Full Gospel Tabernacle

Full Gospel Tabernacle, commonly known as The Tab, is a church in Orchard Park, New York. Founded in 1936 in South Buffalo as the South Buffalo Tabernacle, it moved to Orchard Park in 1967. The church became nationally known during the pastorate of Tommy Reid, whose 1979 book The Exploding Church centered on the congregation. It is currently led by Robert Stearns.

History

The church began in 1936 as the South Buffalo Tabernacle, an Assemblies of God-affiliated congregation. According to an Erie County Legislature proclamation issued for the church's 85th anniversary, the congregation entered a new phase in 1963 with the arrival of Tommy Reid, moved to Orchard Park in 1967, and grew significantly after charismatic prayer meetings that began in 1969.

By 1987, The Washington Post described Reid as the pastor of an 11,000-member church in Buffalo, reflecting the congregation's prominence in Pentecostal and charismatic circles. Reid's book The Exploding Church, published in 1979, was cataloged by the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center as a work about the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Orchard Park.

The church's website identifies it as The Tabernacle of Orchard Park and uses the shorter name The Tab.

Leadership and public profile

Under Tommy Reid, Full Gospel Tabernacle became one of the best-known charismatic churches in Western New York and developed a national profile within Pentecostalism. Under Robert Stearns, the church has remained publicly visible in part because of his concurrent leadership of Eagle's Wings Ministries, a pro-Israel Christian organization.

Controversies and criticism

The church's best-documented controversy during Reid's pastorate was theological rather than financial or criminal. In 1987, during disputes within the Assemblies of God over Jimmy Swaggart's attacks on charismatic ministers, Reid told The Washington Post that he feared Swaggart's actions could split the denomination between "ultraconservatives" and "moderates".

In the Stearns era, outside criticism associated with the church has largely stemmed from Stearns' role in the Christian Zionist movement. In 2009, New Jersey Jewish News reported that some Jewish communal leaders welcomed Stearns' pro-Israel activism, while others were wary of Christian Zionists because of their conservative domestic agenda and "sometimes apocalyptic theology". In 2022, Religion News Service described Stearns as a Christian Zionist who was trying to reposition evangelicalism in a more open direction without leaving the movement itself. Because Stearns leads both Eagles' Wings and the Tabernacle, those debates have also influenced public perceptions of the church.

See also

• Tommy Reid (pastor)
• Robert Stearns