According to Lt. Mike Budreau of the Medford Police Department, a fourth woman filed a police report last week accusing Courson of sexually assaulting her and confirmed that the case was under investigation. According to sources, in the past few months, CFC has terminated the assessment with GRACE and wiped any trace of the leadership updates from last year (as seen on a web page accessed by WBEZ on Sept. 21). Park said when she confronted Chung, he said had a dream in which God showed him that he was a lampstand for his generation, and that he should keep preaching as part of his healing. CFC came under fire last summer for its alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct by church founder and former head pastor Min Joshua Chung. cfc church scandal pastor min. Keep in touch with Julie and get updates in your inbox! Sharing ministry responsibilities in the House of God! Christian Fellowship Church - Hammond, IN - (219) 931-5177. GRACE said the termination by CFC effectively halts its work at this time. Chung also was accused of covering up sexual abuse committed by a fellow local pastor. Sometimes weve lost purpose and direction. January 25, 2018. cfc church scandal illinoispatricia callahan obituary. We'd love to meet you! Last summer, hundreds of accounts surfaced online criticizing Covenant Fellowship Church for mishandling alleged incidents of sexual abuse committed by church members. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. CFC exposed and the harassment Watch on I actually had gotten to the point where I was naively thinking that [the GRACE assessment] was the one thing that was finally going to [lead] CFC to take a true, humble look at themselves.. Saturday 5:30 PM Sunday 8:00 AM Classic Venue Service Sunday 9:15 AM & 10:45 AM All services are live and in person! The employee who is under investigation has been placed on leave and is not currently preaching or otherwise involved in ministry work at CFC. Please consider interning, joining our staff, or submitting a story or making a contribution. I care for Casey very deeply, still. Parking Lot Outreach. Chung didnt respond when The Roys Report tried to reach him for comment. In the wake of last years scandal, CFC also chose not to renew its status as a registered student organization, or RSO, at U of I last academic year. "One Thing" Pastor Dale Sisam. She is convinced she would have been raped if he could. Access to MinistryWatch content is free. CFC will seek the immediate dismissal of any new lawsuit she brings against it. . Ever,Russell said. In an article in a Medford, Oregon newspaper, the reporter writes: "The Rev. Park is one of the whistleblowers who submitted the report to the KCP. Pastor Chung was claimed and accused in the scandal for certain genuine wrongdoings of sexual and obnoxious attack. However, a document submitted by a group of former CFC members calling themselves the allegation group, asked the Korean Central Presbytery (KCP), a denominational oversight group, to investigate the incident, called it unwanted, non-consensual touch in her private area., Chung reportedly personally counseled the woman after the incident, and said they reached reconciliation.. Our hope is to provide care and oversight in whatever way is appropriate. He declined to be interviewed in order to respect the privacy of those involved and due to the ongoing nature of allegations.. People close to the woman said she didnt wish to speak to TRR. Courson, who has over 150,000 followers on social media, has broadcasted his radio show in 500 radio stations and his TV program has aired in 180 countries. Amid rumors of sexual misconduct, Chung announced in the summer of 2019 that he would transition out of the head pastor role and that a team of associate pastors would take over. The lawsuit also accuses the church founders of turning a blind eye to what was happening. But that system broke down: Oversight entities had limited power and the denominations governing rules proved to be inadequate for addressing the issue of abuse in the church. Ministry Watch 2022 All rights reserved. My heart breaks. Recent allegations have surfaced of the abuse at Covenant Fellowship Church in Champaign-Urbana. Almost every day of the week, they try to recruit people, Ma said. A total of 19 people signed on to the report or are cited as witnesses. (Illinois defines criminal sexual assault as using force or threat or force, and the defendant knows the victim is unable to give knowing consent.). Moreover, for the sake of god, Min Chung had carried out various beneficial things for the duration of . Those fears are both particular and personal: For the 1 in 3 women (and 1 in 4 men) who are survivors of sexual assault, reading headlines about abuse and impropriety might trigger deep-seated . CFC | Community Family Church - Come Worship with Us UPCOMING EVENTS VIEW CFC'S CALENDAR Impact Youth Conference 2023 march 22-25 WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY | CFC CAMPUS FRIDAY & SATURDAY | CITYGATE FOREST PARK CAMPUS Jay Boyd March 22 Melvin Sanchez March 23 Kevin Wallace March 24 Tommy Bates March 25 REGISTER NOW! Masitha is still listed under the church's leadership section on the site, and there are videos of him preaching from earlier this fall. M-T: 9:00a to 5:00p F & S: Closed. Pastor KJ Kim acknowledged that Chung has been accused of a pattern of abusing his authority. The report, published in June, is intended to provide resources to handle abuse cases and to offer best practices and guidelines for elders, churches, presbyteries and other entities. The victim was terrified and did whatever she was told, the report states. Plan Your Visit Guest Info 4100 Millersburg Rd Evansville, IN 47725 Get Directions And he bullied . The lawsuit alleges Pastor Moses Masitha grabbed JanetRussell, sliding his hands down her back and squeezing her rear end.. Adam Christian. To Contact Jeff: #860-933-6129. Its a moment of reckoning for the Korean American church, former CFC member June Pinyo said. Home; About; Gallery; Blog; Shop; Contact; My Account; Resources But Chung is subject to the PCAs Book of Church Order because of his PCA ordination, KJ Kim told TRR. ARC is one of the largest church planting organizations in North America. cfc church scandal illinois. Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. The KCP ruled only on the sexual assault allegation, calling it sexual harassment. They determined that Chung was guilty but has done enough for restoration to ministry. > Live Stream Videos. If you think that is bad, consider this; We have a PCA pastor, Kiernan Stringer in Toronto, Canada who admits in writing a letter to us and his congregation to breaking the 7th commandment ( You shall not commit murder) and the 9th commandment ( You shall not bear witness against your neighbour), refuses to repent and everyone in the PCA hierarchy refuses to anything about it. MC (Min Chung) is anointed by God, God only exists at CFC and there is no other place like CFC, Lee said, describing the church environment. The Roys Report seeks to foster thoughtful and respectful dialogue. // Dr. Tim Peterson & The CFC Worship Team // CFC. CFCs main ministry is to the students at the University of Illinois and the church recruits heavily during new student week, said Tim Ma, former CFC member and 2014 Illinois graduate. Service Times. That is, until he was caught in a gay sex scandal in 2006. A male escort named Mike Jones publicly claimed that Haggard had been a client for years. One was a claim from many years ago of inappropriate touch with an adult woman. bumpkin london closed. Even the pastors, I would say, do a good job at that. In January of 2020, CFC transitioned from being under the leadership of Reverend Min Chung to a team leadership model. After the passage of many years, CFC recently received two written complaints concerning the same CFC employee. . A new report appears to implicate Covenant Fellowship Church's former head pastor, Min Joshua Chung, in fostering and creating a misogynistic church environment. Theyre a very inclusive, very inviting community. The decision came before an investigation by WBEZ of Pastor Min Joshua Chung of the Covenant Fellowship Church on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. A sexual assault victim who wished to remain anonymous, but whose identity TRR confirmed, said that CFCs culture discouraged reporting sexual assault to police. While this was happening, the report states, Chung was exercising nearly Godlike authority to pressure his victim and various others whod learned about the incident to stay silent. Based on the record before us, and in light of the great . K.J. Xavier Brasseur, pastor of The Story Ashland in Ashland, Oregon, told the outlet that his church is helping the three women get professional counseling. The friend urged the victim to tell Chung she hadnt consented to his touch. Follow her on Twitter @WBEZeducation and @soosieon. Casey and Wendy Treat were always the first to take a pay cut. However, the KCP determined at an April meeting that looked only at the single incident that Chung had been restored to God, as well as the woman, and that that discipline instituted by CFC pastors was found to be sufficient.. Especially in the Korean community, to call out a pastor, youre going against God-given authority.. Front-runner for Oscar. I froze. I didn't know what to do. Really hurt by this, JanetRussell said. We acknowledge that this was wrong., Kim said the woman had forgiven Chung long ago.. [They] are literally re-traumatizing [themselves] by speaking to us, so the least the other side could do would be to hear those pieces of information, Dunn said, adding that current church leaders, including KJ Kim, were the only remaining people GRACE had left to interview. Leslie Massey recently entered into a binding settlement, executed a comprehensive release of her legal claims and dismissed her lawsuit against CFC and Caleb Treat with prejudice. Covenant Fellowship Church is nondenominational, has no elders, and is not a PCA member. As outlined in WBEZs initial report, in April 2021, the KCP a regional presbytery of the PCA to which Kim, Chung and other former CFC pastors belong had found Chung guilty of his admitted sexual harassment for inappropriately touching a female congregant in 2001 (instead of a more serious form of misconduct). I would be interested to know how much of the loss of members comes from the PCA and how much comes from the-once much larger-PCUSA(not PSUSA). Hope City Church in Houston, Texas once touted as the "fastest-growing church in American history" announced earlier this month that its pastor, Jeremy Foster, has resigned due to an adulterous affair.. Foster's resignation is the latest in a series of scandals linked to the Association of Related Churches. But theres, of course, a lot under the surface as well, he added. ChristianHeadlines.com is a member of the Salem Web Network. Chungs church reckoned him to have an especially high place of anointing, making him untouchable when he does wrong, said Dan Lee, another whistleblower in the report. Langberg helped an ad interim committee of the PCA write a new report on domestic and sexual abuse in churches. Chung turned over leadership of the church he founded in 2019 to a team of associate pastors, according to Ministry Watch. Wade Morris, Popular Baptist Youth Speaker, Dies After COVID-19 Hospitalization. VanRaden was employed as an assistant pastor and youth pastor at Faith Baptist Church, 4601 N . The Coursons. In May 2021, CFC cut ties with him. Diseo y fabricacin de reactores y equipo cientfico y de laboratorio In addition to the alleged sexual assault, the report lists several other allegations against Chung. He also spoke at youth and college-aged events, counseled university students, and preached in several countries. Theres a side of me thats like, no, Im not gonna give another ounce of my energy and time to this, and then theres this other side of me thats just so upset at the injustice of it all, that people still dont have the truth., Miryung Fontijn, another member of the allegation group, said she was shocked by the GRACE termination. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. He plays a vital role in the smooth function of many ministries. Nine teaching elders protested the KCPs ruling, saying they didnt think Chung was truly repentant, and called for indefinite suspension. How Tragic. . Three former Christian Faith Center congregants have brought a lawsuit against Federal Way megachurch Christian Faith Center and the family who owns it, alleging family members utilize church. Here's what you'll find at Christian Family Church: 1. WBEZ Listen Download Victims of abuse who express their grievances on social media, who protest, who take their stories to the media theyre like that woman in that parable, LeCroy said. Those who looked deeper discovered sexual misconduct and abuse of power by Chung, former long-term church members, pastors, and leaders state in a 67-page report released to The Roys Report (TRR). A year later, the group of 14 whistleblowers submitted their report to the PCAs Korean Central Presbytery and called for the KCP to investigate Chung, arguing CFC associate pastors had failed to discipline him, said Park. CFC treated Leslie Massey with compassion and respect even as it defended itself against her claims. In a statement aboutMasitha, the church said this in a statement: CFC promptly retained an experienced, independent outside investigator to interview witnesses. CFC also agreed to her request for reimbursement of counseling expenses. 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Would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to help our journalists continue to report the truth and restore the church? Office Hours. Our Pastors DR THEO WOLMARANS Founded in September 1979 by Senior Pastor Dr Theo Wolmarans and his wife Beverley, Christian Family Church International Johannesburg is one of the largest churches of its kind in Southern Africa. In May, CFC severed ties with Chung and hired Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (G.R.A.C.E.) We lost our church family and community, she said. (The version of the report released to TRR referenced and summarized the texts instead in the interest of the victims privacy.) Women in many Korean churches are told to be submissive, former CFC members said. Attorney Laura Dunn, a contracted institutional response specialist with GRACE, said many of the people with whom she spoke struggled to get through their interviews, some of which took three to four hours. Since 2008 the organisation has hosted summer camps and retreats all over Texas. The employee who is under investigation has been placed on leave and is not currently preaching or otherwise involved in ministry work at CFC.. Through the Presbyterian Church in America's ruling body, Korean Central Presbytery (KCP), Min Joshua Chung, the founder of the Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) in Champaign-Urbana, was restored to his post as a minister in April this year. The Churchs annual budget is reviewed by the Board of Directors, the Auditor and the Churchs bank. Court documents from that case said over years,"Caleb D. Treat repeatedly preyed upon female employees and church members but the church "failed to take effective action.". Reverend Kim was officially commissioned to CFC as its ordained teaching elder and the lay oversight board members were ordained as ruling elders. Even the friend in whom the victim confided feared she would be cursed by God if she spoke against Chung. That lawsuit names the Christian Faith Center, founders Casey and Wendy Treat, and among other defendants,. Chung was also an adjunct professor at Urbana Theological Seminary from 2005 to 2018. bumpkin london closed. by National Public Radio station WBEZ in Chicago, Covenant Fellowship Church and its former head pastor Min Joshua Chung for years fostered a misogynistic environment that included sexual mistreatment and oppression of women. The decision came before an investigation by WBEZ of Pastor Min Joshua Chung of the Covenant Fellowship Church on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. In August 2019, Chung stopped preaching at CFC, but said it was to facilitate a transition to a team leadership model. Lin said the area. To make a donation,click here. CFC partners with Reach Out, an association of churches that helps to feed and house the homeless during the winter months. Fontijn, Park and others told WBEZ they are angry the victims of sexual and spiritual abuse who came forward to be interviewed by GRACE will not be heard. August 7, 2021 A Presbyterian oversight group refused to defrock a Korean American minister following allegations of sexual misconduct, reports Ministry Watch. She writes for American City Business Journals BizWomen. However, there have also been a number of accusations of abuse of power and harsh treatment towards others that continued to surface regarding this same pastor, Kim continued. But lay leaders and congregants began leaving the church in recent years, which was also a registered student organization at UICU. Though first accused in 2017 of unwanted sexual advances, Zacharias's conduct went unchallenged and was only revealed upon his death. trugrade fuel pump. WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. That lawsuit settled a few weeks ago for an undisclosed amount. // Dr. Tim Peterson // CFC. Rev. You're gone. My mind was racing. Several CFC Survivors came forward to tell their stories on an Instagram account. In this case, Id say this is the logical result of Korean Cultures Confucian-infused hierarchy: father-son, king-subject, husband-wife, elder-younger, friend-friend (where one is above the other in rank). The KCP which consists of several pastors who were close with Chung had determined that he had been restored to God, as well as the woman. The regional presbytery also determined no additional disciplinary steps were needed for Chung other than what the church had already instituted. . Its horrific, it's gross - the sexual exploitation and doing nothing about it, said Joan Mell, the attorney representing Kelly and Janet Russell. The commission declared the KCP should have disciplined the pastor according to the PCAs Book of Church Order not follow the restorative steps the associate pastors had instituted, according to Brian Park. What to expect. Were really hurt. You have to realize all those relationships, they're gone, said KellyRussell. For Janet Park, the events of last year feel like a waste of time and energy. CFCs breach includes, but is not limited to, Caleb Treat, Tasha Treat, and Moses Masitha exploiting parishioners and employees for their own personal sexual gratification and empowerment, the complaint reads. Conversations about sex, including consent, are taboo. Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado. I myself, talk about the abuse I faced in CFC especially on worship team and after my mugging in October 2015 which I believe CFC was responsible for.letters_from_rahab:https://www.instagram.com/letters_from_rahab/My insta:https://www.instagram.com/timma1/0:53 Pastor Min Chung \u0026 what happened:3:23 Letters from Rahab \u0026 abuse victim stories:6:42 What change people want:9:46 Chris Yoon10:20 How can I and others recover?11:51 CFC worship team and the negativity16:56 Legal action soon Diseo y fabricacin de reactores y equipo cientfico y de laboratorio Men. He was released from jail Monday after posting $7,500 cash and told to be back in court Jan. 21. Check out our new Instagram account. Nothing was ever followed up on with me. In the aftermath, CFC promised to investigate and to be transparent. Along with her husband Theo, Pastor Beverley co-founded Christian Family Church International in September 1979. cfc church scandal pastor minemn meaning medical. And you almost feel like people won't want anything to do with you if you speak your truth, she said tearing up. Pastor Eddie Howard and his wife MaryAnn Howard. At trial, CFC will prove that the plaintiffs accounts of the Treats alleged personal financial gain are simply not supported by the facts. Jon Courson, the evangelical pastor who built the Applegate Christian Fellowship into the biggest church in Southern Oregon, will leave his post to become a pastor with the 25,000-member Calvary Church in Costa Mesa, Calif. Courson's surprise move was announced at evening services Wednesday, along . He also said that, for sexual harassment of a member of the congregation, the KCP should have dealt Chung a suspension of a period of years, and perhaps even defrocked him. The events referenced in the complaints appeared to have occurred long ago. Meanwhile, Chung maintains a presence and continues to attend KCP meetings, according to sources. The reports were made to a campus pastor who has since relocated to another state in order to lead his own congregation. Were an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. There have been a few times in the Churchs history when layoffs or pay cuts have been necessary. Anne Stych is a writer in Charlotte, North Carolina. According to U of I spokeswoman Robin Kaler, Covenant Fellowship is once again a registered student organization with the university this school year giving the 32-year-old congregation access to the schools facilities and a new crop of potential members. Only 4 Percent of Americans Hold a Biblical Worldview Post-Pandemic: It 'Altered' Beliefs, Asbury Prof: 'Outpouring,' Not 'Revival,' Is Best Label for Recent Events, Asbury Revival Attendee Is Diagnosed with Measles, When Mental Illness Goes Viral: Social Contagions Are Destroying Our Girls, ChatGPT, Consciousness, and the Human Mind, How to Morally Share Your Moral Beliefs with Others, Laws Shape How We Think about the World Around Us, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. He added: Theyre banging on the door, looking for justice, and I dont think leaders of the church should look down upon that because that is exactly what they should be doing if they havent found it where they should find it..