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WORLD CHANGERS CHURCH

Brief History:

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       Creflo Augustus Dollar Jr. (born Michael Smith, January 28, 1962) is an American televangelist and the founder of the non-denominational World Changers Church International based in College Park, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Dollar also heads the Creflo Dollar Ministerial Association (formerly called International Covenant Ministries), Creflo Dollar Ministries, and Arrow Records.

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      Dollar began developing World Changers Ministries Christian Center in 1986. He held the church's first worship service in the cafeteria of Kathleen Mitchell Elementary School in College Park, with eight people in attendance. He later renamed the ministry as World Changers Church International (WCCI), and the congregation moved from the cafeteria to a dedicated chapel. Four services were held each Sunday, and Creflo added a weekly radio broadcast. On December 24, 1995, WCCI moved into its present location, the 8,500-seat facility known as the World Dome. The church has said that the nearly $20,000,000 World Dome was built without any bank financing. As of 2007, the congregation reported having around 30,000 members, and $70,000,000 in revenue (gross cash collections) for 2006.

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The message of the "Prosperity Gospel," which World Changers teaches, is simple: "You can be rich, healthy and trouble free. Jesus was rich and God wants you to be rich." One look at the church's facility, called the World Dome, is enough to convince you that it works -- for somebody.

Sunday morning at the cavernous dome can be a moving experience. An army of ushers direct you to your seat in a state-of-the-art auditorium that is devoid of traditional church pews and instead, sports 8,000 plush theater-style seats. White collection buckets can be found alongside each aisle. The church's bookstore is filled with books touting prosperity such as, "Confession Brings Possession," and "How To Bring Home The Wealth."

This prosperity message is not just limited to World Changers. Two of the movement's elder leaders, Fred Price and Kenneth Copeland, can be viewed on a total 420 television stations worldwide and have published 67 books.

But some religious observers say the Prosperity Gospel is out of sync with the substance of Jesus' teachings, which emphasizes selflessness and spiritual virtue.

the Prosperity Gospel takes advantage of people who are not grounded in Biblical teachings. It tells them they can be wealthy and always healthy and never have problems.


The only people really prospering in these types of "churches" are their religious leaders, who wears expensive suits, drives a Rolls Royce and owns their own Lear jet to whisk him across the country spreading his "gospel"  message of prosperity. According to Dollar's teachings, if he didn't look prosperous, how could he gain more followers? 

1. Mega Church

   Today many are fascinated with large church crowds for various reasons, from the social popular aspect to a feeling that it must be right since so many people are here. 

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2. World Changers Foundation , 

This  new ministry started (Founded) by Cleflo Dollar prospered, and in 1988 the church bought the former Atlanta Christian Center Church in College Park. The ministry expanded to accommodate a growing congregation, composed predominantly of middle-class African Americans, and added a radio broadcast to reach a larger audience. In 1991, the World Changers broke ground on the current location of the ministry, the World Dome, located in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, the name of the ministry was changed to World Changers Church International (WCCI) to reflect its increasing membership and global presence (“Creflo Dollar Ministries”.

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3.   Prosperity gospel  

     Prosperity ministers preach that God rewards the faithful with wealth and spiritual gifts. Pastors such as T.D. Jakes, Dollar, and Joel Osteen have become the Prosperity Gospel's most well known preachers, building megachurches and business empires with a message equating piety with prosperity. While popular in the black church, it is not a solely black phenomenon, as seen in the ministry of Osteen, a best-selling author and megapastor at Lakewood Church in Houston. The church website says it is considered to be the largest church in America, with more than 38,000 attendees.

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The Prosperity Gospel is a form of evangelical Christianity that largely grew out of the booming economy of postwar America, says Jonathan Walton, a professor of Christian Morals at Harvard and author of "Watch This! Televangelism and African American Religious Culture." The theology's emphasis is on God's promised generosity in this life and the ability of believers to claim it for themselves. If God loves us, it teaches, then God will reward us with a new home, a good job, or good health, Walton says. God wants us to be prosperous which becomes a unbiblical theology. 

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4.   Baptism of the Holy Ghost

  The Holy Spirit speaks directly to each individual with a specific message just for them.

  1. And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism...And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied (Acts 19:1-3, 6).

    1. After speaking in tongues, a prophecy and an interpretation in English edifies others and builds them up.

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5. Cleflo  Dollar the  Pastor

Creflo and Taffi Dollar serve as co-pastors on the main church campus. Dollar travels to New York City to preach at the World Changers Church located in Brooklyn. Taffi Dollar is the CEO of Arrow Record music label. In addition to preaching each Sunday, Creflo Dollar travels to conferences around the country, speaking about how his members can be better and more prosperous Christians.

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6. Another "Word of Faith" Ministry. 

WWCI draws primary doctrinal inspiration from the less widely accepted Word of Faith tradition, which synthesizes the positive thinking and the capitalist success ethic (Baer 2010;582). The basic doctrinal profession in the Word of Faith tradition in Christianity is that adherents will achieve prosperity (defined broadly as physical, emotional economic, interpersonal, and spiritual) through positive confession. The doctrine is based in part on a passage in Mark 11:22-23 which quotes Jesus as stating that the faithful will have whatever they ask for or pray for with faith. Word of Faith adherents believe that this promise is included in Christ’s atonement for humankind’s sins. Prosperity is always available to believers; it is Satan who creates suffering. Adherents must not allow Satan to have authority over their lives but rather profess their faith to God. In order to gain healing, for example, adherents should make a positive confession by asserting with full belief that they have already been healed. Verbally asserting one of God’s promises creates a “force” that can make that promise real. By the same logic, of course, “negative confessions” can produce negative results. Creflo Dollar’s ministry reflects the Word of Faith doctrinal precepts.

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7.   World Changers claim of being  "non denominational"  

Word of Faith is a worldwide Evangelical Christian movement which teaches that Christians can access the power of faith through speech. Its teachings are found on radio, the internet, television, and in many Charismatic denominations and communities. It teaches that the salvation won by Jesus on the cross included wealth and prosperity for believers.

Evangelist E.W. Kenyon (1867–1948) is usually cited as the originator of Word of Faith teaching.

Kenyon's writings influenced Kenneth Hagin Sr., the recognized "father" of the Word of Faith movement. Douglas Mcconnell has provided significant evidence that all of Hagin's major ideas came from the works of Kenyon

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8.   Salvation:

Focused more on prosperity than the gospel of Jesus Christ. People are told to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. "Sinners Prayer"

         The baptismal candidate is asked to confess that he believes God has pardoned his sins, even before baptism (a common practice). 

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9. Communion:

At World Changers Church Communion is  taken during every Saturday and Sunday service as a reminder that His body was broken, and His precious blood was shed for us!

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10. Instruments in worship (Rock band):

     Not denied 

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 WRONG TIME:          1986  A. D. 

WRONG PLACE:      Atlanta, Georgia 

WRONG FOUNDER: Cleflo Dollar

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 1.  God has always called for obedience to Him when it comes to acceptable worship. Even in the case of two brothers -Cain and Abel. God ONLY accepted Abel's worship because in OBEDIENCE Able offered it by FAITH. Hebrews 11: 4. (that FAITH comes from...read (Romans 10:17). Crowds can get you in trouble Exodus 23:2. It ONLY matters WHY you are gathered NOT if it is a crowd Matthew 18:20. (must be following the teachings of Christ / John 8:32-32). 

 

2. The ONLY founder (Foundation) of the church of the SAVED is Jesus Christ. NOT Cleflo Dollar or anyone else! 

He is purchaser,  Acts 20:28

He is builder, Matthew 16:18

He is head, Ephesians 5:23

He is lawgiver, Acts 2:36

He is Savior, Ephesians 5:23

For NO ONE can lay any FOUNDATION other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. I Cor. 3:11

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3. The Bible does NOT teach anything about a person becoming a Christian and promised "Prosperity" 

In the Bible, there are several examples of people who are financially prosperous, but also of people who are financially poor. 

Biblical blessing is primarily focused on the relationship one has with God. Principally, a person who is blessed is one who is the recipient of God’s protection, God’s holy pleasure, and God’s grace (cf. Genesis 12:2-3). We are blessed beyond measure when we become a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:3-14). The inheritance promised to a faithful believer is spiritual, is future, and is eternal; God promises treasures in heaven (Luke 18:22). And yet, with all the blessings spoken of in Scripture, God’s pleasure and favor upon the Christian does not necessarily mean that He will make each faithful person materially rich.

Some experienced financial poverty because of their faithfulness to God, like Jeremiah, Paul, and Jesus. Poverty and wealth happen to all kinds of people and Jesus teaches us that God causes the rain to fall on the just and unjust (Matthew 5:45). In His sovereign good pleasure and providential control, God makes it so that some inherit or produce great wealth while others live without, choose to abstain from, squander, or fail to produce great wealth (1 Samuel 2:7).

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4.  The baptism of the Holy Ghost was ONLY promised to the apostles that Jesus Christ chose (Acts 1:5; 1:8). 

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  1.  It was always a promise and never a command. 

  2. There are only two recorded cases in the New Testament; Acts 2, the Jews; and Acts 10, the Gentiles.  Joel's prophecy was fulfilled when all flesh - both Jews and Gentiles received it. 

  3. The purpose of the Holy Spirit baptism was to fill a definite need. It was to endow the APOSTLES (not John Osteen) with power to accurately recall and teach the truth John 14:26. John Osteen experience (version) of the baptism of the Holy Ghost led him to start a church (when the Holy Ghost already knew Jesus already did that), then he started a Baptist Church ..later they dropped the name "Baptist". Why? Was the Holy Ghost wrong? 

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5.   No man is a "Pastor" alone. In the Bible we find "Pastors, Bishops, Elders, Overseers, and Prebyterers, always with an "s"-plurality. Acts 20:28, I Peter 5:1-5, I Timothy 5:17. Wives of Pastors have never been called a "co pastor' . Woman are NOT Pastors, Bishops, etc according to the Bible. (I Timothy 2:11, I Corinthians 14:33). 

 

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6. Non-denominational is the new denomination today. Many think just because they "relabel"  the name of their denominational church and automatically fools everyone that their false practices inside  have changed. We do not see the name "World Changers" nor any other denomination in the pages of Scripture.  The church wears the name of Christ (Romans 16:16) or Christ as God (Acts 20:28). 

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1. For years many in their efforts to vainly explain away denominations failed so now some are removing the divisive "names" of churches. 

2. Taking the label off of Chicken Noodle Soup and putting Non soup labels on the can will NOT change what it really is. Each year companies are sued by consumers because of false and deceptive labels. Col. 2:4, 2 Cor. 11:3, Rom. 16:18

3. All you have to do is look at history to know that apostacy began in Leadership of the church. While World Changers claim to be "non-denominational" yet their leadership is rooted in a denominational group called "Word of Faith". 

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7 . Countering Word of Faith teaching is a simple matter of reading the Bible. God alone is the Sovereign Creator of the Universe (Genesis 1:3; 1 Timothy 6:15) and does not need faith—He is the object of faith (Mark 11:22; Hebrews 11:3). God is spirit and does not have a physical body (John 4:24). Man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26, 27; 9:6), but this does not make him a little god or divine. Only God has a divine nature (Galatians 4:8; Isaiah 1:6-11, 43:10, 44:6; Ezekiel 28:2; Psalm 8:6-8). Christ is Eternal, the Only Begotten Son, and the only incarnation of God (John 1:1, 2, 14, 15, 18; 3:16; 1 John 4:1). In Him dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). By becoming a man, Jesus gave up the glory of heaven but not His divinity (Philippians 2:6-7), though He did choose to withhold His power while walking the earth as man.

The Word of Faith movement is deceiving countless people, causing them to grasp after a way of life and faith that is not biblical. At its core is the same lie Satan has been telling since the Garden: “You shall be as God” (Genesis 3:5). Sadly, those who buy into the Word of Faith movement are still listening to him. Our hope is in the Lord, not in our own words, not even in our own faith (Psalm 33:20-22). Our faith comes from God in the first place (Ephesians 2:8; Hebrews 12:2) and is not something we create for ourselves. So, be wary of the Word of Faith movement and any church that aligns itself with Word of Faith teachings.

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8. World Changers  does NOT teach nor believe what the Bible teaches regarding  what baptism is for. Like their Baptist roots they teach a person is SAVED before BAPTISM. They practice baptism is just a "symbol" that one is already saved. Acts 22:16 and other passages does NOT teach that people were saved before they were baptized. 

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9  The communion or the Lord's Supper is something that the Lord commands of His followers.

I Corinthians 16:1-2. God's people do this the first day of every week. (Acts 20:7). 

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1. Not in Christian worship as revealed in Testament. Leading Baptists have opposed it, including Charles Spurgeon. See principle of exclusion in Pendleton,p.81, above. The Bible always says to SING. Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16, 

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according to the Word of God
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