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Michael Pitts is an American pastor, preacher and author based in Toledo, Ohio. He is the founding pastor of Cornerstone Church and oversees the Cornerstone Global Network, a network of over 120 churches throughout the USA, Mexico, South Africa and the UK. He was consecrated as a bishop by the International Communion of Charismatic Churches in 2009.〔 He has authored several books, including ''Breaking Ungodly Soul Ties'', ''Power Shifters'', and ''Boundary Shifters''. ==Ministry beginnings== Michael Pitts was born in south Lima in 1964 to factory workers Eugene and Brenda Pitts. His parents were raised attending Church regularly, and filled with the Holy Ghost many years ago. Brenda played guitar and sung at Quickstep Pentecostal Holiness Church in Alger Ohio, with Eugene serving in various roles of Church Governance. From an early age, Michael struggled with the unwavering, unquestioning faith of his parent's Church. A young, ornery Pitts soon became frustrated with the world, as he lacked the ability to ask questions to the confusing things that didn't make sense. By 14 years old he had a strong sense of God's presence, and made the decision to follow Christ during youth week at the Faith Gospel Tabernacle in Lima. Soon afterwards, he was attending Mount Olivet Church of God in Christ, where he was "baptized in the Holy Spirit, and started speaking in tongues". It was during these two distinct moments in his faith journey that he began to feel a distinct purpose, to preach to all who would hear. Pitts recounts of honing his preaching ability by preaching to "soda bottles" as props during a part time convenient store job, imagining they were people. He would spend much of his latter teenage years traveling from Church to Church requesting an opportunity to preach from local Pastors. It was during one of these Church meetings in 1984, at a tent-revival in Defiance Ohio that a young Kathi Gamble came to hear Pitts preach. The two met, started dating, then in 1985, Michael Pitts married Kathi Gamble in his hometown of Lima, Ohio. In the June of 1987, with a $1000 gift from his parents, they moved to Toledo to start a non-denominational pentecostal church, named Cornerstone Church.〔 The Church opened with once-a-month Thursday evening meetings at what was then the Reynolds Road Holiday Inn. They advertised on the local Gospel radio station, and on the first night, 18 people came. There was no written plan, no outreach plan, and little external funding. The original vision from God for the Church, given in 1984 - years before the Church's formation - and still written on paper, states "The plan is simply for God to have a Church that is run on His divine order and inspiration. A Church where people of all races, ethnic groups, and religious backgrounds can come together to worship God. A place where sinners will find grace and acceptance, and where they will be challenged to grow. A place where those who need healing and deliverance will find God ever present to meet their needs. A growing place - A happy place. A lighthouse to the whole city. Ministering to the whole man". After a few successful months of Thursday night meetings, they decided to start weekend services. The first Sunday drew 35 people to a small storefront building, and due to its rapid growth, moved twice in its first four years. First to an old insurance office at the Byrning Hill Plaza, where it started holding two Sunday morning services. The Church had to move due to rapid growth, to a remodeled warehouse on Airport Highway. At the age of 26, Pitts was now preaching to over 1000 weekly members. In 1995 Pitts moved the Church to its present location, refurbishing "a sprawling former retail plaza". The Church had spent months remodeling what had been a "Bud's Deep Discount Store" into a 2500 seat sanctuary, also featuring state-of-the-art children's facilities for the more than 400 children to attend services each week. As of 2005 it became the largest church in Northwest Ohio, with 4,000 members.〔 It was the first racially integrated Church in the region, and Pitts owes success to his preaching of "truth. Truth isn't cultural, its concrete. The Gospel transcends race...Stereotypically, the black Church has the spirit, and the white Church has the structure. My desire was to take the best of both Churches and combine them". In 1998, Cornerstone Church purchased the WDMN-AM Radio Station, and sold it in 2012 after a successful decade of playing wholesome Gospel and contemporary Christian music. . Rather than attending seminary or theological college, he is unconventionally self taught from tapes, cds, books and other materials he has had available over the course of his Pastoring. In an interview response that questioned his qualifications, he answered "I went through the tapes one by one, with texts, which I managed to track down, at hand. I read Augustine and the Eastern church fathers that way. And I am still teaching myself today. What I love about travel is the chance to read. I carry my “Bible bag” with me on the plane. While others are watching movies or sleeping, I am devouring the latest in theological studies or preparing a sermon. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Michael Pitts (pastor)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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