AssemblyBoard

As part ofthe Oral History project I need to write a paper detailing time line of events in the Assembly. For example;


              August 1st 1970:  The Assembly Breaks Bread for the 1st Time in Hillcrest Park.


please feel free to contribute anything that would apply,   Thank You!

It was February, 1971. Other events someone might remember a date for are: When did the Assembly bring a lawsuit against the City of Fullerton for no longer granting us the exclusive use of the Hillcrest Park recreation facility on Sundays? When did the Assembly move to the Assistance League? (Probably at the same time?) When was the first full time Worker? When did Cornerstone begin? When was the first Mission and Training Team? When was the first tent meeting? When was the first gospel march? When as the first seminar at CSUF? When was the first summer school? When did each of the Assemblies begin? When was the first ANOP?

Dave and Margaret,

I don't believe we sued the city of Fullerton over the use of the building in Hillcrest Park.  We all went to a city council meeting, but that's as far as it went.  We sued them over not allowing us to have tent campaigns in the city parks.  They were arguing that religious speech in public parks violated the vaunted "separation of Church and State" idea.  They lost.

The first tent campaign was held in the fall of the year I was transferred to Watts.  That was the 77-78 school year, so it must have been 1977.

I remember those other events you named, Margaret, but I have no dates.  I remember that Tim G. was the first paid worker, (at least the first openly paid worker).  He was supposed to work part time, but that only lasted a few months as I remember.  The date??  I just don't remember.

Tom Maddux

Tom, I'll check with Steve, but I'm pretty sure we sued over Hillcrest and lost. Kerry Fox was the Fullerton city attorney. If anyone is in touch with Bob Anderson, he should remember.

Margaret,

Now that you mention this, a memory has surfaced.  Tim G. rounded up some attorney who  I believe was willing to take the case on a pro bono basis.  I remember someone saying that his presentation was ridiculous.  That could well have been at a hearing over the Hillcrest building.

The guy who represented us over the tent campaign issue met with the Fullerton leading brothers while he was vacationing in Colorado.  We sat in the circle at the Glacier Lodge and discussed it.  Even then GG was still claiming that we were just a bunch of poor students with no money so he would take the case for free. 

I do remember that originally the city was very eager to have us use the Hillcrest building.  Some groups had used it for Rock music dances and there had been a lot of drug use and the neighbors were complaining.  The guy at the city signed us up for a whole year in advance.

After I left the assembly I had a casual conversation with an elderly woman at the Library one day.  She described to me how she and other neighbors from the affluent neighborhood east of Lemon Ave. had pressured the City to get rid of a pesky bunch that were holding church services in the building at Hillcrest. 

It seems they parked up the neighborhood all day on Sunday and bothered people in the park.   ;)

Tom Maddux

I would have to guess Tim G in the full time work was around 1978-1979 because it happened not long after I started coming consistently.  My first seminar was the Wars of David in September, 1978.  Then, In the Heavenlies in January, 1979.

I remember a Sunday when Tim gave his famous "the anchors of the faith are like four legs on a desk" sermon officially initiating Anchor groups.  George got up and proclaimed what a wonderful talk it was and how he loved the illustration about the annoying school desk where one leg always was shorter than the rest.  He then announced Tim being a leading brother and in the work full time.  Steve Irons then got up and shared a verse about Paul calling "Timothy whose father was a Greek" (we all thought that was a funny connection).  I remember it being early enough in my process that I really didn't fully grasp what it all meant.

Anyway, that is my fuzzy recollection of it.

I would guess it was around 1979-1980 where the ANOP moved from 10 PM - 5 AM to 7 PM -2 AM (if I have the times right). I never went to the true all night of prayer but started going when it was 7-2. 

Cornerstone had to start later when I was in college  (1982?).  It ran one year in the house of prayer because I remember a brother's meeting there with all the school stuff.  Tony Garisek sat in a little char because he had just hurt his back. 

Mission and Training Team was after I had already gotten out of college so I never had the chance to go on one.  I would guess that happened when I was living at the Irons around 1983-1985.

I would guess the first Huntington Beach tent meeting was around 1979.  I remember taking a friend from high school and being really obnoxious as to how much more the Assembly was over Calvary Chapel.  We met in the oil field somewhere in the middle of nowhere the first year and then just off the pier two years after that.

Gospel marches were pretty much a thing of the past by the time I came around in 1978.  In my later years, we participated in the Fullerton Labor Day parade but that was when Lorraine Sanners was pushing her baby carriage.

These dates are very general as I don't have an accurate memory.

 What year did we move to the Palm address? What were the dates Santa Barbara, Placentia, Huntington Beach, The Valley, West L.A., Riverside started Breaking Bread?


  Dave My first prayer meeting is very vivid in my mind. 1980 Some guy was being excommunicated. Everyone was so serious, the tension in that crowded room was like nothing I had ever experinced in my life. From that point on I was in total fear that one day it could be me who was being publicaly judged. all the leading brothers would have this look of disgust as George read from a parchment, "David Mauldin has been caught reading pornography!"

Dave,

The Valley started "breaking bread" soon after I moved to Fullerton in October of 1984.  So my best guess would be late 84 or early 85.

Dave, you said:

I'm pretty sure it was Dennis Patrick.  BTW, today he is involved in a church planting ministry in the Denver area.  I guess GG's excommunication didn't "take".

Tom Maddux

Tom, you're correct, it was Dennis. The move to Palm was not too long after we left (which was in March, 1990).

Agree- move to Palm was after July 1990.  That is when we left and I never set foot in the Palm property.

Placentia started towards the end of when I lived at Steve's (1983-1985) .  It was a result of the gall the city had requiring us to honor the fire regulations of the Assistance League.

The assembly in Huntington Beach first broke bread in the Woman's Club on 420 Tenth Street on Sept 18, 1983.  A little extra info: saints in HB also leased a storefront on Main Street for a total of about 11 years from the summer of 1981 to 1992.  We had many outreaches out of that building - God knows how many dozens of people prayed to receive the Lord Jesus there.  We also had Thursday night prayer meetings there starting 9-3-81.  The building is now called the Longboard Saloon.

Thanks, Rick, could you tell me the names of the leading bros?

This info would be great for ga.com! I've started to record this stuff over there. Here is a tentative timeline http://www.geftakysassembly.com/Reflections/AssemblyTimeline2.htm (http://www.geftakysassembly.com/Reflections/AssemblyTimeline2.htm) and also a list of the seminars http://www.geftakysassembly.com/Reflections/Seminars.htm (http://www.geftakysassembly.com/Reflections/Seminars.htm). I've tried to include additional info from other articles on ga.com. Dave, you might take a look.

Questions: Was the third seminar, winter 1971, held in George's home or at Hillcrest? When were Kurt and Andra sent to Champaign? When was Dan Notti sent to St. Louis?

Margaret

Thanks Maragret! Great Job!

It would be interesting to look at the time line of events along with the growth of the work. Also if we could get all the seminar messages in order. (O.K. I don't want to overkill.) But I am just wondering if this could really open up light on the subject of cults! We might be able to identify specific dynamics at work!  etc...

I've posted Steve's notes for the ANOP Dec. 1989. It gives a pretty good picture of the Work at that time.

Margaret

Anyone have information concerning money?  I understand there were (large) contributions of money and properties at different times? It would be great have this added to the time line!

My mom, Sister Mayo, bought the Woodcrest House to be used as a brothers house. At some point she deeded it to Mark Miller who was to hold it in trust to be sold and the money applied when the Assembly found a gathering place. That never happened, and sometime around 1995 my mom's nursing home expenses were so great we asked for the property to be returned to her, which it was, after a bit of arm twisting. For years before we left, George used to plague her to deed the House of Prayer to the Assembly, which she refused to do.

Marsha Zach contributed a large sum of money toward a gathering place, somewhere around $300K, which was eventually used to buy the property on Commonwealth for Cornerstone. The City of Fullerton refused to grant a conditional use permit for the school, so it ended up being Tim and Ginger's home.

Kevin Healy donated the house on Grove. After he left, he consulted with us how to ask for it back. Again, after a bit of arm twisting he got it back.

Wes Cohen donated a chunk of money to be used for a school bus for Cornerstone, which was purchased but never worked out very well.

Mark Campbell donated $10K toward purchasing a property for Cornerstone. The money was not
returned when the property was sold in 2003.

As has been reported elsewhere, Brent T. donated $10K toward building the house in Cuernavaca. Dave Zach also contributed significantly.

A brother in Fulleton inherited house in Fullerton. The grapevine had it that he was pressured to donate it to the Assembly.

Sorry, no dates for any of this.

Margaret

The leading brothers inHuntington Beach in 1983 were Tony Gerisek, Earl Somerville, Wes Cohen, and John Hinman.  Wes was commended to the work in Santa Barbara in the summer of 1985.  Toward the end of the 1980’s the leading brothers in Huntington Beach were Earl Somerville, John Hinman. Chris Sapia, and Randy Spivey. 

In July 1995 Randy Spivey was commended to the work in Providence, RI.  In October 1995 Earl moved on from the assembly to eventually gather with Christians of Calvalry Chapel, Mennifee.  By the time I moved on in 1998 the leading brothers in Huntington Beach were Bob Anderson, John Hinman, & Chris Sapia, although Ted LaBelle, Mike Meloche, and Andrew Bransby were being groomed for the responsibility and were beginning to be in the "rotation" for giving the Sunday afternoon ministry.

I think credit may be due to Earl for isolating Huntington Beach from Fullerton to some degree.  One of the wives who originally was brought through a rigorous “training home” in Fullerton once commented to me that the “consequences” for not doing one’s stewardships in the training homes in Huntington Beach were dealt with a much more “light touch” than in Fullerton.  Another example was that under Earl’s leadership things such as supporting an outreach or attending Saturday morning “tape ministry” were elective -  supplements to your walk with the Lord.  An exhortation to be involved in these things from a different leading brother often seemed legislative to me and I would think, "The law kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Here are some more timeline questions:

Anybody remember when....?  
First Gospel March?
First ANOP?
First Children's Hour, puppet ministry, mimes, juvenile hall ministry, retirement home ministry, other ministries?
New Song began? Was it for the first tent campaign in Fullerton?
First Summer School? Was the first one at CSUF?
First Seminar at CSUF?
Wasn't there a publication called "Dayspring"? When?
Tracts published - titles and when?
First Torch and Testimony? Anyone have the statement George made for it about the "acts of the Apostles"?
First T & T in Spanish?
First book published? How many books were published? titles?
First Memorial Day "All Saints Day" (later became "Ebenezer Fellowships")
First East Coast Conference?
Were there also West Coast Conferences? First one?
First Midwest Seminar?
Didn't we have "Holy Convocations" at one time? When? Didn't Bakht Singh come to one of them at what used to be Pacific Christian College on Nutwood?
First Teen Team?
First Teen Conference?

I found some seminar brochiers in the box of literature.

  The Fulness of the Spirit  2002 March 29-31

                         Lecture 1 Emptiness

                         Lecture 2 Unity of the Spirit

                         Lecture 3 Love ofthe Spirit

                         Lecture 4 Perpetual pentecost
 
                         Lecture 5 Arteries of the Spirit   O.K. I got hear this

                         Lecture 6 His Spirit with Us

                         lecture 7 The fulness of the Spirit.


        More to come, Margaret did you get the pictures?


                         

Hi Margaret,
I can't say that I know a great deal, but here's what I remember of St Louis:
Dan Notti was teaching the Bible Study on UMSL campus when I started college there, the fall of 1976.
Dennis and Linda Patrick moved from Fullerton in 1977 and moved into the House of Hope.  It was a brothers house at the time.  It bacame a sisters house in 1978.
1977 Dennis P. leads a Gospel March on UMSL campus
In 1978 Jerry Robinson asked to be a worker, Nathanel Luke Martin born
1979:
Paul & Debbie Martin go to Iceland to start a work there
Dennis and Linda Patrick move back to California
David and Judy Geftakys move to St Louis
1980:
Ken Teeter and Nancy Robinson marry.  They move into the living quarters above Ken's chiropractic office in St. Charles.

Gay

Thanks, Gay! This is great!

Dave, no the pix haven't arrived yet. Steve and I will be out of town for a three-day weekend babysitting three of our grandchildren while Lee and Misty celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary! So it probably won't be until next week that I will be able to post the pix. (They have to go to Kinko's first to be scanned/digitized.)

Dayspring was the name of a short-lived singing group in Huntington Beach:  Greg Fortezzo, Joie  ? (Slack), Mike Smith, Elaine Finley (Minimede). We performed in the Huntington Beach tent meetings at the pier and Mike Shouie's wedding.

I think the publication you are thinking of is The Pilgrim's Journal.  In about 1982 or so I remember being a part of a campus meeting at the House of Prayer where Tim shared this vision about a publication for the campus.  He selected (though I think it was pre-arranged) Wendy Wisley (Hinman) to be the editor.  It printed such things as the Assembly views on dating, Christmas, etc.

I am thinking the first Memorial day thing was also 1982 or 1983 at Carbon Canyon Park.  It had very funny skits including Don Mader, Mike Miller and Randy Sutton doing "Ringo" to a Louie LaMouir book.  The next year it was at Craig park in Fullerton (by the Iron's house).  It also had some very funny skits.  I remember one year the Iron's house did something about witnessing.  By the time I proposed to my wife (evening after the picnic) in 1985, the skits were banned.  I think they got a little too close to home.  (Such as Diane Miller or someone making scrub the driveway with a toothbrush for buying pitted cherries instead of the unpitted ones - or something like that).

I think the publication you are thinking of is The Pilgrim's Journal.  In about 1982 or so I remember being a part of a campus meeting at the House of Prayer where Tim shared this vision about a publication for the campus.  He selected (though I think it was pre-arranged) Wendy Wisley (Hinman) to be the editor.  It printed such things as the Assembly views on dating, Christmas, etc.


I have copies of these! But no publishing date!

I remember all those skits, "Ringo", Dianne getting a pie in the face, I remember it giving me the impression that this church is really comfortable with itself.

1. Dayspring:  Around 1976 or 1977 I wanted to start a small evangelistic paper to hand out on the Pierce College and CSUN campuses.  I mentioned it in the worker's meeting, and Tim Geftakys was enthusiastic about the idea.  Tim convened a meeting of interested folks on a Sunday afternoon at the baseball diamond in the park just south of the 91 freeway in Anaheim. 

At the meeting it became evident that Tim had not bought into my idea, but rather had taken my idea for the paper and expanded it into a much more involved plan to produce a major campus paper.  Since I had realized that no one was going to get behind my idea, but that they would actually print Tim's paper, I went along.

The first, (and only), issue consisted of an article I wrote about school prayer being banned on college campuses along with my tract "None Like Him". I think Rand Bates did the art and layout work.  It turned out to be about what I had hoped for, with one exception. The exception was that no one wanted to do the hard work of writing for and producing the paper.  In addition, I couldn't even get a commitment that the printing ministry would do the printing.

So, the Dayspring didn't do much springing. The one issue was handed out on a number of campuses though.

2. Regarding GG's statement about "The Acts of the Apostles":  Once when the worker's meeting was still at GG's house. This was during the time when the Torch and Testimony was being planned.  GG told us that he had had a dream in which an aged man was holding out a book to him that said, "The Atlas of the Apostles".

I commented that an atlas is a book of maps.  His reply was that an atlas is also a record of people's actions.

Poor dumb me.  I was operating under the ridiculous belief that reality is what it is, instead of the being what the Great Man says it is.   ;)

Tom Maddux

Sorry, the paper I have is The Pligrim Journal. At the time I read this it reminded me of a poor copy of Kieth Green's monthly booklet, I can't remember the name.

Whew! It's hard to keep up with you guys. I think I've got everything from here on ga.com now. I've begun a new section for the website, "Assembly History". Keep the memories coming - there is now a page for each Assembly and for the Work, where reminiscences can be recorded. Posts from this thread are being added as well. (Be advised, this is all very rudimentary right now, so links from the "Assembly Timeline" http://www.geftakysassembly.com/Articles/AssemblyHistory/AssemblyTimeline2.htm (http://www.geftakysassembly.com/Articles/AssemblyHistory/AssemblyTimeline2.htm) to the new pages might not all work.)

Dave,

I have seen a copy of the Pilgrim Journal.  It was printed long after I left the One True Church.

Tom Maddux

Great Job Margaret!   

Thanks, Dave. I hope it will be helpful fo your presentation. But not only that. Readers of ga.com seem to really like reminiscences and anecdotes, too. It helps people gain perspective on the whole thing.

Correction to the timeline: Someone remembers that the MTT team went to the Olympics in LA in 1982, so it seems  a team went to SLO in 1983, after which SLO started breaking bread in 1983 and Keith and Gay were sent there.

More additions to the Assembly Timeline and to individual Assembly pages have been made from your posts and emails. The Assembly History section is now up for view, but not literally what you would call "running", as it is still very weak and emaciated. Please be patient, guys, we were out of town last weekend after you all flooded us with info, so I'm working through all your emails and slowly getting stuff posted. Please keep the info coming. Dave Mauldin also gave me three more seminar pix, so watch for them coming soon.

Margaret

Final updates of major events from the 1993-2001 Believers' Prayer Letters have been added to the Assembly timeline, Assembly locations, and seminar titles. Steve commented to me, "Wouldn't George just love to see his great ministry being documented like this!" I'm sure he would. And I hope it may lure him and Betty and continuing Assembly members to the website. I also hope that what comes out of this is not only Dave Mauldin's oral history project, but some thoughtful observations and more objective analysis of the Geftakys ministry as we approach the 5th anniversary of its demise.

Based on information in the prayer letters, we've added the following paragraph to "Introductory Articles": "It must be noted that not all Geftakys Assemblies and outreaches were the same. This introduction describes most closely the Assemblies in the USA, Canada and Nigeria. New outreaches, and Assemblies in other countries are not primarily addressed here."

What do you think?

That is unfortunate the the MTT went to the olympics in LA in 1982 since they were held in 1984.

Thanks Margaret!

  You are doing great work over at the Reflections site and I have found your articles, posts, and blog very, very helpful to me.

  As to remembering the seminars:  I came to the group in a mystical fog and remained in that condition for at least the early years (school, job, and marriage seemed to help me come out of the mist in the later years).

 I can't remember exact dates, but I can remember some of the seminars that seemed to have the greatest impact on me.

 Jesus is the Son of God:  This one is the first one I remember and must have been around 1971 or 1972  (I don't see it in your list).  I was "caught up into the heavenlies" and my appetite for "deep spiritual experiences with God" was whetted as a result.  I prayed with all my heart that God would give me a "pure heart so that I could experience God's presence in my life."

    The conflict between my deep desire for revelatory experiences set against my own human imperfections and needs was formative for my entire stay with the group.  "I" was the problem and trying to crucify my "self life" made me the perfect cult member.  Anyway, this seminar set me up for my 20 year or so sojourn with GG and company.

 The God And Father Of Our Lord Jesus Christ: This seminar was in the same vein as the previous, and I believed just followed it.  It was more of the same:  ie, "want to pursue the depths of God---- pay the price of self annihilation!

   The Fountain of Life:  This one was on I JN, and it deeply disturbed me.  It was given some years later and really stirred me to question GG teaching.  GG was basically teaching a version of sinless perfection in this one (which he denies doing).  By this time I was realizing that "putting self to death" was not working very well, and the reality of my humanity was quite a contradiction to GG's overcomer theology.

   I really do hope that considering our Assembly history does invoke "thoughtful observations" and help us understand what it really means to trust in Christ.

                                                           God Bless,  Mark C.
 

Thanks, Mark. I've added the seminars with question marks.

  I am planning to talk to Dr. Hansen about the project Monday!

The only "first" I can remember for sure at this point was the first Teen Team....

It was the summer of 1993.....we had four teenage males staying with us at the Millers'.

I can remember Tim Geftakys talking a few months beforehand (informally), saying "the Lord is doing great things".

I also remember Ginger at some time later on fondly communicating about how the bonds between the West Coast Assemblies and the Midwest Assemblies would be strengthened through these endeavors(e.g. "their sons will marry our daughters and our sons shall marry their daughters).

During my time in the Assembly, and especially toward the end (the last few years), I was dwelling more on the "last things".

(This is in response to a request for the firsts in the Assembly, dated several months ago.)

Matt Sciaini