Christian Fellowship Center
Christian Fellowship Center (CFC) is a nondenominational, multi-site church in St Lawrence County and Franklin County in New York State. CFC congregations worship in Madrid, Potsdam, Canton, Moira, and Gouverneur.
| Christian Fellowship Center | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | CFC |
| Classification | Protestant, Neo-charismatic |
| Pastor | Rick Sinclair |
| Origin | 1973 |
| Congregations | 5 |
History and Leadership
In 1973, evangelist Lonnie Langston held tent meetings in Brier Hill, NY. The gatherings moved in 1974 to a building originally constructed as a chicken coop in Ogdensburg, NY.[1]
Tom Wells assumed the pastorate in 1977 after Langston left the North Country. Under Wells’ leadership, CFC purchased land in Madrid, NY and constructed their first building.
In 1981, Rick Sinclair was ordained[2] by Wells and in 1982[3] Wells moved on to pastor New Testament Church in Massena, NY, leaving Christian Fellowship Center in Sinclair’s hands. In the 1990s, CFC participated in the Toronto Blessing movement. In 2001, the church building burned to the ground and CFC purchased a former elementary school in Madrid to house services and programs.
Between 1982 and 2022, Christian Fellowship Center planted multiple churches: Grace Covenant Church in Ogdensburg, NY (1985), Richville Christian Fellowship in Richville, NY (1992) which later moved to Gouverneur and renamed North Country Christian Fellowship, and Grace Community Church, Moira (1996).[4]
Sinclair currently operates as senior pastor over the five CFC locations. Four congregations are led by Pastor Ben Levendusky (Madrid), Pastor Daniel Paladin (Potsdam), Pastor Jamie Sinclair (Canton), and Pastor Mike Tomford (Gouverneur). Rick Sinclair returned to active leadership at the Moira location after the departure of Pastor Justus Martin in 2020.
Beliefs
Described in its earliest literature as a Full Gospel church, CFC is part of the Neo-Charismatic movement that emerged in the 1980s. Many of CFC’s characteristic practices—restoration of the five-fold ministry, personal prophecy, speaking in tongues, and spiritual warfare—can be traced back to the influence of the Latter Rain movement. CFC's annual Presbytery meetings feature guest prophets who give prophetic words over selected individuals from the congregations.
While CFC describes itself today as a charismatic evangelical church, their statement of faith departs significantly from evangelical theology. The statement of faith articulates a nontrinitarian position derived from Oneness Pentecostalism, otherwise known as Modalistic Monarchianism, a heresy condemned at the Council of Rome in AD 382.
CFC’s other defining characteristics are found in the Quiverfull movement, which integrates pronatalism, biblical patriarchy, and homeschooling to further the aims of dominion theology and Christian Nationalism. Christian nationalists like Douglas Wilson are featured prominently in CFC’s seminars. Quiverfull ideology lies behind CFC’s opposition to abortion and LGBT+ rights.
Programs
Christian Fellowship Academy
Christian Fellowship Academy is a ministry of CFC that supports homeschooling families[5] in the North Country. It offers extracurricular activities on Fridays and acts as a liaison between member homeschooling families and their school districts.
The Arts Program of NNY
CFC founded The Arts Program in 2017 to provide arts education to people of all ages. In addition to regular dance classes, The Arts Program annually hosts Musical Theater summer camps and A Week of Shakespeare.
Controversies
Christian Fellowship Centers of New York, Inc. v. Village of Canton, NY (N.D.N.Y.)
In February 2019, CFC filed a lawsuit[6][7] against the Village of Canton, NY after being denied a use permit to house its Canton congregation at 25 Court Street by the village code enforcement officer. The denial was based on village zoning code, which did not list churches or religious organizations as an allowed use for the lot, which sits in the village’s C1 commercial zone.
CFC asked the village Zoning Board of Appeals to reinterpret the denial of the use permit based on the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA). Prior to the ZBA ruling, the church bought the property for $310,000. The ZBA subsequently upheld the original denial, ruling that the church was not being treated unequally in the matter under the stipulations of RLUIPA.
The US Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in support of CFC on March 26, 2019. In April 2019, the Village of Canton settled with CFC[8], allowing them to use 25 Court St. for church services. The lawsuit resulted in significant community uproar and provoked a Facebook group called “CFC Canton is a Cult[9].”
CFCtoo
In June 2022, the grassroots advocacy group CFCtoo was formed in response to the news that CFC pastors[10] had known about Sean Ferguson's child sexual abuse since 2017 and had failed to report[11] the abuse.[12] Citing decades of abuse, CFCtoo said that it existed to provide a safe place for CFC survivors to share their stories and find healing, offer tangible support to survivors who leave CFC, and offer educational content to survivors and North Country residents about the complexities of abuse.[13]
Starting with silent demonstrations[14][15][16] in September 2022, CFCtoo rallied[17][18] support[19][20] for the CARE Act[21], a bill that was first introduced in the New York State Senate[22] and Assembly[23] in 2019. The bill would add clergy to the list of mandated reporters in New York State.
References
- ↑ "Christian Fellowship Center - Our Story". www.cfconline.org. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ "The journal. (Ogdensburg, N.Y.) 1971-current, September 18, 1981, Image 5" (1981/09/18). 1981-09-18: 5. ISSN 0893-5149.
- ↑ "Courier and freeman. (Potsdam, N.Y.) 1861-1989, May 11, 1982, Image 16" (1982/05/11). 1982-05-11: 16.
- ↑ Christian Fellowship Center (CFC) Madrid, NY History and Vision 1973 - 2018+, retrieved 2022-12-07
- ↑ Sinclair, Darlene. "The Four Pillars of Homeschooling" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ [email protected], SUSAN MENDE. "Religion bias suit targets Canton". NNY360. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ Rosenthal, Lauren. "Local church plans to sue Village of Canton over zoning fight". NCPR. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ "Canton village board agrees to settle with Christian Fellowship over zoning dispute | NorthCountryNow". www.northcountrynow.com. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ [email protected], SUSAN MENDE. "Facebook page says church is a cult". NNY360. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ "CFC Email: For CFC Members". us2.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ "Clergy as mandated reporters? Christian Fellowship Center sees exodus over handling of sex abuse allegations | NorthCountryNow". www.northcountrynow.com. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ "An insular 'Quiverfull' church in New York's North Country faces a reckoning". Religion News Service. 2022-08-25. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ "Press Release". CFCtoo. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ Grindon, Lucy; Potsdam, in; N.Y. "Ex-Christian Fellowship Center members call for clergy to be mandated child sexual abuse reporters in Potsdam protest". NCPR. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ "Former members of Christian Fellowship Center demonstrate in Potsdam and Canton in support of CARE Act". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ "Protests take place near Christian Fellowship Center in Potsdam, downtown Canton | NorthCountryNow". www.northcountrynow.com. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ Brynda, Sean. "Rally pushes for law requiring all clergy to report child abuse". https://www.wwnytv.com. Retrieved 2022-12-07. External link in
|website=(help) - ↑ Grindon, Lucy. "Clergy say they should be mandated reporters of child sex abuse in Canton". NCPR. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ [email protected], MIKE. "Former CFC members congregate in Canton to advocate for CARE Act, protest abuses within the church". NNY360. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ "Former Christian Fellowship members call on state to pass CARE Act at protest in Canton | NorthCountryNow". www.northcountrynow.com. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ "CARE Act". CFCtoo. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ "NY State Senate Bill S1399". NY State Senate. 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ "NY State Assembly Bill A888". NY State Senate. 2021-01-04. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
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