Below is a list of TLWF churches that have been closed and/or sold in the U.S. I think that most or all were closed after John's death. I couldn't remember the names of most. Please post any additions, corrections or additional info that you know. I was surprised at how many there were. All my old This Weeks are long gone. If anyone has some, there should be info on these churches in the back.

Anaheim, CA Church of His Holy Presence (eminent domain case) abt. 1984
Bay Area, CA (Santa Clara?)
Campbell, CA
Clovis, CA
El Cajon, CA
Laguna, CA
Redlands, CA
Santa Barbara, CA
Santa Paula, CA
South Gate, CA. Grace Chapel abt. 2000
Phoenix, AZ
Grand Junction, CO
Bettendorf, IA
Des Moines, IA
Washington, IA. Church of the Living Word (lost in court settlement) abt. 1984
Aurora, IL
Detroit, MI. Beracah Chapel
Lake Oswego, OR
Knoxville, TN
Salt Lake City, UT Faith Chapel
Seattle, WA. Maranatha Chapel
Yakima, WA
Florida
New Hampshire



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2018 10:56PM by Reepicheep.

Additions to the list:

Bakersfield
San Luis Obispo
San Gabriel
La Cresenta
Sacramento
Kauai, HI


Note the El Cajon church was in Casa de Oro (Spring Valley). It was not shut down but left TLWF. It is now pastored by David Cokas.

That list is stunning.

changedagain Wrote:
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> That list is stunning.

I agree, changedagain. Do you remember the name of the Redlands Church and the approximate date it was sold?

puddington Wrote:
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> Additions to the list:
>
> Bakersfield
> San Luis Obispo
> San Gabriel
> La Cresenta
> Sacramento
> Kauai, HI
>
>
> Note the El Cajon church was in Casa de Oro
> (Spring Valley). It was not shut down but left
> TLWF. It is now pastored by David Cokas.

Thanks, puddington. I couldn't find a list on the internet. I thought it might be good to get it out there. So, do you know if Ray Williamson owned the Spring Valley church building? Is David Cokas still using the same building?

Reep, I belive it is still in the same building. Ray W left it to David C and went off to the Mormon church. Here is a link to info

[www.thelivingspringschurch.com]

Reepicheep Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> changedagain Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> > That list is stunning.
>
> I agree, changedagain. Do you remember the name of
> the Redlands Church and the approximate date it
> was sold?

Originally Ramah Chapel. I left in 1989...and I believe it was sold a few years later. The church was renamed (I think) before it was sold.

Here's an interesting take on the time period when churches were being disbanded and sold from [www.thelivingword.org].

"In the 1990s, many congregants of the smaller churches and home meetings chose to relocate in order to attend the churches originally founded by John Robert Stevens. Since the mid-90s, the fellowship has focused on developing church communities that create an environment for the maturing of each believer in Christ."

As I recall, there was a lot of pressure from G&M to close smaller churches. Often in the word, they emphasized Kingdom Facilities and Utopia Chapel (a concept of having everyone in all the churches move to one location). If any shepherd wanted to keep their small church open, they were told by Gary, "That's fine, but we're not going to be involved or put any energy into it." It was made very obvious that the decision not to close would be choosing a lesser level. Sad...

Denver and Colorado Springs both had properties that were sold. I know there was a church in Chico, CA, but I don't know if they owned property. Bend, OR also had a church, but I don't know if they owned property either.

Those who have served on church corporations know that the Bylaws clearly state that the Apostolic Fathering Ministries have final say on what happens to church properties. The rest of the corporate members do all the leg work, but have no decision making power as far as asset ownership is concerned. I suspect at some point, Gary and Rick will take the money and run, and nobody will be able to legally do anything about it. Perhaps the best we could hope for is that they fight with each other and it ends up in the courts where congregants are called to testify and their actions have to face the light of day. The "Holy Spirit" gave special insight so they would not have to answer to any denomination or oversight. Those that have been spiritually abused and finally choose to leave, in spite of giving decades of their lives to care for facilities, get only a slanderous goodby for all their efforts. Well, that and an eternity in hell to look forward to. :)

larry bobo Wrote:
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> Those who have served on church corporations know
> that the Bylaws clearly state that the Apostolic
> Fathering Ministries have final say on what
> happens to church properties. The rest of the
> corporate members do all the leg work, but have no
> decision making power as far as asset ownership is
> concerned.

Yes, that is my memory too, Larry. And if the church ministries didn't want the church to be sold, stronger coercive tactics would probably be used next. However, G&M made the decisions and received the money, regardless.

I didn't mean to make it sound like local pastors had a choice of whether to close a church. In my previous post, I was speaking about a local pastor that wanted to remain in the area after the church was sold in order to continue ministering to the people who could not move. Such a ministry would have been discouraged from doing that.

> I suspect at some point, Gary and Rick
> will take the money and run, and nobody will be
> able to legally do anything about it. Perhaps the
> best we could hope for is that they fight with
> each other and it ends up in the courts where
> congregants are called to testify and their
> actions have to face the light of day. The "Holy
> Spirit" gave special insight so they would not
> have to answer to any denomination or oversight.
> Those that have been spiritually abused and
> finally choose to leave, in spite of giving
> decades of their lives to care for facilities, get
> only a slanderous goodby for all their efforts.
> Well, that and an eternity in hell to look forward
> to. :)

I think that the eternity in hell happened before leaving TLWF. ;-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/2018 08:42AM by Reepicheep.