Steven Furtick House: Inside His 16,000 Sq Ft Waxhaw Mansion
Elevation Church pastor Steven Furtick lives in a gated, 16,000-square-foot home on 19 acres of woodland in Waxhaw, North Carolina, about 20 miles south of Charlotte. When local reporters revealed the build in October 2013, the property carried a tax value of about $1.6 million, and Furtick was 33 years old.
What does a megachurch pastor’s home look like when it becomes national news? Furtick’s house generated more headlines than most celebrity estates, mostly because of who was building it and how it was paid for.
Below you’ll find the verified details of the property, the funding explanation the church gave, and the debate that followed.
House at a Glance
| Facts | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Waxhaw, Union County, North Carolina |
| Land | About 19 acres of wooded land, bought for $325,000 |
| Total Size | About 16,000 sq ft (roughly 8,400 sq ft heated) |
| Bedrooms / Bathrooms | 5 bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms |
| Tax Value (2013) | About $1.6 million |
| Security | Electric gate, private wooded lot |
| Funding | Book advances and royalties plus a loan (no church funds, per the church) |
| Residents | Steven and Holly Furtick and their three children |
Privacy note: This article does not publish an exact street address. The property is identified at the town level only.
Who Is Steven Furtick?
Larry Stevens “Steven” Furtick Jr. was born on February 19, 1980, in Moncks Corner, South Carolina. He studied communication at North Greenville University and earned a Master of Divinity at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
On February 5, 2006, he and his wife, Holly, started Elevation Church in Charlotte with seven families. By the time news of the house broke in 2013, Elevation was drawing nearly 12,000 people a week across eight locations in four counties. The church has since grown into one of the largest in the country, and its worship band, Elevation Worship, which he co-founded, has become a major name in Christian music, winning a Grammy in 2022.
Furtick is also a bestselling author. His books include “Sun Stand Still” (2010), “Greater” (2012), “Crash the Chatterbox” (2014), “(Un)Qualified” (2016), “Seven-Mile Miracle” (2017) and “Do the New You” (2024). Those books matter to this story because they are what paid for the house.
Steven Furtick House Location and Property Details
The home sits on roughly 19 acres of wooded land in Waxhaw, a fast-growing Union County town just south of Charlotte. According to property records reported at the time, Steven and Holly Furtick bought 19.25 acres in 2012 for $325,000, and in December 2012 they took out a construction loan in the name of their revocable trust.
Although it is often called a Charlotte home, the house is not in the city itself. Waxhaw is a separate town across the county line in Union County. The land gives the family privacy while keeping them within driving distance of Elevation’s Charlotte-area campuses. The property is entered through an electric gate, and the house is set back in the trees rather than visible from the road.
Size and Layout
The widely quoted figure of 16,000 square feet can be misleading. According to reporting by Charlotte’s NPR station WFAE and local TV at the time, only about 8,400 square feet is heated living space. The rest is basement, attic, garage and porch space. The home has five bedrooms and seven and a half bathrooms.
That still makes it very large. The heated space alone is more than three times the size of a typical new American home, and the total footprint with garages, porches and pavilions is six to seven times as large.
There is no official house tour. The Furticks have never released interior photos or video, and the home has never been listed for sale. Some websites describe features such as a pool with multiple spas, an outdoor kitchen and a tennis court. These claims have not been confirmed by the family or by mainstream reporting.
How Much the House Cost and How It Was Funded
The total construction cost has never been published. What is on record is the $325,000 price of the land and the roughly $1.6 million tax value Union County assigned in 2013. Many sites round that figure to $1.7 million and present it as the cost of the house.
The funding question drove most of the controversy. When the story broke in October 2013, Elevation Church officials said no church money was involved. According to the church, the house was financed through book advances and royalties, largely from “Greater,” plus a loan. The church’s chief financial officer said the property was “not tied to the church in any way.” In other words, it is not a parsonage owned by Elevation, and it was not a gift from the church.
Furtick later made the same point from the pulpit: “I didn’t even build that house with money from the church. I built it with money from my books.”
Critics said the claim may well be true but was impossible to check. Elevation did not publicly release its full finances or the pastor’s salary, so outside observers could not see how much he earned from the church compared with his books and speaking. That transparency gap kept the story alive long after construction ended.
Public Controversy and Media Response
The story started with WCNC, Charlotte’s NBC affiliate, which reported on the build in October 2013. It was quickly picked up by WFAE, national Christian outlets and church-accountability bloggers, and it went viral on social media.
Critics argued that a gated 16,000-square-foot home was “unseemly” and did not match the image of a servant pastor. The timing added to the scrutiny: in 2013 Elevation was collecting an average of about $391,000 a week and had just begun growing into a multi-campus church.
Furtick responded in a sermon. He said he believed the house was a blessing from God but apologized that members had been put in the uncomfortable position of defending it to friends and coworkers.
The church also pointed to its giving record. It said it had donated $2.5 million to outreach in 2012 and had long committed a share of its offerings to local charities.
Church Member Reactions
Many Elevation members defended their pastor. Supporters pointed to the church’s growth and to the separation between church funds and his book income. Others inside and outside the church felt the house sent the wrong message, regardless of who paid for it.
The controversy did not slow Elevation down. The church kept adding campuses and its worship music reached a global audience in the years that followed.
Comparison to Other Pastoral Homes
Furtick is part of a generation of megachurch pastors whose homes have drawn public attention. Joel Osteen’s Houston mansion, T.D. Jakes’ Dallas-area estate and Joyce Meyer’s home have all faced similar questions.
The key difference in Furtick’s case is ownership. Many televangelist mansions are held by their ministries as tax-exempt parsonages. Furtick’s house is privately owned through the family trust, and the family pays property tax on it like any other homeowner.
Current Value
The 2013 tax value is still the last widely reported figure. Waxhaw and the wider Charlotte region have grown quickly since then, so the property’s market value today is likely well above that number. Recent estimates online that go into the multi-millions are not backed by a sale or a published appraisal, so the most reliable current figure comes from Union County’s tax records.
More than a decade on, the Steven Furtick house remains the family home and a reference point whenever pastors’ wealth comes up for debate.
FAQs
How much is Steven Furtick’s house worth?
It had a tax value of about $1.6 million in 2013. Its current market value is likely higher but has not been confirmed by a sale.
Where does Steven Furtick live now?
As far as public records show, he still lives in the gated Waxhaw home, about 20 miles south of Charlotte. The property has never been listed for sale.
How much did Steven Furtick’s house cost?
The construction cost was not disclosed. The land cost $325,000, and the finished property had a tax value of about $1.6 million in 2013.
Did Elevation Church pay for Steven Furtick’s house?
According to the church, no. It said the house was paid for with book advances, royalties and a loan.
