NewSpring announces changes in leadership a year after Perry Noble's firing

NewSpring Church has announced on Friday that it is making some changes in its leadership, a year after its founder, Perry Noble, was removed as head pastor for alcohol addiction.

During an event at the main campus on Concord Road on Friday night, NewSpring announced that there will be two new teams at the church: a leadership team and a teaching team.

Officials stated that the preaching responsibilities will now be shared by four lead pastors on a rotating basis.

There has been a decline in attendance in NewSpring in the year since the church split with Noble.

Church leaders told the congregation on Friday that giving is also down, but the church was able to save up some money by cutting expenses and making other changes.

According to The State, NewSpring went from having $6.5 million in the bank a year ago to $15.1 million today due to the cost cutting measures.

The Rev. Clayton King, the current interim pastor, read a statement that mentioned what NewSpring leaders did to help Noble.

"There were numerous conversations and offers made to Perry so that he could receive the help he needed but he was unwilling to accept them," the statement read, as reported by WYFF.

"This left the leadership of the church with only one option. A decision that no one wanted to make. We believed we had done all we could do to help Perry remain as our Senior Pastor. So in July of last year we released him from that position. This is when we brought the situation before you, the Church, as outlined by Jesus in Matthew 18," it continued.

King noted that NewSpring leaders have not seen enough of a change in Noble to allow him back, even though the former pastor has continued to preach elsewhere.

"This does not and never will mean that imperfect people aren't welcome at NewSpring," King said, adding that all people are flawed and welcome, but church leaders should be held to higher standards.

The church officials did not report NewSpring's current attendance numbers on Friday, but the Southern Baptist-affiliated megachurch has had as many as 33,000 "owners," as its members are called.

NewSpring, the largest in South Carolina with 14 campuses across the state, also announced that 10 percent of its income will be donated to local charities and 72 different organizations across the state.