Greetings to the forum!

I am an ex-member of the church named in the title. I was deeply involved for nearly 17 years until I was shown that there a lot of problems in the organization. CFCMI was founded in 1974 by Lloyd Ray Davis, a former UPC pastor who left the church amid an investigation by the Arkansas General District over charges of homosexuality and child molesting. He left before any charges could be filed, and Davis set up camp in Waukegan, Illinois - near the Navy base where he could prey on unsuspecting young sailors. Here are some web links you can use:

CFCMI official site
[www.cfcmi.org]

Abusive Churches.Org
[abusivechurches.org]

John Cady: Freedom, Venting, and Healing
[www.geocities.com]

The last two sites provide a lot of information about the cult [sic] and its inner workings.

God bless, John

Here is a timeline of the church:

1934 - Hazel Beck born in Tennessee.

1935 - Lloyd Ray Davis born in Arkansas.

1947 - Lloyd Ray Davis baptized in Jesus' name.

1948 - Davis receives the Holy Ghost.

1954 - Lloyd and Hazel marry; they would have three children - Debra Louise, Pamela Jean, and Larry Ray.

1960 - Davis licensed by the United Pentecostal Church.

1968 - Accusations start to arise concerning Davis' conduct.

1972 - Davis resigns his license as UPCI minister amid investigation by Arkansas General District over his conduct.

1972 - Davis and family move to Kenosha, Wisconsin.

1973 - Davises move to Waukegan, Illinois.

1973 - Peter F. Paine and Jim Ottoson baptized.

1974 - Edward J. Thomas baptized.

1974 - Christian Fellowship, Inc. established.

1974 - Good News Singers singing group created.

1975 - Edward and Pamela Thomas marry.

1975 - Peter and Debra Paine marry.

1976 - Davis makes noted visit to tomb of Unknown Soldier.

1976 - Davis moves the single men into the Karcher Hotel in Waukegan.

1977 - David Lee Armstrong baptized.

1977 - Good News Singers record only vinyl record on Wineskin Records.

1978 - Christian Fellowship Servicemen's Center opens outside the Great Lakes Naval Base.

1978 - Scott Morehouse baptized.

1979 - Davis announces he is making several critical changes to biblical doctrine, including the salvation formula. Rick Sorensen dissents and leaves.

1979 - Christian Fellowship, Inc. name changed to Christian Fellowship Church Ministries International (CFCMI).

1979 - Larry and Katie Davis marry, would later leave CFCMI.

1979 - Thomas is sent to Norfolk to start a church.

1980 - Thomas is sent to Orlando, Florida to start a church.

1980 - Bruce Wilson baptized.

1980 - Daniel Lantis baptized.

1981 - Wilson and other believers gather in San Diego, California.

1981 - Dick Brand baptized.

1981 - Mike Meuller installed as pastor in Orlando.

1982 - Servicemen's Center placed off limits due to allegations of homosexual activity, cultic behavior, and pastoral misconduct.

1982 - End of Karcher Hotel era.

1982 - San Diego church installed with Morehouse as pastor.

1983 - Servicemen's Center removed from off-limits list, base commander relieved.

1983 - Norfolk opens church building in Ocean View.

1984 - Duane Robinson baptized.

1985 - Henry Adihetty and Sunnil Hewage baptized in Sri Lanka by Davis.

1985 - Adihetty installed as bishop of Sri Lanka.

1987 - Davis makes his *prophecy* about the 200 men, heavily promotes his eunuchship doctrine.

1988 - Waukegan congregation buys old Swedish Glee Club.

1988 - Davis is made life member of NAACP.

1988 - General Conference in Waukegan ends with 60 people receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. One of the last major moves of God in CFCMI in the USA.

1988 - Hubert Ulysse baptized.

1989 - Morehouse leaves, Lantis sent to replace him.

1990 - Norfolk moves to larger building on Ocean View.

1990 - ABC News "Nightline" airs expose on Davis.

1990 - Rintony Norelus baptized.

1991 - Allegations rise against Davis again; large number of people leave CFCMI.

1991 - Truth of God Ministries, pastored by Mitch Hill (ex-CFCMI), opens in Norfolk.

1991 - New York fellowship established.

1992 - Davis is tried and convicted on 19 counts of sexual assault, including two minors; sentenced to 31 years in prison.

1992 - Armstrong and Mike Carner are also on trial with Davis; convicted of lesser charges.

1992 - Hubert Ulysse starts fellowship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

1993 - "Yellow Ribbon Campaign" begins, claiming Davis was innocent and wrongfully convicted.

1993 - Servicemen's Center closes.

1993 - Ulysse installed as Fort Lauderdale pastor.

1993 - Meuller removed as Orlando pastor, Orlando church dissolved.

1994 - Rallies begin on behalf of Davis to get him released from prison.

1995 - Several appeals on Davis' behalf are filed; all disapproved.

1995 - 23 women and 3 men receive the gift of the Holy Ghost in Norfolk. This would be the last time 10 or more people would receive the gift of the Holy Ghost at any one time in CFCMI's USA congregations.

1995 - Ulysse installed as bishop of Haiti.

1995 - Norelus installed as Fort Lauderdale pastor.

1996 - Norfolk buys property on Little John Drive.

1996 - San Diego buys a large Methodist church building.

1996 - Robinson takes charge of fellowship in Japan, sees much growth.

1996 - Adihetty is removed from position of bishop in Sri Lanka, Hewage replaces him.

1996 - Jacksonville, Florida fellowship established.

1997 - Davis and Brand begin groundwork for the Minister's College.

1999 - Davis dies in prison.

1999 - Paine installed as General Pastor.

1999 - *Capital Campaign* launched for building fund in Waukegan.

1999 - Paine, Thomas, and Lantis team up with Quixtar, a branch of Amway.

1999 - Following wedding, Armstrong and his bride are forced to leave.

2000 - Al McIntyre and wife Dionne, both ex-CFCMI members, launch AbusiveChurches.Org; website's success prompts members to question the leadership about the Davis case and other issues.

2000 - CFCMI senior leadership announce they will expel anyone who reads the McIntyres' website.

2000 - Lantis and Mylene Gonzalez marry in San Diego.

2001 - Paine gives the Mother's Day speech. Upon giving a partial admission of Davis' guilt, Paine's speech creates splits throughout the ministry.

2001 - Fred Hartage and Clenta Walker, ex-members of Jacksonville, Florida fellowship, start New Beginnings Christian Ministries in St. Mary's, Georgia.

2002 - Wilson installed as pastor in Waukegan.

2002 - Increasing reports surface concerning Lantis' behavior, coupled with declining numbers in San Diego.

2002 - Sidney Thompson replaces Robinson in Japan; Robinson and family return to USA.

2003 - Amid increasing reports of financial mishandling, pastoral misconduct, and control practices, Thomas *dissolves* the Norfolk church, forcing nearly 100 people to leave.

2003 - Robinson starts New Beginnings Christian Ministries in Norfolk, a separate work from the one in Georgia.

2003 - New York fellowship severs ties with CFCMI.

2004 - San Diego sells building, meets in hotels until moving into a newer, smaller facility.

2004 - Waukegan announces plans to build in upscale section of Lake County.

2004 - Thomas sells Norfolk property.

Ed Thomas has relocated what is left of his congregation to a high school in Chesapeake, Virginia...just a short distance from his home in North Carolina.

No one is being fooled now. Letters are being sent to the Chesapeake School Board to alert them of what is going on.

I was in a group called New christian fellowship....they branched off become a cell church and then became "Banner of the nations" in savannah georgia ..they went from a penicostal=like church to an eartern/penicostal type of church that took in 150,000 dollars a year from a cogergation of 40 peoople

do you know anything about this?

JoAnne

They are a different group than the one I was affiliated with.

They are in the process of moving their whole operation to Norfolk, Virginia. The congregations in Waukegan and San Diego are being closed. More info to come!

[b:0bed0543d7][i:0bed0543d7]John Cady[/i:0bed0543d7][/b:0bed0543d7]

Hello! I am Bramble. Yes, I post on another forum, too. Have you or anyone you know ever been a part of CFCMI? How would you help someone still inside?

I see it has been a year since they transferred their headquarters from Waukegen to Norfolk. What I can't help noticing is how many of their fellowships have actually folded over the past 12 months. They may have only two to three left.

Recent entry on Pillars says that Pastor Thomas may be suffering from cancer. It is too early to tell. He is awaiting tests.

It also says that pastors and other upper level staff have now taken a 40 percent pay cut. I wonder what their salary was before the pay cut!!

I wonder is anyone has left CFCMI recently! I do get the impression from reading their post that the collection has dropped substantially due to the employment situation of those attending CFCMI. In time we may know if there were any more walkouts.

There are basically two primary fellowships/congregations left: Norfolk and San Diego. Waukegan, the former headquarters, is just a fragmented group; Hawaii all but vanished; Fort Lauderdale pretty much abandoned. Washington State and Japan are now closed.

This group is dying a slow, painful death.

Has anyone visited CFCMI in the past 6 months? How many attend there now? I'm guessing less than 100.