H2O Church at The Ohio State University

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[Ohman]

Hello,
Reading this site with great interest.  My daughter just started her 2nd year at OSU, discovered H2O Church at a student involvement fair, and is attending her first service and "Kick-Off" cookout today.  My caution and suspicion about this group is turning to concern, as I learn more. 

Does anyone here have any direct experience with the H2O Church at Ohio State?

Thanks!

[Janet Easson Martin]

Welcome Ohman,

I feel your alarm as a parent of a college student.  I will pray for her that she will feel freedom of choice and personal conviction in how she directs her academic time, free time, money, holidays, friendships, family time, career path, faith and service to God wherever she decides to go.  The bad new is though I am not sure who the particular leaders there are; if they were raised or discipled in the GCx organization or have loyalty to it, they are not likely to genuinely respect and support her individual choices especially in her pursuit of God's plans.

The good news is that I have found God AMAZINGLY faithful to answer our prayers for our children away from home.  He gives us permission to wear him out with our requests - as if he really could be worn out.  I know others reading here will also pray for your daughter.  

What a wonderful parent you are to investigate what your gut told you.



Fighting Their Battles in Prayer With You,

Janet

[Linda]

Welcome, Ohman.

While I have no "direct" experience with H2O Church at Ohio State, I might have a couple of bits of information that might be helpful to you as you research the church.

H2O church is part of a group of churches that recently (in the last few years) changed their name from "Great Commission Ministries Churches" to Collegiate Church Network churches.

Great Commission Ministries (GCM) was started by GCC (Great Commission Churches) which if I remember correctly used to be called GCAC (Great Commission Association of Churches). GCC churches were founded by a man named Jim McCotter and ended up on many cult watch lists over the years for their heavy handed high control leadership and commitment for life teaching.

GCM was a "branch" of GCC that was started by elder/pastor Dave Bovenmyer (I think around 1989) as a means of collecting and disbursing financial support for GCC missionaries and in later years did some college church plants. GCM recently changed it's name to Reliant. Bovenmyer sits on the board of GCC and Reliant (formerly GCM).

Let me see if I can summarize:

GCAC/GCC was started by a man named Jim McCotter around 1970. McCotter's teaching was characterized by obedience to elders (over issues like who to marry, where to go to school, commitment for life to the group, obedience to pastors) and he got himself and his churches on cult watch lists.

McCotter left in the mid-80's "to pursue business interests". GCC has never distanced themselves or corrected his bad teaching.

GCC started GCM in the late 80's.

GCM didn't like the fact that this web site is "gcmwarning" (standing for "Great Commission Movement", but I'm guessing parents Googling GCM found this site). They recently changed their name to Reliant.

The churches that were Reliant became Collegiate Church Network churches. There are links between the early GCC churches and Reliant and Collegiate Church Network. Specifically Dave Bovenmyer and a man named Greg Van Nada who is on the board of Reliant and Collegiate Church Network, but goes all the way back to GCC and McCotter.

It was when our high school daughter was asked to commit to our church for life while on a retreat that our eyes were opened. We had been attending our church for 10 years and just kept giving the bad teaching a "pass" because the pastors were sincere and we knew they were "untrained" so we made excuses for their bad theology...until they started teaching obedience to elders and commitment for life.

Hope that gives you a place to start and I hope that your daughter has a great year.

One last thing, I'm just curious as to how you came across this web site. Was there something in particular that you found troubling?

God bless.

[Janet Easson Martin]

To Ohman & All Checking Out H2O Churches/ Campus Ministries,

Linda's historical recall below is CRUCIAL to your researching this group. Their continual name changing is part of their scheme to detach themselves from continual spiritual abuses that are reported to this day. This very website contains documents and testimony of this organization's harmful counsel and leading of its people.  


"...H2O church is part of a group of churches that recently (in the last few years) changed their name from "Great Commission Ministries Churches" to Collegiate Church Network churches...

GCM recently changed it's name to Reliant. Bovenmyer sits on the board of GCC and Reliant (formerly GCM)...

GCAC/GCC was started by a man named Jim McCotter around 1970. McCotter's teaching was characterized by obedience to elders (over issues like who to marry, where to go to school, commitment for life to the group, obedience to pastors) and he got himself and his churches on cult watch lists... GCC has never distanced themselves or corrected his bad teaching.

...There are links between the early GCC churches and Reliant and Collegiate Church Network. Specifically Dave Bovenmyer and a man named Greg Van Nada who is on the board of Reliant and Collegiate Church Network, but goes all the way back to GCC and McCotter."


Here are some helpful testimonies from this website (bold emphasis mine):

Hello everyone! I was never a member of GCx, but was a member of the International Churches of Christ (ICOC) from 1998-2006. The stories of shepherding/discipling abuses I've read in GCx and the evolution of its theology and systems of control are virtually identical to the ICOC.

I've recently encountered current and former members of H2O churches in my part of the country (Cincinnati, Ohio) and am greatly concerned that the same kinds of GCx abuses are still occurring in these H2O churches. It's similar to what happened when the original leader of the ICOC (Kip McKean) was kicked out of leadership and a new group took over. The same abuses still occurred (and are still occuring), but not to the levels that they did in the past. However, these abuses are abuses nonetheless. This is my fear with the people I know who are involved with H2O, particularly at the leadership level.

What makes it more difficult is that the ICOC's teachings are very easy to pick out, namely one is not saved unless they follow the ICOC's bible studies which as a lost person you start living the life of a saved person so you can be baptized and become a saved person. (Wait, what??? That's what they teach in a nutshell!) It's harder to uncover bad GCx theology unless you really dig into it.

It was encouraging to find others on this forum who have been burned by H20 Orlando: http://forum.gcmwarning.com/general-discussion/the-worst-of-the-worst-serious-error/msg9307/#msg9307. I too was a part of H2O Orlando around the same time as "bothered." And I also came to H20 Orlando in the early 2000s hoping to find a great experience, instead I encountered a lot of immaturity and dysfunction on the leadership team. No one in the H20 Orlando leadership was held accountable for what happened.

Many people, like myself, came to Orlando hoping to "plant a church," but there was already a church there and it was confusing. Were we planting a new church or just merging with this one? And yes, as bothered points out, there was a fairly big exodus of people leaving the church because of the issues or because they were dissatisfied with everything. In any other healthy business, the leaders would have either lost their jobs or at least been held accountable in some way. But, that didn't happen.

From what I can see they haven't changed their core theological DNA or leadership very much, if at all.

http://www.h2ochurch.org
http://collegiatechurchnetwork.com
http://www.gcmweb.org/

Hi Virginia Parent,

I think that if you are thinking long term, your son should consider involving himself in another Christian Community.  My experience of GCM took place from around 2001-2005. In other words, very recently. Many of the issues in the 1991 apology still very much existed when I was there as late as 2005.

Rather than going through all of the issues I experienced here, if you want to know more about my experience, I posted about it on this forum under the title "H2O Orlando" in General Discussion. But, I will at least post here that the GCM church I was in was not very sensitive (sometimes extremely insensitive) to a student's academic responsibilities or future goals not related to vocational-ministry.

Are there other churches in the area you could have your son check out?
Perhaps understanding my experience, will help you and your son make the decision. God Bless you and your son as you pursue the best place for him.

[xray342]

Does anyone here have any direct experience with the H2O Church at Ohio State?

Hi Ohman!

Although I was never part of GCM (I was a member of the International Churches of Christ, which has very similar abusive dynamics to GCM), I did encounter a leader in the H2O Church at Ohio State. Once they stated asking me and a few other Christians for money to support their ministry, I knew what they was involved in. I asked them several questions in a phone conversation and their response was identical to those I've encountered personally from the ICOC, such as "we're not like that any more", "don't judge us for what we've done in the past, things have changed", and so on. I told them I was concerned about them being involved, but they decided to return to H2O anyway. I occasionally receive e-mail updates from them and one was particularly disturbing. It was a testimony from a woman who joined H2O that confessed practically all of her sexual sins in that e-mail in detail. This is the detail required from my time in the International Churches of Christ.

The bottom line is this: unless someone steps forward from these ministries (be it either a leader or regular member) and confirms that abuse is occurring, we can't definitely know if abuse is still occurring. However, with the evidence provided and my experiences with the discipling/shepherding ministries like GCM and the ICOC, it's best for someone to avoid them and join another authentic Christian campus ministry. It's not like there are a bazillion of those at a large campus like Ohio State already. Although that there's only so much we can see from our perspective as an outsider, there are troubling signs that tell me to avoid H2O entirely.

[XianJaneway]

Hi Ohman,

I was directly involved with H20 churches, right before it changed its name, and changed pastors. We still know and love a lot of people who are in leadership there.

(By the way, I'm sorry that I haven't put my introduction on the thread--I just saw this as I was browsing & wanted to help. I will do so shortly. Feel free to find me on twitter @XianJaneway, or read my story at IpreferCaptain.com)


While I was involved, I had *no idea* that it would be considered a "high-control" group. I didn't feel "forced" to do anything. However, the culture of the group strongly promotes giving of all of your time, energy, social commitment, and attention. 

Friendships are formed STRONGLY and QUICKLY, and it can feel like "home." This is called "love bombing."

The difference is, my husband & I were married, in an environment of mostly college students. We were getting the HYPER gender-roles advice. Women submit to husbands, stay home & raise the kids, etc. We were also introduced to the Pearls' books, which have severely oppressive gender theology.

I'm so tired that I can't think straight, but feel free to contact me on Twitter, or using my email that I left open. <3

[XianJaneway]

I should add that H2O was formerly called "Mosaic" .  They first met in a local movie theater, then moved to sharing a building w/a Church/Private School on Indianola Ave (IIRC? I haven't lived there in a few years, so I may not remember all the street names correctly.) 

I was a part of the church as they decided to make the transition from Mosaic to H2O.  The Mosaic pastor, Aziz,  was a believer in gender roles, but he actually made some very interesting & egalitarian-sounding statements during a few sermons! He was vulnerable, open, and helpful.  I liked him a lot. However, he was beyond exhausted, & had three kids with serious, life-threatening illnesses.  He was very servant-hearted. 

They decided to give Aziz a sabbatical, & brought in a new, younger, more charismatic preacher. They also decided to only focus on the OSU campus, so adults had to either join staff, or leave to find new churches. At that point, we moved to another GCM church--and that set us up for a serious level of difficulty.

So, please feel free to message me if you need any information about H20 or GCM. I don't want to get into any more specifics here, because I need to protect my kids' identity.

[Therese]

Hello Ohman, welcome.
We belonged to this OSU college group when it was called Solid Rock back in late 70s and early 80s. It was cultish, controlling and abusive. We both left, at different times. They made it difficult to leave but we persisted and managed. Then when we contacted some members later, they shamed us for leaving. They asked sternly more than once "why did you leave?" "We hope you come to your senses". They told us that repeatedly. We were stunned. They acted like they were the best church in the world and you're not right with God if you leave. Actually they did tell us more than once that our relationship with God wasn't right. But they didn't have any sin to point to except the sin of leaving (what they called it).
Please stay away from this group unless they changed for the better. They've never apologized to us even though we kept in touch with one family off and on for years. Does anyone have contact with this group?

[inCULTcated]

Please stay away from this group unless they changed for the better. They've never apologized to us even though we kept in touch with one family off and on for years. Does anyone have contact with this group?

I actually attended H2O Columbus off and on from about the end of 2018 to the beginning of 2022. My experience actually wasn't all that bad. (I also attended Awaken for much of this time, and that was the church that spiritually abused me.)

I still ended up leaving H2O, largely due to feeling that they weren't able to give me the spiritual help that I needed. Admittedly, I wasn't as deeply plugged into H2O (or Awaken for that matter) as most people were, so there may have been some spiritual abuse going on that I wasn't aware of. In fact, pretty much all of my friends who attended H2O ended up leaving, and while I don't know much as to why, I think that alone is a sign that something's not right with H2O.

That being said, I had enough positive experiences at H2O that, from my limited perspective, I'm inclined to think that they have improved over time. I still wouldn't recommend going there (and I'll never go back there myself), but I am on good enough speaking terms with some people there (including Pastor Aziz) that I might be able to talk to them and share some of my concerns with them. I don't think I'm ready for that yet, since I still have spiritual healing to do and I don't want to re-live my past too much, but I am hoping to be able to have some kind of conversation with them at some point in the future. I can't promise that it'll accomplish anything, but I did want to throw that out there.

[Janet Easson Martin]

Welcome, Therese! Glad you were able to share some of your experience. What a false teaching that was —the sin of leaving a GCx Church. How sinfully divisive that teaching and practice was! So sorry you went through that. You were definitely not alone.

Janet

[xray342]

I actually attended H2O Columbus off and on from about the end of 2018 to the beginning of 2022. My experience actually wasn't all that bad. (I also attended Awaken for much of this time, and that was the church that spiritually abused me.

H2O was just the feeder group into Awaken?

[inCULTcated]

I actually attended H2O Columbus off and on from about the end of 2018 to the beginning of 2022. My experience actually wasn't all that bad. (I also attended Awaken for much of this time, and that was the church that spiritually abused me.

H2O was just the feeder group into Awaken?

It's not like H2O drove me into Awaken or anything. They were just two different churches that I happened to attend, often on the same day. (H2O met on Sunday mornings, and Awaken met on Sunday evenings, so there was no schedule conflict between them.) I didn't even realize that they were both part of the broader GCx system until I left.

I also never officially became a member of either church. This was simply a stage of life when I was unsure what church to go to, and I had decided to go to these churches for the time being to help me sort that out. Part of the reason for my "double dipping" was simply that I was spiritually very desperate, and not because one of the churches was feeding into the other one or anything.

I hope that clears things up.

[teacartwheelsunpuppy]

I think I barely missed you! I moved from H2O (after basically being forced out...) to Awaken, only to find things were worse there. It was strange because I was watching a NXVIM documentary, and I realized, wow, the first stages feel very familiar. Now I see why!

To the prior point: H2O isn't necessarily a feeder into Awaken, but there is a lot of overlap, especially for older students/recent grads. Awaken is right down the road from H2O, too.

I do think there could be hope for H2O.  If the right people would step up, things could be better. There's no hope for Awaken. Do NOT go.

[Janet Easson Martin]

Welcome Teacartwheelsunpuppy! Thank you for writing on this site for former members of “GCx” churches or their branch splits. I am sorry you also had such a poor experience with these churches who claim to “follow Jesus more closely.” Would you feel comfortable sharing any details of being pushed out of the H2O church group without revealing your identity?

Also, do you care to elaborate on your time with AWAKEN?  How recent was your experience?

I assume you are referring the “church” group in Columbus, Ohio. Their Website is below:


http://awakencolumbus.com/


The AWAKEN Columbus, Ohio byline on Google lists Awaken Kids and Faithwalkers. We have heard plenty of scary edicts from those conference platforms on here.

I thought the same thing by the way -that the first stages of the NXIVM Cult were similar to GCx Churches manipulation of members into their ranks. Here is a post on here about it:

Could It Be Brainwashing?  

Examining Similar Methods in the NXIVM Cult

“Escaping the NXIVM Cult” is a 2019 movie about the true story of a mother (who is most known for her role in Dynasty) trying to save her daughter from the NXIVM cult. Though the gradual brainwashing is more overt and the abuse is also sexual, some of these same methods, motivation and manipulation to get people to join, tirelessly serve, and never leave were practiced by McCotter (and his indoctrinated leaders,) yet more subtly.

Dominating this entire group is pressure to please and SERVE the man at the top (who claims he’s an “Approved” and an Unquestionable Spiritual Authority); which is quite similar to McCotter and his rule rather than the guidance of the Holy Spirit and accuracy of the Bible. Also more insidious for us in GCx is that God’s name and “approval” was invoked to get us to carry out things the Holy Spirit never intended for us to believe or do.

It seems an eye-opening exercise would be to list each deceptive and manipulative method that occurs in this NXIVM cult according to the account here; and to compare them to those employed by GCx.

Rick Alan Ross (who is portrayed in the movie) was one of Cult Researchers involved in exposing NXIVM through testimonies of its defectors. NXIVM cult leaders were convicted and received criminal sentencing as recent as 2019, especially for their recruitment of young women into sex trafficking.


Trigger warning: codependent relationship grooming, sexual grooming, and sexual abuse are depicted



Link to Actual Movie Page:

https://www.netflix.com/title/81519788

http://forum.gcmwarning.com/recommended-reading-and-links/could-it-be-brainwashing/msg23315/#msg23315

[xray342]

To the prior point: H2O isn't necessarily a feeder into Awaken, but there is a lot of overlap, especially for older students/recent grads. Awaken is right down the road from H2O, too.

I do think there could be hope for H2O.  If the right people would step up, things could be better. There's no hope for Awaken. Do NOT go.

I wish there was hope, but as someone who's been investigating and fighting these kinds of discipling/(heavy) shepherding cults for decades (mostly for the International Churches of Christ/International Christian Churches flavor), these systems are deeply self-perpetuating, even though there's natural turnover over a few years as students finish their degrees and move on. An H2O ministry/church (as far as I understand it, in some places H2O operates as both a campus ministry and local church)would have to completely repudiate everything they were taught under GCM/Reliant - all the way up to Jim McCotter - and replace their permanent upper leadership with seasoned leaders who are experienced with dealing with spiritual abuse and under the authority of a healthy local church (or churches). It's possible, but not likely. It would be better for them to be shut down entirely.

[Janet Easson Martin]

…these systems are deeply self-perpetuating, even though there's natural turnover over a few years as students finish their degrees and move on. An H2O ministry/church (as far as I understand it, in some places H2O operates as both a campus ministry and local church) would have to completely repudiate everything they were taught under GCM/Reliant - all the way up to Jim McCotter - and replace their permanent upper leadership with seasoned leaders who are experienced with dealing with spiritual abuse and under the authority of a healthy local church (or churches). It's possible, but not likely. It would be better for them to be shut down entirely.

-xray342



Very much agree!!  They repeatedly cause way too much harm.

[Huldah]

Teacartwheelsunpuppy, welcome to the forum. I was at the OSU branch back in the late 70's, back when it was known as Solid Rock. I'm not sure whether H2O is a direct rebranding of Solid Rock or a spin-off of a spin-off.

...there's natural turnover over a few years as students finish their degrees and move on.

Xray232, this sounds as if there's an important difference between H20 and Solid Rock. Back in my day, students were strongly encouraged (though not absolutely required) to drop out of school and take menial jobs to support themselves. A career, as opposed to an unskilled job, was seen as a distraction from the things of Christ. And, of course, if you weren't bringing in some kind of income, you couldn't support the elders financially. We were taught that God didn't need or want us to follow a career. "You don't have to become a general or a doctor. If God wants a general, He'll save a general. If He wants a doctor, He'll save a doctor." What God really wanted, apparently, was a bunch of college dropouts with no interests, hobbies, or friends outside the organization.

So, if students routinely graduate and leave H20 behind, can I assume that they've changed their policy on higher education? Teacartwheelsunpuppy, were you a student while you were attending H2O? and if so, was there any pressure on you to give up your education?

[Janet Easson Martin]

Good questions, Huldah.

[inCULTcated]

were you a student while you were attending H2O? and if so, was there any pressure on you to give up your education?

I'm not the person you asked, but I was attending H2O as a grad student, and I never encountered any pressure to give up my education.

I do remember an older man from Awaken who seemed to discourage higher education (or at least "worldly" careers), though.

Of course, I can only speak from my own experience.

[Huldah]

Thanks for your reply, InCULTcated.

They did so much damage back in the anti-education era. Not only did they derail a lot of people's education and limit their earning ability, but they caused a lot of unnecessary hard feelings between the students and their parents. A lot of those parents had probably sacrificed a great deal to send their kids off to college. What a slap in the face it must have been when their kids suddenly decided out of the blue to just drop out.

I'm glad that that, at least, no longer seems to be a problem.