Rev. Shane Bishop

Shane has served as the Sr. Pastor of Christ Church in Fairview Heights, Illinois, since 1997. With his strengths of vision casting, preaching, teaching, soul winning, and leadership, Christ Church weekend worship attendance has increased under his leadership from 200 in 1997 to over 3,000 each week in 2022. Shane was named a “Distinguished Evangelist” by the Foundation for Evangelism in 2010. Christ Church, an independent congregation, has seven weekly worship services, three regional campuses, and a significant online community. Christ Church was recognized as one of the 100 fastest-growing churches in the country in 2018 by Outreach Magazine. A former history teacher and coach, Shane holds both graduate and undergraduate degrees from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Shane graduated cum laude in 1992 from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. There, he received the Rollins Scholarship Award for his academic work and effectiveness in pastoral leadership at the St. James-Manchester Charge in Manchester, Georgia. From 1992-1997, he served the Sumner/Beulah Charge in Sumner, Illinois. Rev. Shane L. Bishop has been the Senior Pastor at Christ Church since 1997. Live weekly attendance has grown from 200 to 2,000 and combined attendance has grown from 200 to 4,000. He is a founding member of The Foundry Network. Shane holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and graduated cum laude in 1992 from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1992-1997 he served the Sumner/Beulah Charge in Sumner, Illinois and received the Harry S. Denman Evangelism Award in 1994. He has spoken extensively around the country and the world and leads bi-annual pilgrimages to Bible places like Israel, Greece, Egypt and Turkey. He is the author of "Love God. Love People. Don't Do Dumb Crap," “That’s Good News,” “The PING Life,” “In Search of the Holy” and the Trail Guide commentary series. His “Daily Musings” and posts on Facebook reach ten million people annually. He was named a "Distinguished Evangelist" by the Foundation on Evangelism in 2010. Christ Church was recognized as one of the 100 Fastest Growing Churches in America by Outreach Magazine in 2018. Shane lives in rural Southwestern Illinois and has been married to Melissa since 1983. He enjoys working at his cabin, old baseball cards, sports and history. The couple have two adult children, four grandchildren and two hundred pounds of rescue dogs. Shane resides in Trenton, Illinois, with his wife, Melissa. The couple has two adult children and four grandchildren.