covenant fellowship church scandal

The presbyterys membership is around 60, according to one KCP pastor. Great! So our teaching is centered on the gospel and applicable for everyday life. Some said she held strong views on women, insisting that they dress modestly and saying that when not if a husband strays in a marriage, women should be quick to forgive. He goes to Matthew 18, and says that what happened was a private matter between two people and so its been taken care of according to the Bible.. Courtesy of @letters_from_rahab, Graphic treatment by Katherine Nagasawa. Meanwhile, Chung maintains a presence and continues to attend KCP meetings, according to sources. Learn how your comment data is processed. to conduct a third-party investigation. Many other ministries have removed Chung from their boards and speaking schedules. 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). (Image: Screengrab / YouTube) According to experts, CFCs place on a college campus, and the role it played in students lives during their formative years, played a big role in the power dynamic that persisted there for decades. Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Nothing was put in place, to my knowledge, to keep me safe from him. Sources said the UIUC campus churchs culture, structure and charismatic leader were among the reasons why so many stories of sexual abuse remained hidden for so long. But we are more than a church, we are a family. I put 50 hours of work into church on top of my 40-hour job that I didnt do well in, and I got negative reviews from my bosses, Lay remembered. Then, Chung stepped in front of church members and read an apology, according to the recording. These accounts, as well as those of many others who experienced similar encounters with Chung, were all part of the allegation document filed with the KCP. Chung turned over leadership of the church he founded in 2019 to a team of associate pastors, according to Ministry Watch. For people who had non-healthy father figures in their life, Min Chung was the epitome of being a loving father, said Amos Lee, a former leader at the church. The decision to return Chung to ministry may be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCAs General Assembly. Mahaney and Dave Harvey never told me about this civil lawsuit against SGM.". Some current members said friendships have been fractured in the past couple of years. And women are taught to protect men, even when the men are doing something wrong or hurting the women, said former member June Pinyo. Now, more than a year after WBEZ broke the story, former members and others familiar with the church say CFC is quietly reversing course. He was a very good preacher, Rhee said. She added that Chung would not leave their home until both she and her husband prayed over the pastor, and as he departed, he asked for hugs from both of them. 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. I definitely could have handled the situation better by telling my family sooner and getting accountability from older pastor, and Im sorry about that.. The entire SGM family of churches will be shocked. Chungs eldest child, Josie Chung, 30, recalled the countless donations her family received from CFC alumni, including cars, cell phones and gift cards for dining out. 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. When Chung found out about his friend and fellow pastor, he discouraged various parties from reporting the incidents to FABCs elder board, according to sources knowledgeable about the situation. Smith said CFC used student leaders as its liaisons instead of the pastors for registering as an RSO. But Chung got upset that the victim had told someone and told her to keep the incident quiet between the two of them, the friend said in the report. In one instance, Chung assaulted a woman in the back seat of a car in 2001, the report alleges. I wish that I had said no but I was afraid, Candis Lee said. Theres definitely very, very considerable amounts in private donations going to [my father] and my family, said Josie Chung. Because of the trust that had been damaged and the pain that had been caused, he said, the church board voted unanimously May 27 to separate from Chung. In the aftermath, CFC promised to investigate and to be transparent. Dan and Candis Lee, former longtime members at CFC who are part of the allegation group, said they asked Chung for a meeting when they found out about his misconduct. 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.. Since 1990, Covenant Fellowship Church has been a well respected Christian church on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a congregation of thousands of students, most of whom are Asian Americans. The senior pastor is Jared Mellinger, who has led the church since 2008. But Chung is subject to the PCAs Book of Church Order because of his PCA ordination, KJ Kim told TRR. Our service begins at 10:00 AM (and typically ends at 11:30). One of those associate pastors was KJ Kim, the new head pastor of CFC. 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 countys first Black trans appointee talks public office, preserving Lake Michigan and her historic first, Updated: Every incredible, fun, vibey thing to do in Chicago this summer is on this list. It is a story about sexual abuse, spiritual abuses or the misuse of power within the church, the alleged mishandling of those abuses, and a culture of piety and shame that sought to keep it all hidden for nearly three decades. Gospel-Centered We believe that the gospelthe good news of God's saving activity in Jesus Christis the pinnacle of His redemptive acts, the center of the Bible's story, and the essential message for our faith, life, and witness. Regarding recovery, the pastor reconciled with his victim, and regarding his relationship with God, he recognized his sin before God and relies on the blood of Christ, Rev. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. The church's website says that as of July 2021, CFC is under the leadership of Reverend KJ Kim and a lay oversight board and is in the process of "particularizing" or becoming a fully organized church with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). A source told WBEZ the woman did not wish to come forward to share her story. Joseph Stigora preached this sermon at Covenant Fellowship Church on July 2, 2023. Stressed about student debt? The victim was suicidal and traumatized by her initial and continuous interaction with Pastor Min, the friend stated in testimony included in the report. The April decision, which allows Chung to remain an ordained minister, still stands. A church in Urbana-Champaign reverses on promises to address abuse allegations. After being raped repeatedly by her boyfriend, Lin reached out to one of CFCs area pastors associate or assistant pastors who oversaw different parts of the UIUC campus. Today, Smith, who served as executive director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders between 2019 and 2021, said she wants to help survivors of sexual abuse and assault linked to CFC find healing for themselves and accountability for their perpetrators. Covenant Fellowship Church Greenville, TX. Sources, including Singer, told WBEZ that CFC was concerned the information-gathering process was biased and that it dug too much into Chungs case, which the church deemed outside the scope of the assessment. The 124-page allegation document, sent to a five-person investigation committee at the KCP, included written accounts from several former CFC members sharing information about Chungs alleged misconduct. http . Sovereign Grace Ministries and Covenant Fellowship Church were both named as Defendants. Dress casually or dress up, but come as you are comfortable! Community Community matters at Covenant Fellowship. One summer day, while her roommates were out, he came over and the two started kissing. Alengthy investigationby National Public Radio station WBEZ in Chicago last year and social media posts by past members portrayed Covenant Fellowship Church and Chung as fostering a misogynistic environment that included sexual mistreatment and oppression of women. Between bouts of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, Lin sought out a different Christian group on campus where she started the process of healing. Chung helped Samuel Lee to quietly step down from FABC and move to California, telling people that he had to leave to care for his ailing mother. Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a professor of history at Calvin College and author of The New York Times bestselling book Jesus and John Wayne, is familiar with this practice of using scripture to control victims. Because then what was it all for? Smith, the former White House staffer, said she knew friends who were so involved with CFC they almost failed out of school, because they were picking up too many responsibilities and activities with CFC., Who are you accountable to? we were asking this question of Min. The final tally 22 voting for the motion, 12 against and one abstaining showed that the motion fell just shy of the two-thirds majority needed for it to pass. Its time that we simply say enough is enough and no -longer co-sign this terrible plight that impacts people generationally. But I just brushed it off as that is not as important because doing Gods work was more important., Lay said he and other students were also invited to help Chungs family with domestic tasks, like picking up and dropping off the pastors five children from school, cooking for his family and cleaning the Chungs four-bedroom apartment. Its Asian churches that operate with a similar culture, saving face, shame. When she asked why he continued to preach after his misconduct, Park said Chung described a dream in which God showed him he was a lampstand for this generation. Park said Chung also told her that God had shown him in the dream that he was not as bad as [Samuel] Lee, the FABC pastor who relocated to California after officials learned of his sexual abuse cases. More about this ministry: Weekly broadcasts of Sunday Morning Worship, Monday Night Bible Study and Wednesday Night Bible Study Livestreaming services for Covenant Fellowship Church located in Greenville, TX. Welcome to Covenant Fellowship Baptist Church. Without its RSO status, the church was not able to reserve campus spaces and recruit attendees on Quad Day, an annual event held at the start of the fall semester where new students are introduced to organizations on campus. Chung, Rhee said, gave me this confidence that he was going to take care of it.. Many former CFC members who spoke to WBEZ said these practices were all part of a culture of deference and loyalty to the charismatic pastor. Two people declined our request for an interview, and the other two have yet to respond, as of Aug. 2. Why wouldnt you go to CFC? This past April, eight months after the allegation group submitted its charges, the KCP met in a contentious, two-day Zoom meeting of both Korean- and English-speaking pastors with Chung present for much of the meeting and allowed to defend himself and voted to find Chung guilty of only sexual harassment instead of any more serious form of misconduct, according to sources familiar with the case. Theres such a pressure put on women to be pure going into marriage, but then we create this environment in the church where its kind of ripe for abuse, and for women to stay silent when there is some kind of assault, Pinyo said. Covenant Fellowship Baptist Church is a praying, biblically-based, soul-winning, giving church for Christ Jesus. She said, Often, these churches are also kind of unified around the pastor and supporting the pastor. She added victims are often told it is unbiblical or un-Christian to take any problems to people outside the church. Park added, I think that God has the ability to redeem anything and anyone, so I think its really dangerous to be like, except for CFC, because then were saying that there are things outside of Gods ability and control.. Smith also encouraged survivors to report CFC by filing a Title IX complaint. In 2019, Chung told two associate pastors in a vague and minimized confession that he had sexually touched a woman from his congregation, the whistleblower report states. Tags: Covenant Fellowship Church Korean Central Presbytery Min Joshua Chung Pastor KJ Kim After Kims announcement of the restorative steps, Chung would go on to preach at least a dozen times to various congregations and conferences in the U.S. and other countries, according to videos and photos of Chungs speaking engagements obtained by WBEZ. Rhee said she was sure he would have raped her if she hadnt been able to fight him off. In the aftermath, CFC promised to make changes and to be transparent. He also said the presbytery was limited in its jurisdiction over CFC because the church was set up as an independent entity, separate from the denomination. Toward that end, the site requires that people use their full name when commenting. Heres help. According to the report, Kim was initially more interested in stopping the spread of gossip and keeping Chungs sexual misconduct private than holding Chung accountable or protecting victims. The motion failed to pass, allowing Chung to remain an ordained minister in good standing with the PCA. Family Worship at 10:00am Youth Group at 6:00pm. Theyre a very inclusive, very inviting community. Chungs assistance included giving Samuel Lee relocation funds a five-digit sum from CFCs account, sources told WBEZ. A vote by the Presbyterian oversight group on July 13 to remove Chung as a minister failed to get the necessary 2/3 vote. Come where the . I do remember him just saying not that he put a percentage on it but that part of it was my fault, she remembered. Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities. The church hired GRACE to begin the independent assessment in August 2021, and the organization had been gathering information via one-on-one interviews, documents, listening circles and an anonymous survey. Whistleblowers say theyre disappointed, but not surprised, with the ruling. The church exists to worship God, to edify and mature His people, and to bear witness to Christ and His kingdom in all the world. Sundays. The cost has been high for the whistleblowers, said Amy Han, one of the whistleblowers who submitted the report. In September 2019, two other whistleblowers met with Kim as a final step to urge leadership to take proper steps, the report states. I talked to him about it. Chung discouraged her from reporting the incident to police. Allegation group members who spoke to WBEZ said Kim often quoted the same two Bible passages as Chung, and did not take steps toward accountability and transparency until the fallout from the @letters_from_rahab Instagram account brought unwanted attention to CFC. Others said the events of the recent months place an unfair burden on current members who have little or no connection to the CFC of old. A sexual assault victim who wished to remain anonymous, but whose identity TRR confirmed, said that CFCs culture discouraged reporting sexual assault to police. Around 1980, he officially co-founded Covenant Life Church with his friend, Larry Tomczak, in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
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