New Testament Christian Churches of America

New Testament Christian Churches of America (NTCC) is an independent Pentecostal, trinitarian, evangelical, dispensational, holiness denomination of about 5,000 members, founded by Pentecostal Church of God missionary to the Philippines Rodger Wilson Davis. It was incorporated in 1969 in St. Louis, Missouri, and is now headquartered in Graham, Washington. Each individual church location is called New Testament Christian Church. The NTCC Proselytizing strategy targets military bases, especially overseas. Many former members say that the NTCC is abusive, cult-like and controlling toward its members. It's financial structure is opaque and cash-based. It is accused of financial inequity, and its founder has been accused by former members of living richly on member contributions and of nepotism.

History

New Testament Christian Churches of America was incorporated in 1969 in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded as New Testament Church of God (NTCG), the NTCC was begun by Pentecostal Church of God (PCG) missionary to the Philippines Rodger Wilson Davis. Davis left the PCG after his request to start a PCG Bible College in St. Louis was denied. Soon after leaving PCG, Rodger Davis founded Midwestern Bible Institute (MBI) in St Louis MO, later known as New Testament Christian (NTC) College, and currently known as New Testament Christian Seminary (NTCS).

For the first five years of its existence, NTCC affiliated itself with the Independent Pentecostal, or Free Holiness movement. However, when NTCC adopted a more relaxed standard regarding divorce and remarriage, they were denied further fellowship with this movement. The church leadership eventually severed their ties with all outside churches, ministers, and ministries. They also distanced themselves from all other denominations by requiring that only those who had graduated from their own seminary could minister in their churches, and that their ministers could not minister in any non-NTCC churches.

In 1984, NTCC denominational headquarters were moved from St. Louis to Graham, Washington, which is southeast of Tacoma, Washington. New Testament Christian Seminary operated in St. Louis for 18 years, but in 1987 its operations and student dormitories were also relocated to Graham. That same year, its name was changed to the current name of New Testament Christian Church.

In 2004 the NTCC experienced a schism when a segment of the ministers and constituents withdrew and formed House of Prayer Christian Church (HOP), which is composed of military-oriented churches, servicemen's homes especiall in Germany and Korea, and is headquartered in Hinesville, Georgia, and patterned after the NTCC model.

Proselytizing

The NTCC has a unique strategy for proselytizing, which is to target United States Military bases, especially those which are not on U.S. soil where the American soldiers are lonely and in need of more than the usual entertainments available. Associate pastor Phil Kinson told the Dispatch that "We provide a home-away-home, and get them out of those filthy, evil barracks."

Constituency and facilities

CEO Rev. Kekel did not provide basic statistics about the NTCC when asked for them in an interview, such as how many churches there are, or how many people attend services, but internet sources say that there are perhaps 150 churches and 5,000 church members worldwide. NTCC sponsors its seminary graduates as missionaries. NTCC's official website lists its global outreach, via missionary effort to foreign nationals, as four churches in the Philippines, and one in Panama. Membership in Graham NTCC is racially diverse, with about 40% of the congregants being black and significant numbers with Asian or Hispanic backgrounds.

NTCC owns campgound facilities in Santa Fe, Missouri, which hosts its ministerial meetings. The church also operates servicemen's homes near American military bases in the United States, England, Germany, Republic of Korea, and Japan. For a fee, they provide unmarried soldiers a home style alternative to barracks life. It also is affiliated with New Testament Christian Seminary, a non-accredited training school. Almost all of New Testament Christian Seminary alumni/alumnae are prior military, and/or prior military spouses.

Allegations of abuse and cult tendencies

Dozens of ex-members of NTCC, including many former ministers, say that the NTCC is a cult. The NTCC is an insular organization. Women must not wear makeup and must wear dresses and let their hair grow long. Women are prohibited from working if they are married. Even when they are ordained at the NTCC's Bible Seminary, women are not allowed to run a ministry, and there is rigid control of the relations between men and women especially in the context of courtship.

"Many ex-members describe a system whereby a young man wanting to date a woman would first have to ask permission of Rev. Davis during a public fellowship service. If Davis approved, he would then move to the women's section and ask the young woman if she would like to court the man. If she concurred, then the couple could "sit along the wall" in pre-arranged chairs and chat. In addition, they would be forbidden to meet outside of this time, although they eventually would be permitted to go on dates with a chaperone."

The NTCC ministerial leadership engages teenage girls to much older ministerial students, many of whom are in their twenties, which is a criminal offense in Washington state if the partners touch sexually prior to marriage. Divorce is strongly encouraged when one of the marriage partners leaves the church.

Sports are discouraged because members are supposed to spend the time serving God, and simple social gatherings such as birthday parties may also be restricted. Historically, television, called "Devil-vision" within the church, and the internet, which was called the "sinner-net," were banned. Church services are used to bully and humiliate members, whose perceived sins are cited during sermons. When members leave, remaining members shun them, and they thus may lose a lifetime of friendships.

The website ntccXposed.com is dedicated to publishing essays of former NTCC members and others concerning "What New Testament Christian Churches of America won't tell you, even if you ask," and to figuring out whether NTCC is a cult. It hosts articles which purport to document physical as well as psychological, spiritual and financial abuses of the church leadership and culture. For example, the accusation is made that "Exclusivity plus Authoritarianism equals Power. This is the formula employed by NTCC." Fact.net also hosts a very active discussion of NTCC.

Finances

Members are put under intense financial pressure, and are expected to tithe and also to give "till it hurts" in special collections for missionary programs. It is unclear how much money NTCC generates, and the top NTCC officials such as Graham co-pastor Phil Kinson have refused to reveal this information, and also who does have this knowledge. Kinson said he did not know how much money NTCC generates, and refused to reveal who does. He also refused to say how much money he receives as pastor of the Graham church. However, it is estimated that the church leadership in Graham receives $6 million annually. NTCC does not provide financial statements, and it does not belong to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. The NTCC relies heavily on a "cash only" system for taking donations. Former ministers and Bible students report that tithes, dormitory, tuition, rent and utilities, were all paid in cash to the NTCC.

Expenses to the leadership are minimal, since congregations are expected to support themselves, and pastors are expected to maintain full-time work in addition to their ministerial duties. Ministers receive no finances from the central church coffers to help build their ministries, except loans to buy land and building materials for new churches, which they are expected to repay to the NTCC even though the church holds the titles. Local churches are expected to pay rent to the NTCC on their facilities as well, even though they financed them to begin with. When a minister leaves a church, it is reported that the NTCC absorbs the local escrow account which may be tens of thousands of dollars, so that the new minister will have no funds to start out with.

Even though donations are taken for field missions, such missions generate up to $100,000 per year in revenue for NTCC. But those churches are given only $300 per month each of these monies, and many ministers report that they live in poverty. Other reports give the amount of money given back to the field missions as even less.

Rodger Wilson Davis is reported to live in a million-dollar home in Graham that is registered with Pierce County as owned by the NTCC. In 2004 Davis gave his son-in-law, Graham co-pastor Mike Kekel a 39-acre parcel of land next to the NTCC campus in Graham. According to county records, Mike Kekel recently filed an application to build a subdivision of eight lots on this site.

External links

• New Testament Christian Churches of America, Inc - official website
• A look within the "church behind the fence"
• Life and worship in the New Testament Christian Church
• Is NTCC a cult?
• A deeper look into NTCC - Following the money
• A deeper look: Sexual and marital relationships in the NTCC
• NTCC exposed, a site documenting abuses within the church, written by former members
• "The News Tribune" of Tacoma Washington's Article on NTCC - 1999
• NTCC College Handbook - 1980
• NTCC College Handbook - 1992
• NTCC Seminary Handbook - 2006
• NTCC Bylaws - 1996
• NTCC land gift to Rev. Michael C. Kekel - the founder's son-in-law
• More documentation on land gift to Rev. Michael C. Kekel
• New FACTNet NTCC forum
• Old FACTNet NTCC forum
• Semi-Annual Conference Invitation Letter
• [11] [12] NTCG's 1969 Incorporation Document(s)
• [13] [14] NTCC's 1987 Incorporation Document(s)
• NTCC's 1988 NOT-FOR-PROFIT Registration report
• [15] [16] MBI's 1969 Fictitious Creation Document