Post by StationAdministration on Apr 8, 2006 9:16:26 GMT
End of December, 2004-beginning of January, 2005—Paul Daniel and his family reportedly have returned to South Africa. Their Franklin home is placed on the real estate market but was subsequently delisted before having been sold. 3/4/2006 note: According to His People Ministries, International (TX) 2004 IRS Form 990, Bill Bennot now claims this as his residence. However, according to the Tennessee Property Database, the property is still in Paul Daniel’s name.
Part 7: A reorganization of Morning Star International/Every Nation Churches and Ministries takes place in the midst of controversy and scandal
January 1, 2005—Jim Laffoon begins posting daily teachings/blogs on Newsboys’ website: www.newsboys.com .
January 12, 2005—The Every Nation name change is formally announced on MSI/Every Nation’s website.
January 14, 2005—Morning Star International, Inc. formally changes its name to Every Nation Churches, Inc., and Victory Campus Ministries, Inc. formally changes its name to Every Nation Ministries, Inc. with the California Secretary of State. “Every Nation” is not a legal corporate name in and of itself but is a registered trademark of Every Nation Churches, Inc.
January 19, 2005—Global Café, Inc. opens in downtown Nashville. The restaurant is a for-profit enterprise owned by Bethel World Outreach Center. Rice Broocks is the CEO, and BWOC pastors and officers/board members Bert Thomson and Tim Johnson are also officers/board members of Global Café, Inc.
February 16, 2005—The Middle North Carolina District Court judge tells Alpha Iota Omega and the University of North Carolina to reach an out of court settlement in its religious discrimination case by
February 28, 2005. If no agreement is reached, then the court will make a ruling in the case.
February 27, 2005—Tim Johnson, former senior associate pastor of Bethel World Outreach Center, is instituted as senior pastor. Rice Broocks becomes “senior minister,” overseeing Bethel’s various campuses/church plants throughout Middle Tennessee, including the new Franklin church plant.
February 28, 2005—Alpha Iota Omega and the University of North Carolina fail to reach an out of court settlement. As a result, the court awards AIO a preliminary injunction restoring their registered student group status pending the outcome of the case.
February 28, 2005—The Durham News & Observer publishes an article questioning Alpha Iota Omega’s connections to King’s Park International Church, Victory Campus Ministries and Every Nation; the article reveals that according to its corporate charter, KPIC is a renamed Maranatha church.
March, 2005-Reel to Real Ministries changes both its physical and mailing address according to its annual report and corporate information available through www.guidestar.org . Its website also redirects to a new site for The Apologetics Group (Eric Holmberg, founder and president): www.apologeticsgroup.com , which is an apologetics ministry from a Reformed, Calvinist perspective. These are indications that Eric Holmberg & Reel to Real Ministries may no longer be formally affiliated with Every Nation Churches and Ministries. However, both Stephen Mansfield (affiliated with Bethel World Outreach Center) and Dr. George Grant (leading Christian Reconstructionist and past VLI instructor) are board members of The Apologetics Group.
March 19, 2005—Newsboys, Inc. joins InPop Records’ roster, which effectively intertwines the band legally with Every Nation.
March 22, 2005—Newsboys changes websites; it is now hosted on the same domain as InPop Records. The new website prominently features Every Nation teachings, publications, and leaders, further entrenching the group as an Every Nation subministry.
March 28, 2005—Morning Star New York (MSNY - Ron Lewis, Senior Pastor) purchases 414 W 51st St 1-B, New York, NY for $1.3 million; mortgage is for $910K.
Spring 2005—Some individual churches begin legally changing their name to "Every Nation," reflecting the new identity of the parent corporation.
Spring 2005—Global Café LA opens in Studio City, California.
Spring 2005—Morning Star International Church of Boston (formerly Maranatha Christian Church of Boston, MA) lists a new name, "Beacon City Church" on its website. However, as of August 26, 2005, the legal corporate name of the entity is still Morning Star International Church of Boston.
May 4, 2005—Morning Star Christian Church of Lawrence, KS incorporates a new non-nationally affiliated ministry to take the place of Victory Campus Ministries/Every Nation Campus Ministries chapters previously based out of its church: Midwest Student Ministries. Chapters are registered at both University of Kansas (KU) and Kansas State University (K-State).
May 11, 2005—Two families file suit in US District Court against Victory Clubs of America, Bethel World Outreach Center, and Metro Nashville consolidated government for injuries incurred as a result of two girls' involvement in the Victory Club chapter at Hillsboro High School, Nashville, TN. According to news reports as well as the complaint as filed in US District Court, one girl attempted suicide and the other required mental health hospitalization.
May 23, 2005—According to a Form 990 received this date by the IRS from "His People Ministries Africa", a fundraising arm of the Texas EN churches for African missions, Bill Bennot's address is listed as Paul Daniel's Franklin, TN house. As of 3/5/2006, this property is still listed in Tennessee records as being in Paul Daniel's name.
May 31, 2005—Champions for Christ’s website redirects to its 2005 conference website and the old Flash site is no longer active. Champions’ headquarters has also been moved from Austin, TX to Sterling, VA – where Metro Morning Star’s offices are also located. Brett Fuller is listed as the president and Tony Boselli the executive vice president of CFC.
June 1, 2005—Every Nation posts a newly redesigned website on the first anniversary of its last major site redesign; the new site fully incorporates the new Every Nation Churches and Every Nation Ministries brands. Morning Star International is no longer used as an active "brand name.” In addition, "Victory Clubs" is now called "Every Nation Youth" even though it is still legally "Victory Clubs" as of this date according to the Tennessee Secretary of State.
June, 2005—Prominent Every Nation member and author Stephen Mansfield writes the cover article for Charisma magazine (“Vicar of the Spirit”), which is a tribute to recently deceased Pope John Paul II.
June, 2005—Victory Campus Ministries announces that it is merging with other affiliate ministries; the parent organization is legally Every Nation Ministries (the renamed VCM). Every Nation’s campus arm is now named Every Nation Campus Ministries but is not a separately incorporated entity as VCM was. The other ministries merging into Every Nation Ministries are “Every Nation Youth” (still legally *Victory Clubs as of 6/05), *Force Ministries, *Champions for Christ, Every Nation Leadership Institute, ENLI Graduate Schools, Every Nation conferences, Every Nation Productions and online store, and Every Nation World Missions. It is unclear at this time whether some of the other affiliate ministries, including *Campus Harvest, Arts, Culture and Entertainment, *African American Resource Ministry, etc. are also being merged into Every Nation Ministries or are instead considered subministries of specific Every Nation churches.
*=separately incorporated entity in the US
July, 2005—Sometime during the first two weeks of July, Victory Clubs'(now known as Every Nation Youth) old URL (www.victoryclubs.com) redirects to a commercial domain licensing site owned by Network Solutions. There is no redirect to the new URL, which is now www.everynationyouth.com. This is unlike Every Nation's other URLs which had either been redirected to the correct sites (www.championsfc.com; http://www.morningstar2010.com) or were maintained at the old location under the old name with a name change announcement (www.vcm.com).
July 20, 2005—Every Nation files a new foreign Certificate of Authority for Every Nation Ministries, Inc. with the Tennessee Secretary of State.
July 21, 2005--June, 2005—Prominent Every Nation member and author Stephen Mansfield releases Pope Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission.
July 26, 2005—Every Nation files a name change from Morning Star International to Every Nation Churches, Inc. for its existing foreign Certificate of Authority in Tennessee.
August 19, 2005—The foreign Certificate of Authority for Every Nation Churches, Inc. in Tennnessee is administratively revoked, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State. Every Nation Ministries, Inc. remains an active corporate entity in Tennessee.
August 19, 2005—Every Nation administratively dissolves Victory Clubs of America, which had been incorporated as a non-profit organization in Tennessee. Its successor, Every Nation Youth, is not a separate legal entity as Victory Clubs of America was but is instead part of Every Nation Ministries, Inc.
Summer, 2005—Leo Lawson is no longer acting dean of the School for Campus Ministry.
September, 2005—Tony Fetchel, West Coast Regional Campus Director, is removed from his ministry position after allegations of a personal scandal.
September 9, 2005—Morning Star International Church of Boston (formerly Maranatha Christian Church of Boston, MA) changes its name with the Massachusetts Secretary of State to Beacon City Church. This is the fourth name change for this former Maranatha church whose primary outreach is to Boston-area college campuses.
September 25, 2005—Every Nation churches in Singapore and Austin, TX (Christ Community Church pastored by Ray McCollum; was formerly Morning Star Christian Church of Austin pastored by former Maranatha/MSI leader Greg Ball) begin Rick Warren’s 40 Days of Purpose campaign.
Fall, 2005—Every Nation Churches revises its statement of faith to be in line with that of the National Association of Evangelicals. The new version affirms the Trinity as one God in three Persons, while the old version at least allowed for the possibility of modalism. ENC also now publicly embraces and adopts the Nicean and Chalcedon Creeds. (While it is still available... the old version can be seen here: http://www.bwoc.org->About Bethel->Statement of Faith).
October 2-6, 2005—There are reports that a top level meeting takes place in Nashville, presumably to review and discuss Every Nation’s financial records, discuss board/leadership changes (see November communiqué), etc. 3/7/06 note: ENC’s and ENM’s information reports generated by the California Secretary of State on 2/25/2006 confirm that changes were filed for Every Nation Churches, Inc. No changes were filed for Every Nation Ministries, Inc. As of 2/25/2006, Phil Bonasso is still listed as ENM's CEO with the California Secretary of State.
October 30, 2005 Morning Star New York (MSNY) Commitment Sunday kicking off its LifeGiving capital campaign, which characterizes itself as "giving life to New York. In so doing, you’ll be creating a new life for yourself." The initial goal is a "faith" $1 million to pay off its existing mortgage and an additional "miracle" $1 million to purchase additional property. $5,000, $1000, and $500 per month contibution levels are suggested. See lifegiving.msny.org.
October 31, 2005—Every Nation openly acknowledges a “reorganization” movement apparently under the leadership of board member Steve Murrell, in which a consultant has been hired (Olan Hendrix/Leadership Resource Group; who was the founding president and incorporator of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability), its financial statements are being audited by an independent auditor, and one of its Board of Directors, Phil Bonasso, is reportedly removed from his day-to-day role as top manager of Every Nation’s administration and finances.
November, 2005—Morning Star Christian Church of Lawrence, KS leaves Every Nation – it is no longer listed in Every Nation’s national directory, and references to Every Nation Churches and Ministries are removed from the church’s website (www.msclawrence.com). In addition, the K-State and KU Every Nation Campus Ministries chapters are no longer listed in the VCM/ENCM national directory.
November 1, 2005—Prominent Every Nation member and author Stephen Mansfield releases Derek Prince: A Biography, which was authorized/commissioned by Prince and his family before his death in 2003. Derek Prince was once known as one of the original “Fort Lauderdale Five” Shepherding leaders. The forward to the book is written by well-known Word-Faith televangelist John Hagee. Mansfield also now hosts “Derek Prince Legacy Radio”: www.derekprince.org.
November 9, 2005—Every Nation Churches and Ministries releases an eight page “Reorganization Communique” to pastors and leaders via email. It is posted to the FACTNet discussion board on 11/16/2005. Changes announced include proposed changes to the reduced day-to-day, hands-on management roles and responsibilities of its founders/board members, particularly those of Phil Bonasso and Rice Broocks.
November, 2005-References to Phil Bonasso's leadership are removed from the South Bay church's website in keeping with announcements that Phil Bonasso would be relocating to Jacksonville, FL. The Bonassos also sell their Palos Verdes home.
December 5, 2005-Former InPop president Dale Bray returns to his former post after a five-year hiatus. Every Nation Productions president Wes Campbell remains as InPop CEO.
December 12, 2005—Newsboys posts a redesigned website which now includes no overt references to Every Nation Churches and Ministries or its leaders, aside from “Our Daily Blog” devotionals by Jim Laffoon.
December 16, 2005—Morning Star Christian Church of Dallas (TX; Joe Martin, Sr. Pastor) changes its name back to Trinity Church, its name at its corporate inception. Note that this is not really a name change since "Morning Star Christian Church" was really a legally assumed name for Trinity Church International, Inc., the legal name of the corporate entity from its incorporation on November 29, 1994. MSCC/Trinity’s website acknowledges Morning Star International’s/Every Nation’s name changes; the announcement states:
In 1995, Nancy and I founded this church under the God-given name of Trinity Church. In 2000 we became Morning Star Church to identify with our larger apostolic family, Morning Star International. Last year, MSI changed their name to Every Nation to better reflect the mission and vision of the organization. After much prayer and consideration, we feel that now is the time to re-cast our original name and embark upon the next season of ministry as Trinity Church (a member of the Every Nation family of Churches and Ministries).
December 20, 2005--Trinity Church (Dallas) files "Frontline" as an assumed name of the church. Theoretically, any funds raised under the church's assumed name as opposed to the separately incorporated 501(c)(3), Frontline Partners/Frontline Strategic Resources, would be exempt from IRS reporting since churches are not required to file IRS Form 990s unlike other non-profits that are not churches.
Late 2005--Cornerstone Church of Jackson, MS joins Every Nation Churches and Ministries. Founded in 1985, this church had been supporting Steve and Deborah Murrell as missionaries for several years prior to this - see archived websites here: web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.cornerstonejackson.org/.
Early 2006-All the Indonesian GAP churches pull out of Every Nation en masse; their departure was reportedly approved by EN leadership at the Palm Springs meeting. As of March 2006, these churches are no longer listed in Every Nation's directory.
mid-January, 2006—There are several reports that Mark Foster resigned his position as Every Nation Churches and Ministries’ administrator just prior to the Every Nation International Leadership Summit. 3/2/06 note: This was verified in a communiqué sent out to MPD staff, which included Mark Foster’s resignation letter.
January 16-20, 2006-Every Nation International Leadership Summit convenes. Approximately 125 senior pastors were in attendance along with Every Nation’s senior leaders. According to the fall 2005 communique, one of the primary tasks of this summit was to ratify the announced reorganization plan for Every Nation Churches and Ministries. Steve Murrell later states on his blog that he had spent “a week in Palm Springs debating and eventually solving ministry growing pains” (1/30/2006).
January 22, 2006—Kevin York, senior pastor of Mid Cities Community Church (Midland, TX), announces to his congregation that he is accepting a top leadership position over all of Every Nation’s global churches, based in its Nashville headquarters. He was first offered the position on December 31, 2005. It is also announced that (1) the Los Angeles administrative headquarters is closing and all administrative offices/positions will move to Nashville and (2) former Maranatha pastor Bert Thomson will be the lead administrator over Every Nation Ministries. Rice Broocks is still the president of Every Nation Churches and Ministries according to this announcement – his position as “our” president was mentioned several times in the announcement. Mid Cities Community Church is where Rice Broocks was based in the early 1990s after the break up of Maranatha Campus Ministries.
January 26, 2006—Bethel Community Church (BWOC), represented by Michael Swain, presents its plan for a nearly 41,000 square foot facility adjacent to Seward Hall, a historic home listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and requests that restrictions on its prior approval be lifted (see www.franklin-gov.com/pdf/fmpc012606.pdf ; tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060129/COUNTY090101/601290324/1356/COUNTY0901 ). Seward Hall and the surrounding property is owned by Wes Campbell, Newsboys' manager and president of Every Nation Productions. 14 acres of the 20 acre lot was donated to EN/Bethel for its use to build a new church facility, which, if built, will be 8 times larger than historic Seward Hall in terms of square footage. In 1999, the Franklin historic commission, the developer of neighboring McKay's Mill, and the city of Franklin had agreed to keep the original lot intact as a buffer around the historic site - see www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/1999/06/21/story5.html . Also see related blog: franklincircus.blogspot.com/2006/01/church-vs-franklin.html.
February, 2006—Champions for Christ’s 2004 IRS Form 990 is made available online; it was filed with the IRS in November, 2005. It confirms that Greg Ball is no longer the president of CFC, that Brett Fuller has taken his place, and that CFC’s headquarters have been moved from Austin, TX to Brett Fuller’s offices in Herndon, VA. CFC contributions have dropped from approximately $2.9 million in 2003 to under $1 million in 2004. Despite the fact that Greg Ball was removed in May 2004, his reported 2004 salary is $60,000 greater than was reported in 2003 (from $199K to $259K). Salaries exceeded ministry contributions this year.
February, 2006—Champions for Christ’s website is replaced with a placeholder: www.championsfc.com.
February 10, 2006—A group of homeowners in the McKay's Mill subdivision of Franklin, TN file for injunctive relief against Bethel World Outreach Center, ENP President Wes Campbell, the City of Franklin, the Franklin Municipal Planning Commission and the Jones Group (developer of McKay's Mill which had originally been party to an agreement to keep the Seward Hall property intact), in order to try and force the city into reconsidering plans to build "Bethel Community Church" on land adjacent to historic Seward Hall (see www.williamsonherald.com/small%20pdfs/0223-PDFS/Asection.pdf and tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/COUNTY0902/603010325/1177 ).
February 28, 2006—Every Nation disseminates a communiqué addressed from Every Nation Ministries director Bert Thomson formally announcing that Every Nation Ministries’ headquarters are being moved from Los Angeles to Nashville effective June 2006, confirming rumors that had been circulating since at least November, 2005. No mention is made of the financial scandals or allegations that have rocked Every Nation since late 2005.
As you know, Nashville hosts our Every Nation Churches office, the North American
offices of Every Nation Leadership Institute, Every Nation World Missions, the School of
Youth Ministry and the School of Church Planting & Pastoral Ministry. The decision to
move the School of Campus Ministry (SCM) there reflected the desire of our ministry's
leaders to streamline our schools and benefit from economies of scale. The students of the
schools will be able to interact and build relationships with one another. We will also save a
significant amount of resources by having all of the schools in one place. If you attended
one of the schools, you probably know that Nashville is much less expensive than Los
Angeles!
Once the SCM moved to Nashville, the Every Nation Ministries office was the only
corporate office in the U.S. that was not located in Nashville. A relocation committee
comprised of senior managers and staff from the LA office evaluated the pros and cons of
the Every Nation Ministries office remaining in Los Angeles, and determined that it was
best for all of our Every Nation operations to be located in Nashville. While having all of
our ministries' U.S. operations in one place does have some drawbacks, the long-term
benefits of moving to Nashville outweighed the benefits of staying in L.A.
UPDATE: It appears that the relocated School of Campus Ministry will no longer offer joint courses with Fuller Theological Seminary, possibly signifying that there is no longer an active "special and cooperative program" arrangement with Fuller.
OLD WORDING – EN Development Site (March 2006):
The overall curriculum is designed at a graduate level, including six seminary missions courses. Students with a bachelor's degree will be eligible to receive a certificate recognizing their studies in mission theology. After completing the School of Campus Ministry, alumni have the option to complete a master’s degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. Alumni may complete these advanced degrees while working in ministry back on their campus mission field.
NEW WORDING—EN Live Site (April 6, 2006)
The overall curriculum, designed at a graduate level, not only thoroughly prepares the student for ministry on today’s campus, but also provides an introduction to seminary studies. As part of the training process, each student will develop an individualized Graduate Course of Study based on their educational goals and vocational path. Upon completion of the School of Campus Ministry, alumni may pursue these advanced degrees while working in ministry on their campus mission field.
March 1, 2006—Every Nation's redesigned website goes live; Every Nation Churches and Every Nation Ministries sites are merged into one single website under the "Every Nation" corporate banner.
April 4, 2006--Bethel World Outreach Center breaks ground on its new Franklin church as approved by the Franklin Planning Commission on February 10, 2006, in violation of an existing court order blocking one of the entrances, and despite the lawsuit that residents of the McKay's Mill neighborhood have filed to block construction, claiming that the city gave inadequate or insufficient notice for neighborhood residents to air their concerns regarding the proposed facility. Residents' issues include traffic and safety concerns, stating that the local infrastructure is insufficient to handle the increased traffic, as well as concerns about the size and footprint of the 41,000 foot facility adjacent to historic Seward Hall, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and was originally slated to be buffered on its original 20+ acre lot as historic protection for the home and also to be the visual centerpiece for the McKay's Mill neighborhood. See tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060322/COUNTY0902/603220369/1177.
April 2006--There are indications that additional churches may have left or be leaving Every Nation, or are minimizing their association with the group, including Life Christian Center (St. Louis), Milestone Church (previously Morning Star Fort Worth, Keller, TX) and Morning Star Community Church of Abilene (TX). All these churches have either removed Every Nation references from their websites or posted new websites with no Every Nation references in recent weeks or months. However, as of April 6, 2006 they are all still listed in Every Nation's master directory.
Part 7: A reorganization of Morning Star International/Every Nation Churches and Ministries takes place in the midst of controversy and scandal
January 1, 2005—Jim Laffoon begins posting daily teachings/blogs on Newsboys’ website: www.newsboys.com .
January 12, 2005—The Every Nation name change is formally announced on MSI/Every Nation’s website.
January 14, 2005—Morning Star International, Inc. formally changes its name to Every Nation Churches, Inc., and Victory Campus Ministries, Inc. formally changes its name to Every Nation Ministries, Inc. with the California Secretary of State. “Every Nation” is not a legal corporate name in and of itself but is a registered trademark of Every Nation Churches, Inc.
January 19, 2005—Global Café, Inc. opens in downtown Nashville. The restaurant is a for-profit enterprise owned by Bethel World Outreach Center. Rice Broocks is the CEO, and BWOC pastors and officers/board members Bert Thomson and Tim Johnson are also officers/board members of Global Café, Inc.
February 16, 2005—The Middle North Carolina District Court judge tells Alpha Iota Omega and the University of North Carolina to reach an out of court settlement in its religious discrimination case by
February 28, 2005. If no agreement is reached, then the court will make a ruling in the case.
February 27, 2005—Tim Johnson, former senior associate pastor of Bethel World Outreach Center, is instituted as senior pastor. Rice Broocks becomes “senior minister,” overseeing Bethel’s various campuses/church plants throughout Middle Tennessee, including the new Franklin church plant.
February 28, 2005—Alpha Iota Omega and the University of North Carolina fail to reach an out of court settlement. As a result, the court awards AIO a preliminary injunction restoring their registered student group status pending the outcome of the case.
February 28, 2005—The Durham News & Observer publishes an article questioning Alpha Iota Omega’s connections to King’s Park International Church, Victory Campus Ministries and Every Nation; the article reveals that according to its corporate charter, KPIC is a renamed Maranatha church.
March, 2005-Reel to Real Ministries changes both its physical and mailing address according to its annual report and corporate information available through www.guidestar.org . Its website also redirects to a new site for The Apologetics Group (Eric Holmberg, founder and president): www.apologeticsgroup.com , which is an apologetics ministry from a Reformed, Calvinist perspective. These are indications that Eric Holmberg & Reel to Real Ministries may no longer be formally affiliated with Every Nation Churches and Ministries. However, both Stephen Mansfield (affiliated with Bethel World Outreach Center) and Dr. George Grant (leading Christian Reconstructionist and past VLI instructor) are board members of The Apologetics Group.
March 19, 2005—Newsboys, Inc. joins InPop Records’ roster, which effectively intertwines the band legally with Every Nation.
March 22, 2005—Newsboys changes websites; it is now hosted on the same domain as InPop Records. The new website prominently features Every Nation teachings, publications, and leaders, further entrenching the group as an Every Nation subministry.
March 28, 2005—Morning Star New York (MSNY - Ron Lewis, Senior Pastor) purchases 414 W 51st St 1-B, New York, NY for $1.3 million; mortgage is for $910K.
Spring 2005—Some individual churches begin legally changing their name to "Every Nation," reflecting the new identity of the parent corporation.
Spring 2005—Global Café LA opens in Studio City, California.
Spring 2005—Morning Star International Church of Boston (formerly Maranatha Christian Church of Boston, MA) lists a new name, "Beacon City Church" on its website. However, as of August 26, 2005, the legal corporate name of the entity is still Morning Star International Church of Boston.
May 4, 2005—Morning Star Christian Church of Lawrence, KS incorporates a new non-nationally affiliated ministry to take the place of Victory Campus Ministries/Every Nation Campus Ministries chapters previously based out of its church: Midwest Student Ministries. Chapters are registered at both University of Kansas (KU) and Kansas State University (K-State).
May 11, 2005—Two families file suit in US District Court against Victory Clubs of America, Bethel World Outreach Center, and Metro Nashville consolidated government for injuries incurred as a result of two girls' involvement in the Victory Club chapter at Hillsboro High School, Nashville, TN. According to news reports as well as the complaint as filed in US District Court, one girl attempted suicide and the other required mental health hospitalization.
May 23, 2005—According to a Form 990 received this date by the IRS from "His People Ministries Africa", a fundraising arm of the Texas EN churches for African missions, Bill Bennot's address is listed as Paul Daniel's Franklin, TN house. As of 3/5/2006, this property is still listed in Tennessee records as being in Paul Daniel's name.
May 31, 2005—Champions for Christ’s website redirects to its 2005 conference website and the old Flash site is no longer active. Champions’ headquarters has also been moved from Austin, TX to Sterling, VA – where Metro Morning Star’s offices are also located. Brett Fuller is listed as the president and Tony Boselli the executive vice president of CFC.
June 1, 2005—Every Nation posts a newly redesigned website on the first anniversary of its last major site redesign; the new site fully incorporates the new Every Nation Churches and Every Nation Ministries brands. Morning Star International is no longer used as an active "brand name.” In addition, "Victory Clubs" is now called "Every Nation Youth" even though it is still legally "Victory Clubs" as of this date according to the Tennessee Secretary of State.
June, 2005—Prominent Every Nation member and author Stephen Mansfield writes the cover article for Charisma magazine (“Vicar of the Spirit”), which is a tribute to recently deceased Pope John Paul II.
June, 2005—Victory Campus Ministries announces that it is merging with other affiliate ministries; the parent organization is legally Every Nation Ministries (the renamed VCM). Every Nation’s campus arm is now named Every Nation Campus Ministries but is not a separately incorporated entity as VCM was. The other ministries merging into Every Nation Ministries are “Every Nation Youth” (still legally *Victory Clubs as of 6/05), *Force Ministries, *Champions for Christ, Every Nation Leadership Institute, ENLI Graduate Schools, Every Nation conferences, Every Nation Productions and online store, and Every Nation World Missions. It is unclear at this time whether some of the other affiliate ministries, including *Campus Harvest, Arts, Culture and Entertainment, *African American Resource Ministry, etc. are also being merged into Every Nation Ministries or are instead considered subministries of specific Every Nation churches.
*=separately incorporated entity in the US
July, 2005—Sometime during the first two weeks of July, Victory Clubs'(now known as Every Nation Youth) old URL (www.victoryclubs.com) redirects to a commercial domain licensing site owned by Network Solutions. There is no redirect to the new URL, which is now www.everynationyouth.com. This is unlike Every Nation's other URLs which had either been redirected to the correct sites (www.championsfc.com; http://www.morningstar2010.com) or were maintained at the old location under the old name with a name change announcement (www.vcm.com).
July 20, 2005—Every Nation files a new foreign Certificate of Authority for Every Nation Ministries, Inc. with the Tennessee Secretary of State.
July 21, 2005--June, 2005—Prominent Every Nation member and author Stephen Mansfield releases Pope Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission.
July 26, 2005—Every Nation files a name change from Morning Star International to Every Nation Churches, Inc. for its existing foreign Certificate of Authority in Tennessee.
August 19, 2005—The foreign Certificate of Authority for Every Nation Churches, Inc. in Tennnessee is administratively revoked, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State. Every Nation Ministries, Inc. remains an active corporate entity in Tennessee.
August 19, 2005—Every Nation administratively dissolves Victory Clubs of America, which had been incorporated as a non-profit organization in Tennessee. Its successor, Every Nation Youth, is not a separate legal entity as Victory Clubs of America was but is instead part of Every Nation Ministries, Inc.
Summer, 2005—Leo Lawson is no longer acting dean of the School for Campus Ministry.
September, 2005—Tony Fetchel, West Coast Regional Campus Director, is removed from his ministry position after allegations of a personal scandal.
September 9, 2005—Morning Star International Church of Boston (formerly Maranatha Christian Church of Boston, MA) changes its name with the Massachusetts Secretary of State to Beacon City Church. This is the fourth name change for this former Maranatha church whose primary outreach is to Boston-area college campuses.
September 25, 2005—Every Nation churches in Singapore and Austin, TX (Christ Community Church pastored by Ray McCollum; was formerly Morning Star Christian Church of Austin pastored by former Maranatha/MSI leader Greg Ball) begin Rick Warren’s 40 Days of Purpose campaign.
Fall, 2005—Every Nation Churches revises its statement of faith to be in line with that of the National Association of Evangelicals. The new version affirms the Trinity as one God in three Persons, while the old version at least allowed for the possibility of modalism. ENC also now publicly embraces and adopts the Nicean and Chalcedon Creeds. (While it is still available... the old version can be seen here: http://www.bwoc.org->About Bethel->Statement of Faith).
October 2-6, 2005—There are reports that a top level meeting takes place in Nashville, presumably to review and discuss Every Nation’s financial records, discuss board/leadership changes (see November communiqué), etc. 3/7/06 note: ENC’s and ENM’s information reports generated by the California Secretary of State on 2/25/2006 confirm that changes were filed for Every Nation Churches, Inc. No changes were filed for Every Nation Ministries, Inc. As of 2/25/2006, Phil Bonasso is still listed as ENM's CEO with the California Secretary of State.
October 30, 2005 Morning Star New York (MSNY) Commitment Sunday kicking off its LifeGiving capital campaign, which characterizes itself as "giving life to New York. In so doing, you’ll be creating a new life for yourself." The initial goal is a "faith" $1 million to pay off its existing mortgage and an additional "miracle" $1 million to purchase additional property. $5,000, $1000, and $500 per month contibution levels are suggested. See lifegiving.msny.org.
October 31, 2005—Every Nation openly acknowledges a “reorganization” movement apparently under the leadership of board member Steve Murrell, in which a consultant has been hired (Olan Hendrix/Leadership Resource Group; who was the founding president and incorporator of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability), its financial statements are being audited by an independent auditor, and one of its Board of Directors, Phil Bonasso, is reportedly removed from his day-to-day role as top manager of Every Nation’s administration and finances.
November, 2005—Morning Star Christian Church of Lawrence, KS leaves Every Nation – it is no longer listed in Every Nation’s national directory, and references to Every Nation Churches and Ministries are removed from the church’s website (www.msclawrence.com). In addition, the K-State and KU Every Nation Campus Ministries chapters are no longer listed in the VCM/ENCM national directory.
November 1, 2005—Prominent Every Nation member and author Stephen Mansfield releases Derek Prince: A Biography, which was authorized/commissioned by Prince and his family before his death in 2003. Derek Prince was once known as one of the original “Fort Lauderdale Five” Shepherding leaders. The forward to the book is written by well-known Word-Faith televangelist John Hagee. Mansfield also now hosts “Derek Prince Legacy Radio”: www.derekprince.org.
November 9, 2005—Every Nation Churches and Ministries releases an eight page “Reorganization Communique” to pastors and leaders via email. It is posted to the FACTNet discussion board on 11/16/2005. Changes announced include proposed changes to the reduced day-to-day, hands-on management roles and responsibilities of its founders/board members, particularly those of Phil Bonasso and Rice Broocks.
November, 2005-References to Phil Bonasso's leadership are removed from the South Bay church's website in keeping with announcements that Phil Bonasso would be relocating to Jacksonville, FL. The Bonassos also sell their Palos Verdes home.
December 5, 2005-Former InPop president Dale Bray returns to his former post after a five-year hiatus. Every Nation Productions president Wes Campbell remains as InPop CEO.
December 12, 2005—Newsboys posts a redesigned website which now includes no overt references to Every Nation Churches and Ministries or its leaders, aside from “Our Daily Blog” devotionals by Jim Laffoon.
December 16, 2005—Morning Star Christian Church of Dallas (TX; Joe Martin, Sr. Pastor) changes its name back to Trinity Church, its name at its corporate inception. Note that this is not really a name change since "Morning Star Christian Church" was really a legally assumed name for Trinity Church International, Inc., the legal name of the corporate entity from its incorporation on November 29, 1994. MSCC/Trinity’s website acknowledges Morning Star International’s/Every Nation’s name changes; the announcement states:
In 1995, Nancy and I founded this church under the God-given name of Trinity Church. In 2000 we became Morning Star Church to identify with our larger apostolic family, Morning Star International. Last year, MSI changed their name to Every Nation to better reflect the mission and vision of the organization. After much prayer and consideration, we feel that now is the time to re-cast our original name and embark upon the next season of ministry as Trinity Church (a member of the Every Nation family of Churches and Ministries).
December 20, 2005--Trinity Church (Dallas) files "Frontline" as an assumed name of the church. Theoretically, any funds raised under the church's assumed name as opposed to the separately incorporated 501(c)(3), Frontline Partners/Frontline Strategic Resources, would be exempt from IRS reporting since churches are not required to file IRS Form 990s unlike other non-profits that are not churches.
Late 2005--Cornerstone Church of Jackson, MS joins Every Nation Churches and Ministries. Founded in 1985, this church had been supporting Steve and Deborah Murrell as missionaries for several years prior to this - see archived websites here: web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.cornerstonejackson.org/.
Early 2006-All the Indonesian GAP churches pull out of Every Nation en masse; their departure was reportedly approved by EN leadership at the Palm Springs meeting. As of March 2006, these churches are no longer listed in Every Nation's directory.
mid-January, 2006—There are several reports that Mark Foster resigned his position as Every Nation Churches and Ministries’ administrator just prior to the Every Nation International Leadership Summit. 3/2/06 note: This was verified in a communiqué sent out to MPD staff, which included Mark Foster’s resignation letter.
January 16-20, 2006-Every Nation International Leadership Summit convenes. Approximately 125 senior pastors were in attendance along with Every Nation’s senior leaders. According to the fall 2005 communique, one of the primary tasks of this summit was to ratify the announced reorganization plan for Every Nation Churches and Ministries. Steve Murrell later states on his blog that he had spent “a week in Palm Springs debating and eventually solving ministry growing pains” (1/30/2006).
January 22, 2006—Kevin York, senior pastor of Mid Cities Community Church (Midland, TX), announces to his congregation that he is accepting a top leadership position over all of Every Nation’s global churches, based in its Nashville headquarters. He was first offered the position on December 31, 2005. It is also announced that (1) the Los Angeles administrative headquarters is closing and all administrative offices/positions will move to Nashville and (2) former Maranatha pastor Bert Thomson will be the lead administrator over Every Nation Ministries. Rice Broocks is still the president of Every Nation Churches and Ministries according to this announcement – his position as “our” president was mentioned several times in the announcement. Mid Cities Community Church is where Rice Broocks was based in the early 1990s after the break up of Maranatha Campus Ministries.
January 26, 2006—Bethel Community Church (BWOC), represented by Michael Swain, presents its plan for a nearly 41,000 square foot facility adjacent to Seward Hall, a historic home listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and requests that restrictions on its prior approval be lifted (see www.franklin-gov.com/pdf/fmpc012606.pdf ; tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060129/COUNTY090101/601290324/1356/COUNTY0901 ). Seward Hall and the surrounding property is owned by Wes Campbell, Newsboys' manager and president of Every Nation Productions. 14 acres of the 20 acre lot was donated to EN/Bethel for its use to build a new church facility, which, if built, will be 8 times larger than historic Seward Hall in terms of square footage. In 1999, the Franklin historic commission, the developer of neighboring McKay's Mill, and the city of Franklin had agreed to keep the original lot intact as a buffer around the historic site - see www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/1999/06/21/story5.html . Also see related blog: franklincircus.blogspot.com/2006/01/church-vs-franklin.html.
February, 2006—Champions for Christ’s 2004 IRS Form 990 is made available online; it was filed with the IRS in November, 2005. It confirms that Greg Ball is no longer the president of CFC, that Brett Fuller has taken his place, and that CFC’s headquarters have been moved from Austin, TX to Brett Fuller’s offices in Herndon, VA. CFC contributions have dropped from approximately $2.9 million in 2003 to under $1 million in 2004. Despite the fact that Greg Ball was removed in May 2004, his reported 2004 salary is $60,000 greater than was reported in 2003 (from $199K to $259K). Salaries exceeded ministry contributions this year.
February, 2006—Champions for Christ’s website is replaced with a placeholder: www.championsfc.com.
February 10, 2006—A group of homeowners in the McKay's Mill subdivision of Franklin, TN file for injunctive relief against Bethel World Outreach Center, ENP President Wes Campbell, the City of Franklin, the Franklin Municipal Planning Commission and the Jones Group (developer of McKay's Mill which had originally been party to an agreement to keep the Seward Hall property intact), in order to try and force the city into reconsidering plans to build "Bethel Community Church" on land adjacent to historic Seward Hall (see www.williamsonherald.com/small%20pdfs/0223-PDFS/Asection.pdf and tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/COUNTY0902/603010325/1177 ).
February 28, 2006—Every Nation disseminates a communiqué addressed from Every Nation Ministries director Bert Thomson formally announcing that Every Nation Ministries’ headquarters are being moved from Los Angeles to Nashville effective June 2006, confirming rumors that had been circulating since at least November, 2005. No mention is made of the financial scandals or allegations that have rocked Every Nation since late 2005.
As you know, Nashville hosts our Every Nation Churches office, the North American
offices of Every Nation Leadership Institute, Every Nation World Missions, the School of
Youth Ministry and the School of Church Planting & Pastoral Ministry. The decision to
move the School of Campus Ministry (SCM) there reflected the desire of our ministry's
leaders to streamline our schools and benefit from economies of scale. The students of the
schools will be able to interact and build relationships with one another. We will also save a
significant amount of resources by having all of the schools in one place. If you attended
one of the schools, you probably know that Nashville is much less expensive than Los
Angeles!
Once the SCM moved to Nashville, the Every Nation Ministries office was the only
corporate office in the U.S. that was not located in Nashville. A relocation committee
comprised of senior managers and staff from the LA office evaluated the pros and cons of
the Every Nation Ministries office remaining in Los Angeles, and determined that it was
best for all of our Every Nation operations to be located in Nashville. While having all of
our ministries' U.S. operations in one place does have some drawbacks, the long-term
benefits of moving to Nashville outweighed the benefits of staying in L.A.
UPDATE: It appears that the relocated School of Campus Ministry will no longer offer joint courses with Fuller Theological Seminary, possibly signifying that there is no longer an active "special and cooperative program" arrangement with Fuller.
OLD WORDING – EN Development Site (March 2006):
The overall curriculum is designed at a graduate level, including six seminary missions courses. Students with a bachelor's degree will be eligible to receive a certificate recognizing their studies in mission theology. After completing the School of Campus Ministry, alumni have the option to complete a master’s degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. Alumni may complete these advanced degrees while working in ministry back on their campus mission field.
NEW WORDING—EN Live Site (April 6, 2006)
The overall curriculum, designed at a graduate level, not only thoroughly prepares the student for ministry on today’s campus, but also provides an introduction to seminary studies. As part of the training process, each student will develop an individualized Graduate Course of Study based on their educational goals and vocational path. Upon completion of the School of Campus Ministry, alumni may pursue these advanced degrees while working in ministry on their campus mission field.
March 1, 2006—Every Nation's redesigned website goes live; Every Nation Churches and Every Nation Ministries sites are merged into one single website under the "Every Nation" corporate banner.
April 4, 2006--Bethel World Outreach Center breaks ground on its new Franklin church as approved by the Franklin Planning Commission on February 10, 2006, in violation of an existing court order blocking one of the entrances, and despite the lawsuit that residents of the McKay's Mill neighborhood have filed to block construction, claiming that the city gave inadequate or insufficient notice for neighborhood residents to air their concerns regarding the proposed facility. Residents' issues include traffic and safety concerns, stating that the local infrastructure is insufficient to handle the increased traffic, as well as concerns about the size and footprint of the 41,000 foot facility adjacent to historic Seward Hall, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and was originally slated to be buffered on its original 20+ acre lot as historic protection for the home and also to be the visual centerpiece for the McKay's Mill neighborhood. See tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060322/COUNTY0902/603220369/1177.
April 2006--There are indications that additional churches may have left or be leaving Every Nation, or are minimizing their association with the group, including Life Christian Center (St. Louis), Milestone Church (previously Morning Star Fort Worth, Keller, TX) and Morning Star Community Church of Abilene (TX). All these churches have either removed Every Nation references from their websites or posted new websites with no Every Nation references in recent weeks or months. However, as of April 6, 2006 they are all still listed in Every Nation's master directory.