Friday, January 07, 2011

Missionary Church of the Disciples of Jesus Christ Follow-up

A while back I posted on the Missionary Church of the Disciples of Jesus Christ looking for information. These are the white clad pan handlers many of us in the Western US see whenever we go shopping.

That post has gotten a LOT response at my Live Journal blog. One of the poster just posted this. It seems to vindicate the conclusion I came up with. This group is a scam:

Back in 2002 I became homeless in Southern California and a friend who saw these people talked to one and he and I went out to one of their "homes" to see if they had a place for me where I could stay while looking for a job to get back on my feet. The place was, literally, a dump. I was also told that in order to stay there I would have to go out every day to ask for donations all day meaning I would not have any time at all to look for work. If I was willing to do that I could stay there. Fast forward to 2006. I am in the New Life program at the gospel mission up here in Pasco, WA. The same group is up here asking for donations claiming to be representing the mission. Not their mission of course but the Gospel Mission. The Gospel Mission had to put an announcement in the paper and in their newsletter that these people were not collecting donations for the mission. Here is a nice article about them from the Tri-City Herald. http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/10/03/v-p
rint/1194059/pasco-church-says-it-aids-community.html Anyone who claims to receive a visit from Jesus and two of the apostles and forms a secretive religious community around themselves gets a big dose of suspicion from me.
Here is the piece he referenced. Its posted at Tri-cityherald.com.

Sunday, Oct. 03, 2010


Pasco church says it aids community services, but nonprofits say no money received

By Kristi Pihl, Herald staff writer

PASCO -- The white-clad missionary solicits donations from drivers at the busy intersection.

The can she is holding out for money has the shield of the Missionary Church of the Disciples of Jesus Christ on it and proclaims, "We fight drug abuse."

Some drivers give her money. Others pass her by. Where does the money go?

The California-based Missionary Church has been in Pasco since 2001, when it purchased a former motel building now worth $150,300 at 1824 E. Lewis St., which has become the group's missionary training center and chapel, and a pastoral house worth $121,800 at 304 N. Owen Ave., according to county documents.

Although the church has been in the Tri-Cities for almost a decade, little information about it is available.

The Missionary Church is not part of the Tri-Cities Pastors Prayer Network, and local pastors whom the Herald asked had not heard about it.

Thelma Zuria, a church senior evangelist, said she couldn't provide an estimate of how much money the church collects from the public. She said 15 percent goes to support the church and 85 percent for services the church provides in the Tri-Cities and surrounding areas.

Because it is a church, unlike other nonprofit organizations, it isn't required to file documents with the state or federal government explaining how its money is spent.

When a church isn't transparent about how it spends its donations, the public can't determine what its money supports, said James Wellman, chair of the University of Washington's comparative religion department and associate professor of American Religion in the Jackson School of International Studies.

"I would go so far to say it's a scam," he said.

Wellman said bad religion can give good religion a bad name.

"They are trying to look as if they are the Salvation Army or the Red Cross," he said.

But agencies such as those two nonprofits report how money is spent on overhead and services, he said.

Zuria said the missionaries take food to the needy, help distribute toys with Toys for Tots and volunteer in hospitals and jails.

The church has donated to the Yakima County Toys for Tots, but has not helped Benton-Franklin County Toys for Tots, those two organizations report.

Pasco's Lourdes Medical Center, Kennewick General Hospital and Richland's Kadlec Medical Center do not have record of church missionaries serving as volunteers. Neither does the Benton nor Franklin County jail nor Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell.

The church also does not appear in the records of those who volunteer through the Benton-Franklin Volunteer Center.

The church has not responded to any of the many calls the Herald has made since three missionaries provided an initial interview. The Herald also has attempted to reach church headquarters in Covina, Calif., but hasn't received any response to multiple calls.

Its pastoral home was purchased for $80,000 and the Lewis Street property for $90,000, according to county documents.

Property taxes will cost the organization $3,571 this year, according to county documents. The church has already paid about $1,785 of that.

The church spent about $16,506 on property taxes and about $1,241 on interest for both properties between 2006 and 2009, a total of $17,747, according to county records.

The Missionary Church does not own any property in Benton County.

In a 2001 story, The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, Calif., quoted a church member as saying the church used about $15,000 a month it collected outside Walmart and other stores to provide services, but wouldn't reveal the total amount the church's fundraising collects.

The national Missionary Church headquarters website also has no details about how much money the church brings in and how it is used. In addition, there are no precise details on the success or locations of its claimed drug rehab programs or any other services.

The church was brought to California by Apostol R. Gonzalez W., who claims, on the organization's website, that Jesus Christ and disciples Peter and John visited his home, which led him to preach.

The Better Business Bureau's records don't contain any complaints about the church's fundraising.

And although the collection can that church missionaries brandish while seeking money lists a claim the donations will go to fight drugs, the Tri-City church does not have a drug rehabilitation center in the area.

Zuria said that's something the church would like to start locally but can't at the Lewis Street building because it's close to a school.

The missionaries of the nondenominational church are volunteers and don't have a job outside of their missionary life, the members said. Alberto Hidaljo, a Missionary Church disciple based in Pasco, said the Lord is their insurance policy.

The white of their uniforms represents purity, Hidaljo said. And they make the missionaries stand out in a crowd and look professional, Zuria said.

The missionaries of the church are organized into different grades much like the military, Zuria said. Those grades are indicated by the shield on the arm of their white uniforms.

A disciple is one of the first grades, while Ofelia Herrera of Pasco is a preacher and evangelist, a higher grade.

Herrera, a local convert to the church, said she was a member for about four years before deciding to become a missionary.

She said she was attracted by how the church sticks to God's work. "They do what they speak," she said.

The church's history in Pasco isn't as spotless as the missionaries' white uniforms.

In October 2005, the city revoked the church's permit for a missionary training center and closed the Lewis Street facility.

The church had been renting out rooms to women and receiving state Department of Social and Health Services funds to pay for the housing, said David McDonald, Pasco city planner. But according to city documents, the organization had a permit for a missionary training center, not community service housing.

Zuria said the church wanted to provide housing, but the Lewis Street property is zoned commercial, so the organization couldn't get a special permit to house families there.

The city also received complaints about the property's condition starting in January 2005. According to city documents, the complaints included no occupancy certificate, debris, junk and tires left in public view, unpermitted auto sales on the property, junk vehicles, auto storage and weeds.

Mitch Nickolds, Pasco inspections services manager, said the organization has since cleaned up the property. And the city restored the church's permit for a chapel and missionary training center there in August 2006.

People call code enforcement to complain about church members asking for donations in traffic and for having people sleep at the Lewis Street property, he said.

However, the organization does have a special permit to allow its students to sleep there, Nickolds said.

And Pasco Police Capt. Jim Raymond said as long as church missionaries do not impede traffic, they can solicit donations on street corners. They are most often seen near Walmart and at the intersection of Court and 20th Avenue.

An internet search for the Missionary Church reveals little other than that Walmart sued the Missionary Church in the superior courts of several California counties in 2001. The corporation alleged the group was seeking donations in front of its stores without getting permission.

Wellman said people should not donate to an organization if they aren't sure how their money is being used and how successful the programs are.

Otherwise, he said, "You are basically giving blindly."


15 comments:

pineappleupsidedown said...

Thank you for your article. I checked out their website after having a talk with one of the young ladies asking for money today. I wanted to know what she believed, and she continued to repeat that following the 10 commandments was essential (she was very slow to admit to breaking them-and said she kept them all until I explained to her thats impossible unless ur Jesus...etc. then she agreed...) She emphasized giving up worldly possessions, and that there is only one church that Christ will return for. All this is true, but her way of putting it made it seem like a works based religion that felt they were the only ones who interpret the Bible sufficiently and accurately. There is just a check in my spirit about if this girl is being deceived or what. I noticed that they still hold to clean and unclean foods as well, and quote Acts 10:14 as grounds for this. (I believe the passage has more to do with the Gentiles being welcomed into the family of God than what God wants in our diet. Plus, in the end he declares all food clean.) I can't find any studies on this group online, and so I hope to do my own followup with their San Jose pastor soon. I hope to read more about your studies of this "church". Hopefully their hearts are in the right place.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
David said...

Job 14:4

David said...

Hey pineapple, give me the scripture where all food is good to eat? You so called religious "christians" don't even respect the Sabbath nor unclean foods. Come at me with scriptures bro!

David said...

I always contribute to this church because they actually dedicate their entire life to GD and helping others. If you doubt them, go to the missions and help giving the food out or other community activities they have instead of running your mouth (fingers) online

The one that Jesus loves. said...

Hey David. If you don't study Scripture yourself then how does someone give it to you?

333FPsalm32:10 said...

"I would go so far to say it's a scam" plus James Wellman equals cheap science. Or simply another form of a macro culture element attempting to dictate to other religions how they should be, think, and behave. If not, they are less than a religion, so just a scam. This is a legitimate institution! Those who collect donations are the ones in the process of rehabilitation themselves. A big proportion of them are former addicts. Some have been free of drugs and other conditions for years, and others are still in the process of rehab. Other proportion were disengaged individuals that were homeless due to their addictions or simply their disadvantage socioeconomic status. This information is based on a ethnographic research of a 20+ year duration.

Reference:

TBA/Psalm 51: 6

333FPsalm32:10 said...

...

333FPsalm32:10 said...

I just noticed today the DA alert on this church is no where to be found online. It is the same for my responses to DA for his discriminatory claims using Wellman's statements as the only source to support his claims. DA and Wellman, you are unprofessional and biased. Do not trust the paper cited on this site. They deleted the negative review I made about the DA and Wellman. This is typical of the American press; they clean your online reputation if paid. John where are your references to support your claims? I am not able to find the DA alert anymore. DA, Wellman and you are simply racists!

333FPsalm32:10 said...

This church indeed fights drug abuse. Most of those collecting donations are the ones that have been rehabilitated or are in the process of rehab. These individuals receive free shelter and food for a period of three months. After that period they decide if they become missionaries and continue their life journey of rehab and relapse prevention through the word and work of God. They are not forced to stay, so they can choose to leave at any time.
The church has different informal rehab centers that are shelters designed for women or men. Most of these former drug users stay; some have relapses and leave from time to time. Their rehabilitation is the result of their spiritual transformation through the word and work of God. The donations these individuals collect help to pay for the free shelter and basic needs individuals receive at no cost.
The donations also allow the church to open new location at different places within the United States, Latin America, Caribe, and Europe. As any other Christian denomination, spreading the word of God is their primary purpose as well as helping those in need. Most of church members are of Latino decent; there are Whites, Blacks, and individuals from other ethnic groups as well. The flags on the church website represent the members of the church and their countries.
Apostol Rolando Gonzales was a faithful man of God who dedicated his life to fulfill Jesus Christ mission. God's communicates through dreams, visions, and even by personally talking to his chosen such as Paul, Moses, and so on. Those shocked by this have no knowledge of the bible's content.
The church does not have to be part of any group and is not required by law. The same way California does not require academic institutions to be part of APA. Those are regulations formed by third parties not the law. This is why there are not BBB complaints about this church. This church has a constitutional right to exercise their freedom of religion.
Those interested in knowing how much money this church collects should also ask the Catholic church how much money they make through their cash collection during a church service and that multiply by the number of masses in any given year.
The information provided here is based on ethnographic research of 20+ duration. Those interested in knowing more can contact me. If you do not have evidence about this church being a scam leave them alone. Your behavior and the behavior of those involved such as John of "all" faiths' James Wellman, and DA David Eyster, Mendocino County, show biases, discrimination, ignorance, and stupidity.

Rachael Rose Luckey said...

Does anyone know what their position on gay marriage is?

Unknown said...

Do you have the Long Beach address and telephone number for this "church"?

Unknown said...

If they claim to teach jesus. Honor they parents why are keeping my son from visiting us. Plus he doesnt wsnt to be there so they ship him to Colorado he wants to go to Los Angeles to be close to his father n vudut but they side swiped him instead all the way from Colorado to Los Angeles now they send him to Bakersfield n his father is worried about him cuz they wont allow him to use the phone.and intentionally are keeping him from us. Plus all he does is panhandle they are making him to where he went know how to get a job or go to school or nothing si they most deffinsky are a cult n I wish I could go over n cuz tirn out plus the office in covina. Wont answer my calls I bet they would if I lied n told them I wanted to donate. But I am no liar.

Unknown said...

This is a lie I'm sorry this church doesn't prohibit no phone use actually, there's always 2 sides to every story, noone is forced to be in that Church, it is volunteer, if your son don't like he why doesn't he leave? Or what's this name? And the definition of Panhandling is begging for money, they don't beg they ask if you want to donate volunteerly if not u can keep walking

Unknown said...

I am a missionary in this church . They are the real deal baby. Im sober for two years now they helped me dismiss all my court cases. I have a roof over my head, I dont plan on leaving. God is going to use for big things.