My St. Louis story

Several years ago, I began searching the net for information on the group I now know is called the Assembly.

I knew about the Assembly from their campus bible study at the University of Missouri -- St. Louis, where I was a student. I was a member of the study for about 2 years and participated in some of their extracurricular stuff (like bowling, etc) as well as one of their weekend "campus conferences."

I always enjoyed the Bible studies. But at the campus conference, things got a little strange. This was my first exposure to things like girls wearing head coverings, an intense focus on football for the guys, etc. There was a question-and-answer session by someone (I don't remember now who it was. It wasn't George.. maybe it was Tim), who seemed to be very sure of himself as he fielded questions about head coverings and the like with authority. There was also a small group time with just men, where one leader was talking about the role of men and the subordinate role of women. I have always been conservative in my beliefs, but this was a new extreme to me.

I was at the conference with a bunch of Assembly guys and gals from the Bible study and one other girl who, like me, was a Christian but was not part of the Assembly fellowship. She agreed with me that things were a bit weird.

After that, I went through discipleship with two different people from the study. I thought some of their beliefs were a little strange, especially the idea that their "church" didn't have a name. They never referred to it as the "Assembly." They always just talked about having a fellowship of believers (or Christians). I was also puzzled by the way so many of them seemed to live together in the house of our Bible study's leader, Danny Edwards. Another thing that I wondered about was the "courtship" and engagement of two members of the Bible study.

Anyway, I continue to read with interest as more articles about the Assembly were posted on rickross.com. I am a journalist and I have an intense curiosity about these sorts of things. That's why I went to the web in the first place, eager to learn more about this somewhat-secretive group. I had to start by searching with terms that I knew were unique to this bible study, like "overcomers," "the battle for the soul" and "chapter-summary bible study." This turned up a few links to other campus bible study websites. One of those sites had the name "George Geftakys." That made me remember that someone with that name had taught a session at the campus conference I attended. So I searched for "George Geftakys" and THAT led me to all the great material online.

Anyway, after reading all this stuff, so much of it clicked with me. A lot of stuff made sense. At the campus conference it was clear that the local St. Louis group was part of something much bigger, and it wasn't an interdenominational youth ministry. It was one group with one set of beliefs, but they didn't seem to have a name! Finding out the Assembly was spread all over the country wasn't a shock, but it was interesting.

Most of my memories of the Bible study and the individual times with folks from the study are very positive. Danny Edwards led the study throughout the years I was there. I had a one-on-one discipleship thing with him which was very encouraging. I found him open and honest, even when I asked tough questions about the things I thought weird. Daniel Grant was another guy at the study who was a leader and had a lot of passion and Bible knowledge. I had a discipleship group with him as well, and I liked him.

I never joined the Assembly in St. Louis. I only attended the Bible study and went through the discipleship sessions with Daniel Grant and Danny Edwards. There was never any pressure for me to join.

When I heard about the collapse in California, I was happy and sad. I was happy that at last people could break free and find freedom. But I was sad about all the sin and the pain and hurt that resulted.

Well, that's my story. I'm curious to know about some of the folks I met at the Bible study, so I'll post a message in the appropriate forum for that. I'm also curious to know what happened in St. Louis after George was ex-communicated. There's obviously lots of info here about California, but not so much about St. Louis.

--Josh