New procedures call for bank statements to be reconciled on a monthly basis, reimbursement requests to be accompanied by receipts, two nonpastoral signatures on all Valleybrook checks and payment of cellphone data overages and parking tickets to be the responsibility of staff members who incur them. The Real Faces of Human Trafficking, a video production by Fierce Freedom, Valleybrook Auditorium (Hollywood Theatre), 412 S Barstow St, Eau Claire Learn why human trafficking continues. A Wisconsin church is under fire for behaving like a GASP! 2 recommendations for Valleybrook Church from neighbors in Eau Claire, WI. 0:00. At the same time, Diederich said, Lebsack took steps to disconnect Valleybrook from Converge to limit denominational oversight, leaving the truth-tellers with no one to appeal to. Her quick wit and southern charm are infectious. Order 10 or more to qualify as a group! Key symptoms he identified include manipulating people to promote their personal agenda, rejecting criticism, intimidating people with their biblical or persuasive arguments, twisting Scripture to support their claims, marginalizing critics and justifying their agenda by saying that God told them.. This has been the most challenging thing Ive ever been a part of, Haugen said. Maybe my belief is weak. It was during that time in Seattle that Jaime signed with Centricity Records and went on to record 3 albums with them. We are a downtown church with a few different options for parking. VALLEYBROOK CHURCH is located at 412 SOUTH BARSTOW STREET in the city of Eau Claire. Volunteers are needed to supervise and interact with children ages 5-17. Valleybrook Church is a growing community of believers in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Select a subscription and get started today. Its immediately evident she has a passion to see people know how much God loves them and a desire to see that reality change their livesbecause it has changed hers. National Human Trafficking Awareness Day Events, St. Patricks Day Events & Celebrations In USA 2023, MicroMania Midget Wrestling: Glendale, AZ at 44 Sports Grill. Indeed, the Hagedorns revealed that before Nate cut ties with them 18 months ago he told them he spent 12 hours a day with Lebsack after the former lead pastor indicated God wanted the two of them to be knitted together. Mitchell also reported that current leaders indicated that several bags of cash (some labeled Kids Offering) were found in former assistant pastor Mary Clarks office, six staff members rang up $6,000 in charges on their Valleybrook credit cards for dining out, and Lebsack, believed to now be leading a church in Grapevine, Texas, received an annual salary of $113,000. In addition, the shift to more extreme ideas was gradual enough that many people in the church didnt see it, Mitchell said. A downtown Eau Claire church is picking up the pieces after a scandal that tested the faith of the congregation and led to the resignations of the entire pastoral team amid allegations of "spiritual abuse." . Organization Information Organizations with the same name Location Information Organizations in the same zip code Similar Entities Who wants to question Jesus?. Burns, who said the behavior displayed elements of cultlike activity, pointed out that some reports suggest the pressure to conform sometimes got even stronger, with the pastors accusing critics or doubters of being under the influence of Satan. We won't share it with anyone else. *Entrance located on Rt. 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Recognize the signs, myths, and factors that continue to perpetuate human trafficking. Getting to Net Zero: What Does This Really Mean and How Do We Do It? Valleybrook Church is a Christian nonprofit organization in Eau Claire, WI that was founded in 1974. 2023 Nonprofit Metrics LLCTerms of Service and Privacy Policy. Please consider distributing fliers to your bible study or small group. Solberg said average attendance at services, while still down by more than 50 percent from the beginning of the year before the upheaval, has begun to creep back up, recently reaching about 225. 07/15/2022 We are solidly into the post-Christian world, and so the pressure for pastors to bind their congregations to themselves in steadily increasing. There is not now, and will never be, a fee to access this site. The church received several notices about unpaid taxes from the Internal Revenue Service, including a notice of intent to levy $12,977 for unpaid employment withholding taxes. If youre on a laptop or desktop, the menu is likely floating around on the left side of the page, indicated also by three horizontal bars. Mitchell recalled feeling that way himself for a while, even moving to eliminate contact with his family on Lebsacks advice before eventually rejecting the idea. employees. That included paying for five pickups a week from a pair of large trash receptacles. Valleybrook Church, 412 S Barstow St, Eau Claire, United States. The nine-page letter by Grant Schultz identified multiple examples of Lebsacks alleged manipulative practices, including frequent attempts to push parishioners and staff to cut off ties with their biological families and instead form knitted-together relationships with other Valleybrook members of his choosing. 160 Granville Road*. The goal of those posts was to tell my part of the story, but also to expose some corruption within the leadership. Valleybrook Church is part of the Organizations industry, and located in Wisconsin, United States. The developments led to the resignations of Valleybrooks entire pastoral team as well as three of the churchs overseers. The letter went on to say many of Lebsacks teachings came from what he claimed were direct revelations from God, and then the pastors would twist Scripture to fit the theology. After a pastor blew the whistle by way of an open letter, a team of investigators (sent in by the churchs parent organization) spoke with current and former church members, eventually issuing a report that condemned the leadership for allowing these abusive practices to continue: Four Valleybrook Church pastors left after widespread claims surfaced about them pushing members and staff to reject their families, matching unrelated pairs of parishioners into knit-together relationships to replace biological family, sharing personal information gained in confidence, and abusing their authority by demeaning and shaming others. GROUP Tickets available for groups of 10 or more. We won't share it with anyone else. Let's pray together to end the cycle of human trafficking and exploitation: Valleybrook 410 Cafe, 410 S Barstow St, Eau Claire 6:30-7:45 pm. Please do something! Former Valleybrook employee Matthew Mitchell, who attended the meeting and reported on it in his Tales from the Cult blog, said parishioners were informed that the church paid Verizon Wireless nearly $30,000, including upgrade fees and data charges, from January 2014 to March 2015 for 16 lines of cellphone service for former church leaders and their families. But if youre curious, its like Valleybrooks denominations HQ. I would finally like to point out that this is not an anti-Valleybrook site, although at first glance it certainly looks like one. The answer, according to people familiar with the situation, revolves around the masterful way former Valleybrook lead pastor Doug Lebsack asserted his moral authority to justify his behavior and manipulated any checks and balances that might have stopped the abuse. To view our latest e-Edition click the image on the left. United States Wisconsin Eau Claire . Those of us who have been out of the church for awhile have been seeing and saying these things for years, and now its public information. Chic Sweets sales 10am-5pm Attend, Share & Influence! Please refer your friends and family to this site if you find it useful or informative. Website: Again, more on Converge later. Help us spread the word about Aspire. The majority of the congregation has no idea whats going on because they see the pastor only on Sundays. And when you hear about how he acted, you can understand why: Lebsack turned Valleybrook into a fringe church with an isolationist mindset and coached the pastoral team into believing it was the only valid church in the area, possibly in the world, [former pastor Grant] Schultzs letter said. Staff photo by Dan Reiland Doug Lebsack Charlene Burns IRS 501(c) type. They also often dont require formal seminary training or even psychological evaluations for people to become pastors, she said. Weve worked hard to put in place a high level of internal controls, said interim lead pastor Tim Haugen, adding that the church has no plans to pursue legal action related to the financial review. Coach Indianhead Sport Parachute Club // Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin May 2019 - Oct 2021 2 years 6 months . cult. Mitchell suggested in his blog that all the credit card interest and late fees when there was money available to make payments on time should be consideredmismanagement of godly resources and would be cause for firing in the business world. Please link to this site on your own sites if you are willing, please share links to stories and media on Facebook. Valleybrook Church Location 412 S Barstow St, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, 54701, United States Description Industry Organizations General Organizations Discover more about Valleybrook Church Org Chart - Valleybrook Church Phone Email Julie Smith Valleybrook Offices411 S Barstow StEau Claire, WI 54701. A Memorial Service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011, at Valleybrook Church, Eau Claire with Pastor Grant Schultz, Pastor Mary Clark, and two members of Steve's family officiating.. Clark indicated there is another side to the financial story but said she didnt think it was her place to comment becausethose things werent decided by me. In April, Clark also questioned the veracity of some of the findings in the Converge Great Lakes report. Welcome To Valley Brook Community Church Hello! The Haven Christian Church 1231 Menomonie St. . No matter what, I think theres a certain amount of respect given to a pastor just for being a pastor, he said. Likewise, Lebsack was able to manipulate the churchs overseers and facilitate the departures of assistant pastors who dared question his methods and messages, said Mitchell, who has written about the events at Valleybrook in a series of blogs titled Tales from the Cult., Ideally, the overseers would have stopped that, but many of them were in Dougs back pocket too, Mitchell said. She then moved to Nashville, TN where she still calls home and continues to travel throughout the US and internationally leading people in worship, singing songs of hope and sharing a message of finding your value and purpose in Christ. Despite the widespread concerns, several sources indicated that many families just left Valleybrook when they felt things were getting strange later in Lebsacks roughly 10 years at the church. I titled that series Tales from the Cult, later renamed Tales from the Orgto be less inflammatory. Office hours are Tuesday - Thursday from 10AM - 2PM. Thats the normal line of authority, Diederich said. You have permission to edit this article. Late payments on church credit cards resulted in charges of more than $7,500 in penalties, interest and late fees between April 2013 and March 2015. Without further ado, heres a PDF of the Valleybrook Church Report. This report will also be made available under " Media " in the site menu 2. Get our FREE Newsletters and special offers! Bethesda Lutheran Church: 123 W. Hamilton Ave. Eau Claire, WI Tuesdays at 9:00 am Jan 17, 2023 - Apr 11, 2023 Saving Grace Lutheran Church: Saving Grace Lutheran Church (New Location) . North Granby, CT 06060. There is nothing more perverse and distorted than a toxic pastor, he wrote. Food. According to our database, there are approximately 88 churches in Eau Claire, with 9 Catholic churches, 8 Baptist churches, 1 Pentecostal churches, 4 Methodist churches, and 66 other denomination churches. There is a substantial core of people who have remained who are committed to rebuilding. info@valleybrookchurch.org. Converges crisis intervention team spent more than 28 hours interviewing 57 current and former Valleybrook members and attendees and issued a report highly critical of practices at the church. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. Michelle was born in a small town in North Carolina where she made others laugh as soon as she could talk. Watch Livestream | Valley Brook Community Church Watch Livestream Watch & Resources Watch Livestream Watch Past Services Podcast News & Reminders Weekly Email Other Resources Watch Live Sundays | 10:00 AM We livestream on the following platforms; click on links to watch! Filipino-American Community Church / Church Religious, Harvest Community Church of Central Florida, Private Foundation Excise Taxes on Undistributed Income, Gifts from Private Foundations to Donor Advised Funds. Contributing author identities will always be verified by myself, but if they wish to remain anonymous, they will be given a. However,I will seek to make sure that repentant hearts are protected, and that it is made abundantly clear whodid what. Eau Claire is located in the beautiful state of Wisconsin. Valleybrook Church Eau Claire, Wisconsin REGISTER Join us for two days of growing, learning, and building your ministry toolkit while being inspired and motivated to lead like never before. Recognizing that families inside and outside Valleybrook were adversely affected by the spiritual abuse scandal, the church said in its statement that it has paid for professional counseling for individuals who requested it. "This has been the most challenging thing I've ever been a part of," Haugen said. Valleybrook Church, based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is under fire for what a former leader is calling "abusive practices [that] were inappropriate and pushing the church away from God." As the Leader-Telegram first reported in April, the team, which interviewed 57 current and former Valleybrook members and attendees, alleged in its final report that Valleybrooks pastoral staff used their positions and authority to cultivate dysfunctional trust, manipulate people and violate the code of ministerial ethics. Invalid password or account does not exist. This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Please support us by making a contribution. Please refer your friends and family to this site if you find it useful or informative. (With the bonus of a home run ball). Valleybrook Church. Boston St Patricks Day Pub Crawl & Block Party! For instance, Valleybrook is linking with B-Side Community on a joint youth ministry program. The teams final report alleges that Valleybrooks pastoral staff used their positions and authority to cultivate dysfunctional trust, manipulate people and violate the code of ministerial ethics. Want more from the Friendly Atheist? The developments, which led to the resignations of Valleybrooks entire pastoral team as well as three of its overseers, prompted many church members to leave and left transitional leaders with the daunting challenge of regaining the trust of remaining members and the community. Valley Brook Community Church design by ChurchDev.com. A lack of oversight and former lead pastor Doug Lebsacks claims of receiving direct messages from God are among the reasons cited for a recent scandal at Valleybrook Church in downtown Eau Claire that prompted the entire pastoral team to resign amid allegations of spiritual abuse. DSAW-Chippewa Valley WDSD Celebration at Action City. Before you know it there is an unintentional conspiracy of silence, he said. Now hes claiming to have a direct channel to Jesus, so hes already set you up to be in real spiritual trouble if you question anything, Burns said. Burns, who has researched nonintervention, equated that tendency to what is known as the bystander effect the concept that explains how people can watch someone get beat up on the street and not do anything about it because nobody else takes action. Visit Website. We see something wrong, but we think everyone else seems to think its OK, so it must be me.. Former Valleybrook Church employee Matthew Mitchell says he believes the former lead pastors efforts to muzzle dissent contributed to a climate that allowed spiritual abuse to take place at the downtown Eau Claire church. Since the public announcements, I stopped hiding the name of The Cult / The Org: it was Valleybrook Church, and it absolutely was a cult. Reader's Choice Awards - Voting has ended. He indicated certain characteristics often are present in such church leaders. Valleybrook Church 412 S. Barstow St. Eau Claire, WI 54701 Call 480-812-1100 for information Pricing General Admission $25 (plus fee) General Admission ($30 at the door) BUY TICKETS VIP $35 (plus fee) Early Admission for preferred seating Q&A with the speakers and artists BUY TICKETS Group Tickets $20 for group of 10+ There is a clear and widespread pattern of spiritual abuse led by the former lead pastor, embraced by the former co-lead pastor, the former teaching pastor and the current executive pastor, the report says. You have permission to edit this article. They were duped as much as everybody else.. Born again: Valleybrook Church takes steps to right wrongs found in pastoral abuse scandal. Whose morality rules at Valleybrook Church? It employs 1-5 people and has $0M-$1M of revenue. In February of 2015, an enormous exodus took place from a church in downtown Eau Claire. I would like to briefly give my take on this report before I share the linkand I really mean briefly: They nailed it. Though they were sad to leave after thinking theyd found their church home, Larson said, they observed several things that sent up red flags, including constant drama and crying in sermons. The address is 411 S Barstow St. While it has been a challenging year for Valleybrook Church, it has also been incredible to see Gods hand as we navigate forward, the church said in a statement sent Friday to the Leader-Telegram. Coffee. Thats the disgusting part to me.. 189 (Granville Road) 860.844.0001. office@valleybrook.cc. Church of Christ Non-Denominational Churches Church of Christ Churches & Places of Worship 26 YEARS IN BUSINESS (715) 832-5525 1701 Goff Ave Eau Claire, WI 54701 3. Support Local Journalism! Still, Diederich, who recently blogged about what he called toxic pastors, said he was shocked so many people could allow the tactics to go on for so long. Ho-hum. This is hindsight to me, but it seemed like there was no separation in their lives. Doug Lebsack, resigned because they say the final report didnt tell the full story and, it seems, because they didnt want to be around when it was read to the congregation. Tales from the Cult is a website dedicated to preserving important artifacts from a church in Eau Claire where horrific spiritual abuse took place over several years. Our children's and student ministries are solid. 0:57. Michelles talent has taken her around the world, but her southern roots still remain strong. Toxic pastors rise to power because they are often among the few people in church leadership educated in ministry, and the volunteers around them dont feel confident to challenge the pastors decisions, Diederich wrote. A lack of oversight and former lead pastor Doug Lebsack's claims of receiving direct messages from God are among the reasons cited for a recent scandal at Valleybrook Church in downtown Eau Claire that prompted the entire pastoral team to resign amid allegations of spiritual abuse. Create a password that only you will remember. When trust is violated, it takes a really long time for trust to be built back up.. The Employer Identification Number (EIN) is #391805767. Valleybrook Church // Eau Claire, Wisconsin Feb 2019 - May 2022 3 years 4 months. Previously on a personal blog, I ran a series of posts sharing stories from my time in this cult. Event StartsJoin us for 3hours full of laughter, learning, stories, and music. Eau Claire; Valleybrook Church; EIN 39-1805767. A Wisconsin church is under fire for behaving like a GASP! We had previously served Triumph Lutheran Brethren Church in Moorhead, MN for 25 years. People did express disappointment when they heard that, Solberg said. Find top employees, contact details and business statistics at RocketReach. Valleybrook is trying to rebuild itself in a healthy way, and they are doing a fine job of that. The Bridge Church, Eau Claire 1210 E. Clairemont Ave. Salem Baptist Eau Claire 2514 Golf Road . LeaderTelegram 374 subscribers Jody and Bob Hagedorn watched as their son Nate, a married 32-year-old with 4 children, became involved at Valleybrook Church in Eau Claire and rose to a. ", Report Claims Evangelical Church Leaders in Wisconsin Exhibited Cultlike and Abusive Behavior. This is what Shannon does! We are located in the historic Hollywood Movie Theater. The church also has contracted with an outside bookkeeper to process payroll and payables, Solberg said. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. 412 S Barstow St Eau Claire, WI 54701 United States MAP IT Service Times (715) 834-9993 Pastor Doug Lebsack About Valleybrook Church Valleybrook Church is a Baptist church in Eau Claire Wisconsin. Valleybrook members also are attempting to give back to the community, most recently by raising more than $8,600 for local food pantries. Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. 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Website. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. All the symptoms appear to have been present at Valleybrook, Diederich said, noting that he regularly reminds his congregation that his words represent his opinions and that he isnt claiming to be speaking for God. LA CROSSE - At least 25 priests who served in the Diocese of La Crosse over the past several decades sexually assaulted children, the diocese disclosed Saturday. Lindquist can be reached at 715-833-9209, 800-236-7077 or eric.lindquist@ecpc.com. A downtown Eau Claire church is picking up the pieces after a scandal that tested the faith of the congregation and led to the resignations of the entire pastoral team amid allegations of spiritual abuse.. 6,802 were here. There is not now, and will never be, a fee to access this site. Add to your calendar iCal Google Seeking a fresh start after a spiritual abuse scandal that prompted the entire pastoral team at Valleybrook Church to resign earlier this year, transitional leaders pursued an audit that revealed questionable financial practices as well. Cause IQ is a website that helps companies grow, maintain, and serve their nonprofit clients, and helps nonprofits find additional foundation funding. It is my hope that with enough web presence, a Google search will highlight the names of these individuals in an effort to prevent abuse from happening elsewhere. (715) 559-6943. Our data and tools help professionals prospect for nonprofits, research opportunities, benchmark their clients, and enrich existing information. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. New things, new revelations, new truths. Invalid password or account does not exist. Grocery. Hotels. Consider this, then, a history book of a time not long gone, and a warning to any organization that employs or affiliates with the former lead pastor of the church.