City Hope '09
Friday, August 21, 2009 at 1:45 AM 
Here is another update on City Hope '09 which begins Sept 12/13, 2009 in Elk Grove and at Impact... with the inauguration of our first Saturday night service (which is very cool, by the way).
As a part of this incredible way to impact our community, our small groups will be participating in various 'projects' over the 40 days (7 weeks). Here are a few ideas of what those projects might look like:
* Blood Drive
* Mentor Development for Men and Women
* Job Fair
* Adopt A School
* Senior Center of Elk Grove
And so much more. This is going to be one of the best things that has ever happened to the churches in Elk Grove. When God's people join together - from ALL denominations - to do a work in the name of Jesus alone... GREAT THINGS ARE IN STORE!
It will be SO cool that for 7 weeks - we will be known as "The Church At Elk Grove" - NOT Impact Community Church... NOT First Baptist Church... NOT Lifepointe Christian Church... NOT Grace Community Church. For 40 days, we will be "The Church At Elk Grove."
And for that - I am TRULY EXCITED! More information coming in the next week or two! Yard signs, 40 Day Devotionals, and Small Group Curriculum will all be provided for you! SWEET!
Reader Comments (8)
Regarding the CITY HOPE 2009
Is there a list of all the participating churches?
I understand why the City Hope 2009 organizers did not ask Radiant life to join because of it's strong cult teachings and disturbing reputation it has developed. But it is also interesting to think back and remember that Radiant Life church and the pastor was once, one of the major contributors and organizer of the Sacramento One Voice back in 2001.
It is sad and sobering to see how the devil has crept into what seamed to be a normal church. The false teachings and abhorrent life styles of the senior pastor has turned this church into the laughing stock of the Christian community and an embarrassment to the Kingdom of God.
Christians need to test everything being that is being taught in church! Let this example be a warning to all and pray that the Lord wold rescue people from the strong hold Tony Cunningham has over this church.
Hector.
Hector,
thanks for your comments, but I am not sure this is the best forum for what you have listed above. First of all, Radiant Life is not in Elk Grove... and CityHope'09 is about the churches that are either IN Elk Grove, has a Target of Elk Grove, or the churches on the immediate surroundings of Elk Grove (like Impact). The bigger picture is www.theChurchAtElkGrove.org - as this will be a continual meeting of the denominationl minds to reach our city for Christ.
No doubt, when the CityHope campaign goes regional, likely next year, all churches will be invited, including Radiant Life. I was just talking to someone about a week ago that had visited our church about how great Radiant Life had been and how many countless lives that had been changed over the years. God will not forget that.
As for the future, that has yet to be seen. People are imperfect... esp at Impact Community Church. We make mistakes. People in the church make mistakes. People get wrong information - people get hurt. It's all about maturing in our faith and our walk with Christ. The more mature we get - the better we can withstand the difficulties thrown our way.
Thanks again for your comments - but this blog, CityHope'09 and the church at Elk Grove are not about exclusion. It's not about Radiant Life or Tony Cunnigham. It's about the people of Elk Grove being loved into the kingdom.
Spiritual Abuse is a very real thing and not to be taken lightly. Radiant Life church has devastated the lives of hundreds under the guise of spreading Gods word. I think your assessmento of the situation at Radiant Life is very distant and uninformed. The many people saved part was a game that the pastor and staff played. There was no penetration of the gospel to these people, just some eye candy and soft words to manipulate these people. When you say lives were changed I wholeheartedly agree. Many lives were changed however well over a majority of those lives were changed for the negative. They were not drawn to Christ through the pastor but away from christ. god will not forget the hurt and evil intentions that was distributed by the church which operates more like a cult.
Spiritual Abuse,
I see that you are very passionate about what has happened at Radiant Life. I am assuming you are one of those that was hurt. But I would be careful about your assumptions. You have no idea how close I am to the situation or informed I may or may not be. I will leave it at that. I do not want to make your pain more painful. I do not want to argue about this. God is bigger than me, Impact, Radiant Life, and anyone or anything else. Thousands came to Christ in that church. You can give God credit for that... no matter who is the Pastor of any church... God is the one who saves. How they are treated or 'fed' after that... yes, there are differences. I am not focused on those differences... I am focused on lives that are saved for eternity. Our gracious and holy God will deal with this in His way... whether using men or the spirit. As for the pain that is left in the wake of those trials... for that I am sorry - and cannot effectively speak to how badly that must hurt.
Barry, I would tell you first hand that the number of those saved at Radiant Life was no where close to thousands. This was a ridiculous farce played out by the head of the church. I can tell you that thousands may have raised a hand to receive a free gift that was paraded to them. The gospel was manipulated to get people to raise their hands so that the church could take credit for hands raised not souls saved. This was turned into a big game and competition at the church. Some people were saved along the way but nowhere near thousands. Yes, we can give credit to God for any souls saved but you can also give credit to the senior pastor for chasing thousands away from Christ or making their relationship distant. The church went from 3000 to a handful. You say you are focused on the lives that are saved for eternity and I and many people dont see it that way. We saw the farce that was played out in their outreach. In addition there has never been any acknowledgement or reconciliation even attempted with a whole church full of lost sheep. The head pastor classifies the hundreds (estimate over a thousand) as "neccessary casualties" of pushing forward the head pastors agenda. Someone asked me recently when I told him about Radiant Life and he asked me if they booted the pastor out. LOL....Cant be done at Radiant Life. Thats what is sad. The whole system was corrupt. You can focus on something else other than reconciliation and helping the hurt but I am sure that would not have been the agenda of the only one who is greater than this all. I will not comment on this matter any more on your website as this is not a site regarding Radiant Life Church (Cult). I think that the reason Hector replied on here was because of his concern in the inclusion of a very unrepentant pastor who has not reconciled with the mass of people he abused. We have seen it and believe that the head pastor was on the path of destruction to the point of controlling his inner circle members to the extreme of a full blown cult. the danger is in the koolaid. Didnt see any but thats were people saw it going. So anyway city hope is a great project and hopefully helps to bring more unity to the city. Thanks for your participation in that and you can spew all the spiritual talk about the situation at Radiant Life all you want but it does not change the situation or help to heal and bring those the have drifted back to the one that is bigger than all of this.
Spiritual Abuse,
I'm sorry that you feel like I am 'spewing' spiritual talk. Would you like to get some coffee sometime? I think you have taken some of my words and misunderstood them. I'd like to be able to have a face to face conversation with you and hear more of your heart on this matter. When I come across as 'spewing' - I realize that this forum has not done the justice I was hoping it would.
Thank you Barry for showing compassion. I havent seen alot of that lately especially from christians. I can't help but think that even in this confusing time for me, I know that Jesus first and foremost had compassion. I thank you for your offer of a face to face. I am hooked on Starbucks......lol. I am not interested howerver in listening to alot of defending of yourself. Maybe some explaining....haha but not defending. That is what the church leadership has been doing for too long esp at the organization we are speaking about. And just to clarify. "by spewing", I mean avoiding the real issues through spiritual talk. Everyone is afraid to talk about or deal with the issues. I believe some of the tragedy at Radiant Life could have been avoided had area christian leadership spoke up and confronted the wrongs and the leader. Churches are quick to protest abortion or anti gay issues but avoid confronting issues of spiritual abuse and manipulation in Gods church. Thank you for your offer. I would like that very much. No pastor has offered to help me in dealing with the sadness over the happenings that have occured. I will attempt to contact you through the church. I will have to see what the schedule looks like for the next couple weeks. Thanks Barry for listening.
You bet S.A. I am hoping to hear from you sooner than later as I have one more week until vacation! YAY! And the schedule is getting extremely full. Call soon... and be sure to let me know about your pseudo name too. :)