The report doesnt offer explicit details of the incident, but states that the touching was in a way that could be constituted as sexual assault under Illinois law. But Chung is subject to the PCAs Book of Church Order because of his PCA ordination, KJ Kim told TRR. We have encouraged them to see this important work through to completion, the statement said. Meanwhile, Chung maintains a presence and continues to attend KCP meetings, according to sources. rush street bars 1980. lutheran liturgical calendar 2022; drug bust salisbury, md 2020; north berwick witch trials primary sources; hallmark very merry christmas giveaway winners; The Rev. The victim was terrified and did whatever she was told, the report states. There was never a feeling that this should be reported.. Ultimately my hope is to discover who God truly is, beyond the God that CFC represented.. Min Joshua Chung, founder of Covenant Fellowship Church in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, has been "restored to ministry" by an arm of the Presbyterian Church in America despite unanswered questions about alleged sexual misconduct and cover-up. (Image: Screengrab / YouTube) Now, more than a year after WBEZ broke the story, former members and others familiar with the church say CFC is quietly reversing course. .wp-caption p.wp-caption-text { margin: 0; He also spoke at youth and college-aged events, counseled university students, and preached in several countries. Park is part of a group that last year brought to light allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse at Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC), a predominantly Asian American church near the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Kim, who is currently the churchs senior pastor, previously said Chung had admitted to touching a female over the clothing for a brief moment about 20 years ago but had immediately stopped when she asked him to. They dont know how to assess it, and so I would think the first response would be one of humility., But instead, she said, churches think they are right, and somebody in that position isnt going to listen to any instructions, no matter how wise or good it is.. Now, former members and others familiar with the church say CFC is quietly reversing course. What remains is for the regional body that originally adjudicated the case to respond about procedural steps needing correction for the future.. Chung, who founded the church in 1990 on the University of Illinois-Champaign Urbana campus, announced in the summer of 2019 that he would } Singer said any organizations that back out do so because they dont understand the nature of an independent assessment or investigation. Under the previous structure, CFC was an independent church, with just Chung and the associate pastors, as individuals, belonging to the Korean Central Presbytery (KCP), one of the regional bodies within the PCA. We judge that his relationship with God is restored as we consider the grace of God. Now, more than a year after WBEZ broke the story, former members and others familiar with the church say CFC is quietly reversing course. Theyre a very inclusive, very inviting community. A year later, the group of 14 whistleblowers submitted their report to the PCAs Korean Central Presbytery and called for the KCP to investigate Chung, arguing CFC associate pastors had failed to discipline him, said Park. WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Hi. Go to our Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. He is the founder of truthmattersministries.com. Hannah Chao It was just like, Why, why did we do this all in vain? Park said. Zimmerman didnt answer calls or emails to comment on his relationship with Chung. The congregation also sought to evaluate the health of the church through The Center Consulting Group (CCG). [They] are literally re-traumatizing [themselves] by speaking to us, so the least the other side could do would be to hear those pieces of information, Dunn said, adding that current church leaders, including KJ Kim, were the only remaining people GRACE had left to interview. WBEZ confirmed with Justin Coverstone, the stated clerk of the Presbytery of Northern Illinois, that CFC was in the process of joining that regional body as of early September. She writes for American City Business Journals BizWomen. The KCP which consists of several pastors who were close with Chung had determined that he had been restored to God, as well as the woman. The regional presbytery also determined no additional disciplinary steps were needed for Chung other than what the church had already instituted. Why do you think youre staying for so long? . Another promised change was to bring the church under a regional body within the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), to seek more oversight and accountability for its leaders and members. URBANA A former assistant pastor at a Champaign church has been criminally charged with sexually assaulting a teen who was a member of the congregation. They gave a couple of examples [of bias], which were tenuous at best, Singer said. Sources, including Singer, told WBEZ that CFC was concerned the information-gathering process was biased and that it dug too much into Chungs case, which the church deemed outside the scope of the assessment. A few months later, a group of pastors dissatisfied with the presbyterys April 2021 determination filed a complaint in an effort to indefinitely suspend Chung from ministry. According to U of I spokeswoman Robin Kaler, Covenant Fellowship is once again a registered student organization with the university this school year giving the 32-year-old congregation access to the schools facilities and a new crop of potential members. At a later meeting, the KCP would discuss a complaint filed by several pastors who wanted to see Chung removed from office. Victims of abuse who express their grievances on social media, who protest, who take their stories to the media theyre like that woman in that parable, LeCroy said. } After that, he was Kim would not agree to an interview but wrote back: We at CFC continue to seek the Lord in the work of the church and we are grateful to God for the way He is leading our congregation and this is our focus right now. He said in a statement to WBEZ that the presbytery is currently working with CFC and is discussing whether to receive the congregation into our jurisdiction. He cited an example in the Bible, in the book of Luke, where Jesus tells the story of a woman and an unjust judge. However, nine elders objected to the decision and asked for Chung's suspension. In May 2021, CFC cut ties with him. At the same time as former and current members of CFC were being interviewed by GRACE, the case against the figure at the center of the controversy Min Chung made its way through the PCAs judicial system. The decision came before an investigation by WBEZ of Pastor Min Joshua Chung of the Covenant Fellowship Church on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. According to sources, in the past few months, CFC has terminated the assessment with GRACE and wiped any trace of the leadership updates from last year (as seen on a web page accessed by WBEZ on Sept. 21). They may get along with that for a long time but somewhere along the way, the rot will show, and it will end up destroying them.. Nothing was ever followed up on with me. Founded by investigative journalist Julie Roys, The Roys Report began as a personal blog where Julie published her commentaries and occasional investigative pieces while A new report appears to implicate Covenant Fellowship Church's former head pastor, Min Joshua Chung, in fostering and creating a misogynistic church background-color: #efefef; Chung continued to speak elsewhere during this time. The report accuses Chung of orchestrating a cover-up of sexual abuse allegations against another Korean-American pastor of a church with close ties to CFC. Kim would not agree to an interview but wrote back: We at CFC continue to seek the Lord in the work of the church and we are grateful to God for the way He is leading our congregation and this is our focus right now. Many of the women harmed while under Chung's leadership would begin to share their stories through an Instagram account, @letters_from-Rahab. But that system broke down: Oversight entities had limited power and the denominations governing rules proved to be inadequate for addressing the issue of abuse in the church. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time { Some members of the allegation group also said they lacked confidence the KCP would handle any future cases differently, given the ties many of the pastors had to Chung. Chung is also accused of covering up accusations of sexual abuse against a fellow pastor as well as admitting to inappropriately touching a female congregant for a brief moment. Chung turned over leadership of the church he founded in 2019 to a team of associate pastors, according to Ministry Watch. Last summer, hundreds of accounts surfaced online criticizing Covenant Fellowship Church for mishandling alleged incidents of sexual abuse committed by church members. Sungwoo Nam, KCP clerk, said in a statement. } to conduct a third-party investigation. The report, published in June, is intended to provide resources to handle abuse cases and to offer best practices and guidelines for elders, churches, presbyteries and other entities. WebWorked at Associate Pastor of New People Baptist Church (Sae Kook Min Baptist Church (1978-1987) and PoDowon Baptist Church (2006-2010) Lives in Gimpo Pastor Cyrus A church in Urbana-Champaign reverses on promises to address abuse allegations. All rights reserved.Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Langberg helped an ad interim committee of the PCA write a new report on domestic and sexual abuse in churches. } /* Player background */ Post author By ; cases where eyewitnesses were right Post date March 7, 2023; Another woman reported to Chung that she had been raped repeatedly. left: 0; Its a moment of reckoning for the Korean American church, former CFC member June Pinyo said. Yet whistleblowers, who knew about the alleged assault, pressured Chung for a decade to confess to the church. And he bullied . font-size: 13px Chungs church reckoned him to have an especially high place of anointing, making him untouchable when he does wrong, said Dan Lee, another whistleblower in the report. [They] are literally re-traumatizing [themselves] by speaking to us, so the least the other side could do would be to hear those pieces of information, Dunn said, adding that current church leaders, including KJ Kim, were the only remaining people GRACE had left to interview. background: #db4e88; Last August, shortly after the WBEZ report was published, the same group of pastors from the KCP appealed the case, which went to the PCAs Standing Judicial Commission (SJC), a quasi-judicial body of sorts, according to several sources. There are Walmart runs. He also referred WBEZ to Tim LeCroy, a pastor who chaired the PCAs committee that wrote the domestic and sexual abuse report. position: absolute; A judge sentenced 57-year-old Daryl Vandyke on Wednesday after the Champaign man admitted that he used an ax or other sharp-edged garden tool to kill Steven Butler III, in July 2021. We are accountable to our congregation and the denomination that has charge over its leaders and we believe that this is best for our church and its future. If they found out, they would be devastated and you know how people talk, and I wouldnt want them to have to go through that. . WILL and the Illinois Newsroom are committed to bringing you in-depth, relevant coverage that keeps you informed and engages you with our community and state. Dr. Min J. Chung is the founding and lead pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, an interdenominational, multi-ethnic ministry located on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Donate today >>. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-handle-content { A few months later, a group of pastors dissatisfied with the presbyterys April 2021 determination filed a complaint in an effort to indefinitely suspend Chung from ministry. He added that the Book of Church Order wasnt designed to protect victims of abuse, and that the PCA should consider amendments to the book to help make the judicial process less cumbersome for lay members. what happened to pastor min chung Join with thousands of others to keep this important public media-based resource available to all. padding: 1px; peter cancro politics; headway reimbursement rates Chung is also accused of covering up accusations of sexual abuse against a fellow pastor as well as admitting to inappropriately touching a female congregant for a brief moment. According to sources, in the past few months, CFC has terminated the assessment with GRACE and wiped any trace of the leadership updates from last year (as seen on a web page accessed by WBEZ on Sept. 21). In an email to Roys, Kim wrote that the decision to terminate the churchs agreement with GRACE was made with much prayer and deliberation.. Chung, who founded the church in 1990 on the University of Illinois-Champaign Urbana campus, announced in the summer of 2019 that he would transition out of the head pastor role and a team of associate pastors would lead the church. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-handle-content { .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-time-hovered, Eventually, that group reconsidered and completed the assessment. The KCP did investigate the incident but resolved that Chung had been "restored to God, as well as the woman, and that that discipline instituted by CFC pastors was found to be sufficient." Webwhat happened to pastor min chung CMI is a proven leader at applying industry knowledge and engineering expertise to solve problems that other fabricators cannot or We remind him to abide by the BCO (Book of Church Order), and we believe that he should return to ministry.. For Janet Park, the events of last year feel like a waste of time and energy. what happened to pastor min chungbreeze airways pilot uniform. In February of 2019, Park said she reported the matter to Kim and urged him to allow a third-party investigation, but Kim refused. .mytheme-mejs-container .mejs-controls .mejs-time-rail .mejs-time-total { invitation to love poem analysis; how to take care of your soul sermon; list of largest unsupported domes in the world. Park said when she confronted Chung, he said had a dream in which God showed him that he was a lampstand for his generation, and that he should keep preaching as part of his healing. Smith said she agreed to report the incident and received help from the University of Illinois Victims of abuse who express their grievances on social media, who protest, who take their stories to the media theyre like that woman in that parable, LeCroy said. Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie has said he closed down his Good News International Church four years ago As a whistleblower, its traumatic as well, because there are so many places of pain and injustice along the way, Park said. "Regarding recovery, the pastor reconciled with his victim, and regarding his relationship with God, he recognized his sin before God and relies on the blood of Christ. But TRR said that the ruling may still be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCA's General Assembly. She says he then began to force himself on her and pull his pants down until she pushed him off and ran into the bathroom, locking the door until he left. Another day, theres basketball. height: 3px; Webwhat happened to pastor min chung. AsAmNews is a community of users interested in reading, learning and commenting on news, events, people & issues in the Asian Americans and Pacific Islander communities. Not every religious leader is trained in handling the needs of sexual assault victims They should assist with reporting to the appropriate authorities and seek referrals to the victim services and professional counseling services!!! Former CFC member Janet Park said that when she confronted Chung in 2009, he told her that he kept the matter a secret because the victim had insisted on doing so. He added that the Book of Church Order wasnt designed to protect victims of abuse, and that the PCA should consider amendments to the book to help make the judicial process less cumbersome for lay members. Opinion: What is Revivaland is it Happening at Asbury? /*Custom svg icon height fix*/ background-color: rgba(219, 78, 136, 0.075); Chung discouraged her from reporting the incident to police. To Smyrna: Be Faithful Unto Death | Revelation 2:8-11 (Pastor Min Chung) joe 2019.02.19 44. A final assessment was set to be published by this summer. I personally do it for the survivors. In addition, CFC vowed to be clear and transparent with members by providing regular updates on the probe on its website. As of July 2021, CFC is lead by Reverend KJ Kim and is in the process of becoming part of the Presbyterian Church in America. [Churches and presbyteries] are not trained to look into [abuse], Langberg said. It also alleges that Chung urged a woman not to go to police when she sought his counsel after being sexually assaulted by another church member. In addition, hundreds of accounts surfaced online criticizing the church for mishandling alleged incidents of sexual abuse committed by church members, highlighting how Chung and other church leaders downplayed that abuse. As WBEZ previously reported, those restorative steps had included meeting with the CFC pastoral staff regularly for mutual encouragement and care and preventing Chung from preaching at CFC for a limited time.
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