Grace Communion International Former Minister Outlines Four Post-WCG Options in 1990s Split

After joining the United Church of God in 1995, one former minister of the Worldwide Church of God outlined four choices for disgruntled members: 1) Stay with the Worldwide Church of God; 2) join the United Church; 3) go with Rod Meredith’s Global Church of God; or 4) wait on God to clearly reveal where to go. In his view, the Philadelphia Church of God wasn’t even worthy of consideration.

At the time he listed those options, the Philadelphia Church of God had been in existence for more than five years. The church had 52 ministers worldwide, serving more than 4,000 members. Its annual income exceeded $5 million, and its magazine, The Trumpet, had a circulation of around 50,000. The church’s weekly television program, Key of David, was broadcast nationally on several cable stations, including WGN, and over the air in the 22 largest U.S. markets. It also had television coverage in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Yet, for many former members of the Worldwide Church of God in the 1990s, these achievements were of little importance. The Philadelphia Church of God, despite its growth and resources, was seen as a minor entity that had started with very little. Its work began in 1989 with two unemployed field ministers from Oklahoma, two used cars, an old desktop computer, $80 in a church account, a typewritten manuscript titled *Malachi’s Message to God’s Church Today*, and about 400 names and addresses of former Worldwide Church of God members.

The church’s early structure was also a factor. It was organized with a hierarchical form of governance, which had become a contentious issue for former Worldwide Church of God members in the early 1990s. Rod Meredith, who founded the Global Church of God in 1993, criticized the hierarchical system of the Worldwide Church of God, arguing that it represented a misunderstanding of New Testament church governance. He emphasized that the early apostles operated with a more collaborative approach, where all elders submitted to one another.

In 1995, the United Church of God was established on a similar “collaborative” model, as previously explained. Many ministers from both the Global Church of God and the United Church of God had supported and encouraged changes within the Worldwide Church of God for years. However, by the mid-1990s, many had grown disillusioned and left the Worldwide Church of God en masse, urging others to do the same.

At that time, the focus was less on where one went after leaving the Worldwide Church of God and more on the act of leaving itself. There were multiple “branches” to choose from, and any of them would suffice—as long as one was no longer part of the Worldwide Church of God.

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