Sovereign Grace Ministries
Encyclopedia
Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM) (previously known as People of Destiny International and PDI) is a group of Reformed, neocharismatic
, Evangelical
, restorationist, Christian
churches primarily located in North America
. It has been described as an apostolic network. There are congregations in Australia
, Bolivia
, Ethiopia
, Great Britain
, Germany
and Mexico
.
Larry Tomczak
and has its roots in the Gathering of Believers (now Covenant Life Church
) in Maryland
. It was formally established in 1982. CJ Mahaney and Larry Tomczak were the co-founders of both Covenant Life Church and People of Destiny International (PDI), the former name of Sovereign Grace Ministries. Mahaney describes himself as a "former pothead." Both Mahaney and Tomczak withdrew from the Charismatic Catholic scene shortly before the creation of Covenant Life Church.
Tomczak and Mahaney were both close to some leaders of the British New Church Movement, speaking at New Frontiers'
Bible Weeks and Stoneleigh Conference.
They were also associated with Maranatha Campus Ministries
for a period.
In "The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Modern Christian Thought" published in 1995, Alister McGrath
associated PDI with the shepherding movement
and described it as having "informal links with Bryn Jones
," the UK house church leader. In the mid-1990s, religious anthropologist Dr. Karla Poewe
contrasted PDI with the Vineyard Church.
She wrote that "Vineyard is particularly attractive to the young and intellectual... People of Destiny serves a Catholic constituency."
Tomczak left the leadership of PDI in 1998 and later suggested that the increasingly Calvinistic
theology
of PDI was a major factor in his departure. Although reconciled with C J Mahaney in 2011, he earlier described the parting of ways with Sovereign Grace Ministries as "an unbelievable nightmare" during which his family "were threatened in various ways if [they] did not cooperate with [PDI/SGM]... A letter was circulated in an attempt to discredit me and to distort the events surrounding my departure." Other notable charismatic figures, such as Lou Engle
, founder of The Call
prayer concerts, and Che Ahn, pastor of Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena
, CA
, also ceased to be formally associated with PDI during this period.
In 2002, Wayne Grudem
, a theology professor at Phoenix Seminary in Arizona, said "What I see is outward evidence of God's favor. That's at the heart of the success of this church... I know of churches around the United States who are looking to Sovereign Grace Ministries as an example of the way churches ought to work."
Sovereign Grace Ministries currently identifies itself as "a family of churches passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ... with a strong doctrinal basis that is evangelical, Reformed, and continuationist."
This move towards the Reformed (or Calvinist) wing of the church is illustrated by Sovereign Grace's partnerships with speakers such as John MacArthur
, Mark Dever
, and John Piper
, who speak at the Together for the Gospel Conferences.
In July 2011, Mahaney announced that he would be taking a leave of absence as a team reviews charges brought against him of "pride, unentreatability, deceit, sinful judgment, and hypocrisy." One of the purposes for this period includes reconciliation with former SGM ministers. Larry Tomczak
reports that Mahaney has gone out of his way to rebuild their relationship after 13 years of estrangement.
restorationist leader Terry Virgo
states that Larry Tomczak and CJ Mahaney, leaders at the time, had become "increasingly uncomfortable" with the "People of Destiny International" name, and it was shortened to "PDI Ministries". In 2002, the group adopted its current name of "Sovereign Grace Ministries."
method of founding new churches: a pastor leads a group of members to relocate to a different city and form, or plant, a new church.
The first church planting team was sent out to Cleveland Ohio and founded the church North Coast Church in the earliest years of Covenant Life Church
. Church planting continues.
For many years, PDI did not adopt existing churches, but later altered its policy.
SGM adoption of an existing church begins with the development of a relationship with leadership and continues with dialogue to evaluate the doctrinal and practical compatibility of Sovereign Grace with the church desiring adoption.
Neo-charismatic churches
Neo-charismatic churches are a category of churches in the Christian Renewal movement. The Christian renewal movement incorporates Pentecostal, Charismatic and neo-charismatic churches...
, Evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
, restorationist, Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
churches primarily located in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It has been described as an apostolic network. There are congregations in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
History
The organization of over 70 member churches grew out of the charismatic renewal of the 1970s under the leadership of Catholic CharismaticCatholic Charismatic Renewal
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church. Worship is characterized by vibrant Masses, as well as prayer meetings featuring prophecy, healing and "praying in tongues." This movement is based on the belief that certain charismata , bestowed by the Holy Spirit, such as...
Larry Tomczak
Larry Tomczak
Larry Tomczak is a pastor and preacher based in the USA. He is the co-founder of the group now known as Sovereign Grace Ministries and of several prominent churches.-Conversion and PDI:...
and has its roots in the Gathering of Believers (now Covenant Life Church
Covenant Life Church
Covenant Life Church is a 3000+ member "reformed charismatic" church in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The church was established in 1977 by a group of Christians including Larry Tomczak and C.J. Mahaney. It is currently led by Joshua Harris, the best-selling author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy...
) in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. It was formally established in 1982. CJ Mahaney and Larry Tomczak were the co-founders of both Covenant Life Church and People of Destiny International (PDI), the former name of Sovereign Grace Ministries. Mahaney describes himself as a "former pothead." Both Mahaney and Tomczak withdrew from the Charismatic Catholic scene shortly before the creation of Covenant Life Church.
Tomczak and Mahaney were both close to some leaders of the British New Church Movement, speaking at New Frontiers'
Newfrontiers
Newfrontiers is a neocharismatic apostolic ministry network of evangelical, charismatic churches founded by Terry Virgo. It forms part of the British New Church Movement, which began in the late 50s and 60s combining features of Pentecostalism with British evangelicalism...
Bible Weeks and Stoneleigh Conference.
They were also associated with Maranatha Campus Ministries
Maranatha Campus Ministries
Maranatha Campus Ministries was a Charismatic/Pentecostal-oriented Christian ministry founded by Bob Weiner which existed from 1971 to 1990. Its primary outreach was to college and university campuses....
for a period.
In "The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Modern Christian Thought" published in 1995, Alister McGrath
Alister McGrath
Alister Edgar McGrath is an Anglican priest, theologian, and Christian apologist, currently Professor of Theology, Ministry, and Education at Kings College London and Head of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture...
associated PDI with the shepherding movement
Shepherding Movement
The Shepherding Movement was an influential and controversial movement within some British and American charismatic churches, emerging in the 1970s and early 1980s...
and described it as having "informal links with Bryn Jones
Bryn Jones
Bryn Jones is the name of:*Bryn Jones , Welsh footballer*Bryn Jones , Welsh footballer*Bryn Jones , Welsh footballer*Bryn Jones , Welsh footballer...
," the UK house church leader. In the mid-1990s, religious anthropologist Dr. Karla Poewe
Karla Poewe
Karla Poewe is an anthropologist and historian. She is the author of ten academic books and fifty peer reviewed articles in international journals. Currently Poewe is Professor Emeritus in Anthropology at the University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada and Adjunct Research Professor at...
contrasted PDI with the Vineyard Church.
She wrote that "Vineyard is particularly attractive to the young and intellectual... People of Destiny serves a Catholic constituency."
Tomczak left the leadership of PDI in 1998 and later suggested that the increasingly Calvinistic
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
of PDI was a major factor in his departure. Although reconciled with C J Mahaney in 2011, he earlier described the parting of ways with Sovereign Grace Ministries as "an unbelievable nightmare" during which his family "were threatened in various ways if [they] did not cooperate with [PDI/SGM]... A letter was circulated in an attempt to discredit me and to distort the events surrounding my departure." Other notable charismatic figures, such as Lou Engle
Lou Engle
Lou Engle is a controversial American charismatic Christian leader, best known for his leadership of The Call and association with prominent members of the Christian Right. He also is a senior leader of the International House of Prayer and has planted several smaller houses of prayer...
, founder of The Call
The Call (religion)
The Call is an organization which sponsors prayer meetings led by Lou Engle along with other Christian leaders pastors in the U.S.. The meetings request prayer and fasting by Christians in protest against issues such as same-sex marriage and legal access to elective abortion...
prayer concerts, and Che Ahn, pastor of Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, CA
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, also ceased to be formally associated with PDI during this period.
In 2002, Wayne Grudem
Wayne Grudem
Wayne A. Grudem is a Protestant theologian and author. He was born in 1948 in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and married Margaret White on June 6, 1969 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin...
, a theology professor at Phoenix Seminary in Arizona, said "What I see is outward evidence of God's favor. That's at the heart of the success of this church... I know of churches around the United States who are looking to Sovereign Grace Ministries as an example of the way churches ought to work."
Sovereign Grace Ministries currently identifies itself as "a family of churches passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ... with a strong doctrinal basis that is evangelical, Reformed, and continuationist."
This move towards the Reformed (or Calvinist) wing of the church is illustrated by Sovereign Grace's partnerships with speakers such as John MacArthur
John F. MacArthur
John Fullerton MacArthur, Jr. is a United States evangelical writer and minister noted for his internationally known and broadcast radio program titled Grace to You...
, Mark Dever
Mark Dever
Mark E. Dever has been the senior pastor of the Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. since 1994, and is the president of 9Marks , a Christian ministry he co-founded "in an effort to build biblically faithful churches in America."...
, and John Piper
John Piper (theologian)
John Stephen Piper is a Christian preacher and author, currently serving as Pastor for Preaching and Vision of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
, who speak at the Together for the Gospel Conferences.
In July 2011, Mahaney announced that he would be taking a leave of absence as a team reviews charges brought against him of "pride, unentreatability, deceit, sinful judgment, and hypocrisy." One of the purposes for this period includes reconciliation with former SGM ministers. Larry Tomczak
Larry Tomczak
Larry Tomczak is a pastor and preacher based in the USA. He is the co-founder of the group now known as Sovereign Grace Ministries and of several prominent churches.-Conversion and PDI:...
reports that Mahaney has gone out of his way to rebuild their relationship after 13 years of estrangement.
Previous names
Sovereign Grace Ministries was known as "People of Destiny International" until 1998. BritishBritish people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
restorationist leader Terry Virgo
Terry Virgo
Terry Virgo is a prominent leader in the British New Church Movement, . He is the founder of the Newfrontiers family of neocharismatic evangelical churches, which has grown into an international apostolic network of over 700 churches in more than 60 nations. He is a leading Reformed Charismatic...
states that Larry Tomczak and CJ Mahaney, leaders at the time, had become "increasingly uncomfortable" with the "People of Destiny International" name, and it was shortened to "PDI Ministries". In 2002, the group adopted its current name of "Sovereign Grace Ministries."
Church planting
Church planter Fred Herron described the PDI/SGM church plantingChurch planting
Church planting is a process that results in a new Christian church being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, new worship centre or fresh expression is created that is integrated into an already established congregation...
method of founding new churches: a pastor leads a group of members to relocate to a different city and form, or plant, a new church.
The first church planting team was sent out to Cleveland Ohio and founded the church North Coast Church in the earliest years of Covenant Life Church
Covenant Life Church
Covenant Life Church is a 3000+ member "reformed charismatic" church in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The church was established in 1977 by a group of Christians including Larry Tomczak and C.J. Mahaney. It is currently led by Joshua Harris, the best-selling author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy...
. Church planting continues.
For many years, PDI did not adopt existing churches, but later altered its policy.
SGM adoption of an existing church begins with the development of a relationship with leadership and continues with dialogue to evaluate the doctrinal and practical compatibility of Sovereign Grace with the church desiring adoption.
Criticism
Recently, C.J. Mahaney has voluntarily taken a leave of absence to examine charges made against him and made public through a 600 page document written by Brent Detwiler.External links
- Sovereign Grace Ministries Website
- Josh Harris church related site for Joshua HarrisJoshua HarrisJoshua Eugene Harris is an American pastor and author, perhaps most widely known as the author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye , in which he explains what he believes to be the biblical approach to dating and relationships.He is currently senior pastor of Covenant Life Church, the founding church of...