grace Ministries has received some criticism from the Reformed community, since its charismatic theology upsets the concept of cessationism in which many Reformed Christians believe the revelatory spiritual gifts no longer exist. Since these are not emphasized in the church nor openly sought after or expressed, this criticism is not very widespread or popular within truly Reformed congregations, which emphasize cross-denominational unity based solely upon the Gospel (rather than pointing out denominational differences, though there is a predominance of songs published by Sovereign Grace Ministries sung in the churches and literature published by the same is recommended ). This unity is particularly evident in the Together for the Gospel conference/movement, of which Mahaney is one of the founders; along with Ligon Duncan (former moderator of the Presbyterian Church in America General Assembly), Albert Mohler (President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), and Mark Dever (Director of 9Marks Ministries). SGM has also received criticism from Charismatic quarters, where critics charge that it is not fully Charismatic due to its beliefs on Predestination.
Sovereign Grace Ministries is also well-known for its New Attitude conference, which is primarily targeted toward single young adults and young married couples was started by Joshua Harris in 1999. The 2006 conference, which was held in Louisville, Kentucky over Memorial Day weekend, focused on embracing a Humble Orthodoxy, which is described on New Attitude's website as a "quiet revolution of people all around the world who are rediscovering unchanging truth and recommitting to live to it humbly."
