Union Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Pastors Stephen and Zai Chandler (husband-wife senior co-pastors since Union Church formed via April 2021 merger of Destiny Harvest + i5 City Church)

Founded See website

Denomination Non-Denominational

Service Times Sunday morning (see website)

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.unionchurch.com

Pastor Credentials See website

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

Orthodox Trinitarian on paper (Pentecostal-leaning charismatic).

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Authority affirmed; inerrancy not explicit.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Generic group structure.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Grace-through-faith; ARC/charismatic framing.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

Husband-wife co-pastorate (Stephen + Zai Chandler, both 'senior pastors'). Per rubric flag: 'husband-wife co-pastors' = red.

Egalitarian by practice — husband-wife co-senior-pastorate (Zai explicitly called 'Pastor')

WARNING!

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Centralized celebrity model; Stephen Chandler is the brand (bestselling author, 'The Ascent Leader'). Church grew via merger in 2021; no strong independent accountability structure beyond ARC 'overseers'.

WARNING!

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

ARC-style motivational, leadership, growth-themed preaching; not expository — felt-needs/self-development adjacent.

WARNING!

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Growth-focused ('fastest-growing church in America'); multi-site.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Prosperity/leadership/personal-empowerment themes in Chandler's public content.

Caution

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

Association of Related Churches (ARC) — church-planting network, NOT confessional accountability per rubric flag.

WARNING!

Assessment

Union Church, Glen Burnie, MD — 12,799 attendance (Outreach 100 #5 fastest-growing 2025). Pastor Stephen Chandler.

#megachurch#maryland#outreach-100#fastest-growing#needs-review

MOOP Engagement Tracker

How this church was personally verified by the MOOP directory team:

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Classic rubric-flag pattern: husband-wife co-pastors + ARC network (not accountability). Outreach Magazine 'fastest-growing'.

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source theunionchurch.com/about/
[2] Live source arcchurches.com/high-capacity-stephen-chandler-on-union-c…

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.