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Author Topic: RELIANT MISSION - Behind The Pretense  (Read 30422 times)
Janet Easson Martin
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« on: December 04, 2017, 09:36:57 am »

RELIANT MISSION

Behind The Pretense



This is a repost of a response here to a Former Reliant Missionary.  This group is doing the smoke and mirrors thing again (as is their history) so they may disguise their massive trail of spiritual abuse evidence that follows them.  Please be warned.

I have found the name and "mission" of RELIANT MISSION quite ironic.  Their deceptive history is anything but reliant.  When I was part of this organization in its later beginnings we never saw any accounting of what happened with our money given to the church for many years!  No one publicly questioned it.  Only when the bad reputation of the group grew quite widespread did they attempt to publish their "so-called" activities.  Even then, it was a whitewash job.  Abuses were very much dismissed.  Only after I left did I learn that the founder used our finances to start his own pet projects to exult his image and the image of his "ministry".  We were used to create, promote, distribute, and verbally PUFF UP GCx's image. Though we didn't know it, we were just like slaves working hard to build pyramids to their honor. Nearly every project was a waste of our time and labor because they failed pitifully. There always seemed to be a significant exaggeration of the facts. The promotion of this group nearly always seemed to be right on the edge of fabrication.  

"You gladly put up with fools... In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face."
2 Corinthians 11:19,20

"Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them."
Galatians 4:17

Let's just say that the finances in that group seemed of little benefit to those in the actual church.  In fact, some were reproved for giving to faithful people in our church who were living in poverty.  (Though it was anonymous, the elders did find out.)  Though this was over and above their tithe, they were still told it should go to the elders.  Some were reproved for giving money to their own parents.  Now, mind you, the ratio of people to elders then was 10-25 to 1!  And, there were three elders! That was NOT good use of our money.

There were other money-making investment schemes which deceptively sucked in members and family and friends of members to generate high dollars. People lost hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars and were never compensated a thing that I know of.  Some were twistedly persuaded to give up their retirements.  The insensitivity to their own people is audacious!  

The biggest PR move in my time was to try to start 50 new churches all at once by selecting two men for each city and sending them (and their families) out with only a thousand dollars and "commissioning" them to start a church.  These "missionaries" received no known support from their home church after that and were visited little if ever by those in leadership!  I'm not sure that any of those really succeeded.  They are bent on building up their IMAGE, but not their people.  

Thus, I find it contemptuous that the GCx organization set up such a group and called it RELIANT Mission!



« Last Edit: December 08, 2017, 12:11:26 pm by Janet Easson Martin » Logged

For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.        - Saint Augustine
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« Reply #1 on: December 13, 2017, 01:22:46 pm »

This is interesting.  According to their website, they are no longer affiliated?

http://gccweb.org/about/faq/

27. What is the relationship between Great Commission Churches (GCC) and Great Commission Ministries (GCM)? [-]

GCC, based in Columbus, Ohio, is a U.S. association of autonomous evangelical churches that was initially organized in 1983. GCM (which has changed its name to Reliant Mission) is based in Orlando, Florida and is a ministry designed to help local churches mobilize missionaries. This ministry was founded in 1989 by the GCC organization, but is now independent of GCC organizationally. Most of the missionaries employed by Reliant today are sent by evangelical churches that are not affiliated with GCC. We in GCC value our partnership with Reliant to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the United States and the world.
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Linda
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« Reply #2 on: December 14, 2017, 01:29:59 pm »

I think there has been a distancing of Reliant from GCC for many years now and am choosing to believe the name change had to do with that, rather than trying to do the old "change our name because people are starting to ask questions" move. It's Christmastime. I'm choosing to not be cynical.

That said, two things still trouble me that GCM/now Reliant has not addressed.

1) For many years they had this statement on their web site denouncing THIS forum, calling us "online detractors of Great Commission Churches". We clearly had some major issues with doctrine and practice and we were called detractors. They kept this statement on their web page for many years. They never apologized for it. It's the typical GC thing to do. Remove the statement, message, whatever, but never apologize or correct. Here it is:

"There is a small but vocal group of online detractors of Great Commission Churches. They say they have complaints with GCM, but in actuality their concerns are with Great Commission Churches—not with GCM as a mission organization. They misrepresent GCM when they label any church associated with the historic Great Commission movement as a “GCM church.” As a mission agency and distinct 501c3, GCM is not under the authority of Great Commission Churches. We would direct those who desire more information to Great Commission Churches’ website."

2) The second concern is that Greg Van Nada, who goes back to the "bad old days" is on the board.

That said, it's a positive that they no longer want to be associated with GCC. Baby steps.
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HughHoney
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« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2018, 08:13:43 pm »

I did notice they have outside board members...
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UserNumber123
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« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2018, 05:36:22 am »

Hi everyone,

I currently support a Reliant missionary (she is one of my very good friends). She says they changed their name and mission statement so that they could serve and include missionaries outside the GC movement. Her and I are both longtime GC members.

I hope this adds a little bit of clarity. It seems that Reliant was formed not to distance its mission from GC, but the expand upon it.
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