Church Check: Capital Church in Salt Lake City, Utah

Basic Church Information

Church Website: http://capitalchurch.com/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/capitalchurchslc

Address: 1010 E. 700 S. SLC, UT 84102

Phone: 801-366-4222

Email: info@capitalchurch.com

Online Services: https://www.capitalchurch.com/messages/

Denomination: Assemblies of God

Tithing: Yes

Memberships: Yes

Financial Transparency: Unknown

Answered the Questionnaire: Partially

Other Affiliations: Global Leadership Network

Preaching Style: Topical

Questionnaire

When we reached out to Capital Church with our Questionnaire, we received the following response:

“Thanks again for reaching out, and for offering to provide information to your readers about Capital Church. Our core beliefs, mission & vision, and answers to many of these questions are answered on our website, capitalchurch.com. We are transparent with our community about our stewardship of financial resources, reviewing every dollar at our annual meeting…”

Truth be told, many of our questions could in fact be answered by their website, so we took that as an answer, and began our hunt on the website. This is what we found.

1. What is your church's official position on tithing?

While I couldn’t find anything that specifically speaks on their official beliefs regarding tithing, it’s very easy to figure out what that is based on what we can find on the website.

Sacrificial serving is a big part of their vision & mission as a church, and financial giving is mentioned specifically by them on their website.

Their membership covenant, which we will get into in the next question, suggests that they do preach tithing in two separate ways:

1. In the Partnering section of the Covenant, it says members must commit “...To faithfully support the mission and the leadership of Capital Church as we journey together following Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:10)...” Since part of their mission is to serve sacrificially, it logically follows that this means members must give financially to the church

2. In the Investing section of the Covenant, it says members must commit: “...To support Capital and other ministries of Christ’s Kingdom by giving joyfully of my financial resources, embracing the spiritual discipline of stewardship and practicing increased generosity (2 Corinthians 9:6-15)...”

3. Lastly regarding tithing, if you go to their Resources page you’ll find their “Spiritual Continuum” wherein which they categorize and level your relationship to Christ based on your outward performance in the church. And tithing is a must for anyone that is “growing in Christ,” “close to Christ,” or “Christ-centered.”

2. Does your church have a particular set of rules or requirements that members must follow or abide by in order to retain their membership status with the church?

They do. Read their Membership Covenant.

And here is their Spiritual Continuum again, which places Christians in a hierarchy based on their performance in the church.

3. Are you transparent with your church's financial information? How much does your church bring in through donations and tithing, and how is that money distributed?

According to what Eric told me in our email conversation, they are transparent with their own members. When I pressed on this issue more, this is how it went:

I said:

“...In regards to finances, I think it's great that you're transparent with your own congregation, but I'm wondering if you're transparent with the universal Church, the whole Body. Would you be willing to share any of that information with us?...”

They said:

“...yes, our annual meetings are open to anyone to attend, whether or not they’re official members…”

So I said:

“Great! When is your annual meeting?”

And they said:

“A date has not been set yet for the next annual meeting, but it will likely be sometime within the next quarter. When a date is set, it will be posted on our church website.”

4. Which denomination does your church align with the most, if any?

They are affiliated with the Assemblies of God. They are also members of the Global Leadership Network. Below are links to better understand the views of these groups.

https://ag.org/Beliefs/Position-Papers

https://globalleadership.org/who-we-are/

5. Is your church's pastor available for other questions or comments regarding the church, its doctrines, etc.?

While our email was answered, our questions were not directly replied to. We don't know how this church's pastor would react to being questioned or asked to discuss doctrine, or any other concerns.

6. How is your church's doctrinal flexibility and tolerance? If a member has a disagreement with the pastor or leadership on a certain doctrine, how is it handled? Does the church change its position on doctrines fairly often, if at all?

I re-sent this question to Eric after I couldn’t find an answer on the website. Here was his answer:

“We believe in the Bible, the Triune God, and the wider Church body. Everyone is on their own spiritual journey, and as we lead others through their own unique journey, these foundations are unchanging in our beliefs. When disagreements arise, we believe there needs to be a balance of grace and truth in how we handle these crucial conversations. Just as Jesus offered grace and compassion to the adulteress, he also told her to go and sin no more.”

7. Does your church require that its members be baptized? What is your church's official position on baptism?

They require members to be baptized, but I cannot find anything that says they believe in baptismal regeneration for salvation.

8. Please describe what a typical service and/or meeting looks like in your church.

The closest thing to a description of their services is on their “What to Expect” page on their website:

“You can expect to hear a message from the Bible that applies to your life.

You can expect to hear about grace and peace.

You can expect a good cup of coffee.

You can expect to enjoy great music and have the opportunity to sing to a God that is listening.

You can expect your children to be safe, to have fun, and to want to come back.

You can expect your tweens and teens to have a great time and learn in a way that makes sense to them.

You can expect to find ways to own your personal faith, get connected with new friends, and serve in a way that makes a difference in your community and world.”

9. How many people do you have on staff at your church, both paid and volunteer?

While this question wasn’t answered, you can see their staff and leadership on the website here.

Who is paid and who is volunteer remains to be seen.

10. What is the pastor's educational history?

On lead pastor Troy Champ’s short bio on the website, it doesn’t mention any educational history, but it does say “...Troy served the church as Executive Pastor for six years before becoming the Lead Pastor in the spring of 2004…”

11. How does the church discipline its members with their sin?

This was another one where I re-sent Eric the question since I couldn’t find the answer on their website. Here is his answer:

“Our church encourages people to foster spiritual friendships, so that we can partner together in accountability for sin as we take ownership of our faith. We aim to model Jesus’ example of both grace and truth. As was taught in a recent message at Capital, “God loves you as you are, but he loves you too much to leave you as you are.”

12. How is the pastor compensated (income, benefits, bonuses, etc.)?

As Eric explained before, this information is (supposedly) given at their annual financial meeting, which is disclosed to anyone willing to attend, whether a member or not. But he wouldn’t disclose this information to me upon inquiry.

13. What is the size of your church and any other space the church owns for meetings and church services?

Here is another question I re-sent after unable to find it on the website.

“We have 5 weekend services. Saturday in Park City at 1400 Bitner Road at 4:45pm, and in Salt Lake City at 700 E 1010 S on Saturday evenings (6:15pm) & Sunday Mornings (8:30, 10:00, & 11:30am). Over the span of all 5 services, our attendance averages ~1000 each weekend. We typically do not promote our size as our focus is on discipleship.”