Our investigation is ongoing and will not be impeded. Simply walk into the main office door and let the receptionist know you are there to receive prayer. as required for Public Notices per section 50.011 (1)(e), F.S. Pastors Stovall and Kerri never intended to receive any money from this investment. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. The couple want to allow for a full and thorough investigation of any and all wrongdoing involving the churchs board of trustees, present and former officers, employees, and other parties and organizations that contributed to the dispute, said a suit filed last month by the Weemses attorney, Christopher J. Greene. Global Senior Pastor Stovall Weems and his wife, Kerri, say in their lawsuit that Weems was wrongly suspended from his post in January after a trustee falsely claimed that Pastor Stovall was improperly manipulating and misdirecting the churchs finances., In reality, the suit argues, Weems had confronted the trustee after discovering fraud on the church and the trustee reacted by feeding the other trustees and senior church members lies and misinformation.. Oddly enough, I can certify that Celebration was listed as an ARC-affiliated church as little as one week before this was published. Get new articles and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Was this article helpful? Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of "Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse" by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. The founders of the 12,000-member Celebration Church are suing the Jacksonville megachurch's hand-picked trustees to avoid being ousted over claims of financial irregularities. The other thing is when pastors believe their accountability should be in light of other pastors. He told his church that on Friday, Jesus Christ appeared to him at a church service. After the initial lawsuit drew public attention, the church released a report that claimed Weems had been committing fraud, [and] unjustly enriching himself at the expense of the church., The new complaint says the report was bogus and that Weems and his wife are trying now to clear their names and expose how the seditionists now in control [of] Celebration Church maliciously and unjustifiably ruined Plaintiffs ability to work in their chosen profession.. Their initial lawsuit in March forced into the public what was intended to be an internal investigation by the Board of Trustees. All of them ! You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Four months later, in June 2021, property records show Celebration Church purchased the home from Weems Group, LLC for $1,286,900. No One Knows. In January, Celebration Churchs trustees noticed several large financial transactions by the Weemses and asked for an investigation into potentially improper financial practices, the churchs court filing states. Interested in becoming a group leader? We have nothing to hide. Religious Freedom Updates Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post. Celebration Church Jacksonville ScandalMegachurch Pastor Stovall Weems Said Jesus Came to Him . Since . From hangouts to bible studies, large format to small groups, meeting out at a coffee shop or in somebody's home we have a place for every person that walks through the doors of Celebration Church to connect in community and build lasting relationships with others. In 2021, Stovall Weems transitioned out of the Senior Pastor role and into a Founding Pastor role. As contemplated all along by all parties involved, the home required various updating and repairs. Previous coverage: Bank sues Celebration Church founders for $716,000 in business debts, credit card bills, Church founder leaves: Celebration Church founder Stovall Weems quits, vows to 'continue our ministry elsewhere', 'At stake is control of the church': Celebration Church, founder Stovall Weems embroiled in legal dispute. To sign up for a group, please follow these instructions: 3. The churchs investigation has uncovered ample documentation to support the positions in its motion to dismiss, and Celebration remains confident that the truth will ultimately prevail. Lee Wedekind, attorney for Celebration Church, Celebration Church released a statement to News4JAX on Wednesday for our initial reporting on this case: Celebration Church has grown and thrived since Pastor Tim Timberlake became the churchs spiritual leaderin September2021. The spokeswoman for Weems said the church's audited financial reports certified that the PPP money was used for purposes the law allowed. It was approved for $2,153,702 on April 6, 2020. 1:53:02 Know. Sara Brady gave the following response on behalf of the Weemses: The Motion to Dismiss alleges that more than $1 million in PPP money went to fund Honey Lake Farms, LLC and to purchase Turncoin. The Weemses spokesperson released this statement to News4JAX on Thursday about the purchase of that property: Pastor Stovalls parsonage allowance as approved by the Board of Trustees, was approximately $1.3 million which included the price of the property and expected improvements. Copyright 2023 News4JAX.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. Copyright 2022 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved. The Weemses are asking the court to force Celebration Church to reinstate them and give them back pay, along with certain other measures. What I have witnessed is more pastors are using their authority to control the narrative. The couples suit says the church was billed $18,000 per month as rent for a home Cormier owned that was being renovated and wasnt habitable. Tim Timberlake was named Weems successor to lead the nearly 12,000-member church. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Celebration Church is a global, multi-site church located in Jacksonville, Florida. On both sides! Everlasting Punishment! Celebration Church is a member of the Association of Related Churches and aims to lead people to experience a God-First life. Now the church and the Weemses, who are former members of ARCs Lead Team, are caught up in a legal battle even as an investigation is underway into the Weemses alleged misconduct. This can be a good thing but it takes away their accountability. The findings could be presented to the church trustees as early as next month, he said. Neither the PPP funds nor the Turncoin investment also had anything to do with Pastor Stovalls salary advance. The Weemses are accused of spiritually abusing church staff members, Wedekind said. Opinion: What is Revivaland is it Happening at Asbury? Weems resigned from the megachurch in April, but a lawsuit he and his wife, Kerri, filed in Februaryis still active. Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The former pastors of Celebration Church owe more than $716,000, according to a lawsuit filed by First Citizens Bank. The I-TEAM talked with a local attorney about what the newest court filing could mean for the Weemses and their businesses. I think this is wrong. Then the trustee board suspended Weems and hired a law firm to investigate the Weemses alleged financial mismanagement and spiritual abuse. Former Celebration Church employee Jimmy Papia worked at the church from 2008-2015, according to his affidavit. Less than two weeks after The Roys Report (TRR) published an investigation, revealing that Churchome, Judah Smiths celebrity megachurch, had rehired Braylon, An embattled New England megachurch yesterday announced its closing, following an investigation by The Roys Report detailing allegations of yearslong bullying and, In 2019, Braylon Oliver stepped away from pastoring the Downtown campus of Churchome, a so-called celebrity megachurch with campuses in Los Angeles. [2] The first services in the new "Celebration Arena" was held November 11, 2012.[3]. ), Sky 4 photo of Stovall and Kerri Weems' home, Any and all meeting minutes, agenda, and board resolutions, and any drafts thereof, of Board of Trustees meetings held between January 1, 2017 through present, Any and all documents relating to Pastor Stovall and Kerris compensation packages from 2017 through the present, including but not limited to written agreements and records of payment from the Church to them, Any and all documents relating to the churchs 2021 purchase of the parsonage from an entity controlled by Pastor Stovall as alleged on page 9 of the Motion To Dismiss. Now they've finally tied the knot, Soccer's Orlando Pride ditches players' white shorts over period concerns, Rooftop bar and music venue planned for Bay Street, NASA made history by knocking an asteroid off course. Siebeling is a senior pastor at The Life Church, an ARC-affiliated Tennessee megachurch, and Volk runs his own nonprofit Together For Israel. The investigation is largely focused on two different aspects of the Weems leadership, said Lee D. Wedekind III, a partner in the law firm Nelson Mullins. "Celebration Church has been mine and my familys church home for close to ten years. 1), $984 owed by Weems Group LLC (credit card No. . The dispute involves allegations of financial misconduct and fraud. They said through a spokesperson that the price difference on the parsonage reflected extensive updates, repairs and housing-related expenses they had paid for before selling it to the church. For the First Phase, the $15 million building project features a 3,000 seat capacity in an arena-style sanctuary, with broadcasting and audio visual capabilities. The Weems-managed entity, Honey Lake Farms LLC, appears to be part of a web of similarly named organizations surrounding a behavioral health clinic in Madison County created through Celebration five years ago. The other part of the churchs investigation concerns the spiritual leadership of the Weemses, Wedekind said. Celebration Church responded saying this is the latest chapter in a campaign of deception, manipulation, distraction, and abuse of power by Stovall and Kerri Weems against Celebration. Celebrations motion also alleges the couple improperly used over $1,000,000 in PPP loan proceeds to fund an entity they managed and to purchase TurnCoin, a digital security. The church alleges in a response to the Weemses suit that trustees discovered millions of dollars misspent through several large financial transactions the Weemses made in 2021 without telling the trustees. Celebration Church, one of the biggest churches in the Jacksonville area, on Monday released findings from an internal investigation into its founding pastor, Stovall Weems. Give me my job and salary back, even if you hate me? The 71-page filing said Stovall and Kerri Weems and their businesses have defaulted on payments. Celebration Church is preparing to open an Arlington campus at the Regency Park Shopping Center in the former Hobby Lobby space. Click to reveal Groups that do have childcare options will have that listed in their groups description. An investigation is underway. To see which groups meet online, look for the MEETS ONLINE tag at the top of the group photo or simply search meets online in the group search bar. Too many are yes men and by the time they see something, they realize it shouldve been nipped a while back. A spokeswoman for Weems said the church has about 300 employees. The first violation, of Standard Two, concerns organizational governance and states that , Every organization shall be governed by a responsible board of not less than five individuals, a majority of whom shall be independent, who shall meet at least semiannually to establish policy and review its accomplishments., and its former senior pastor, Stovall Weems, have been plagued by scandals in recent months. Timberlake spoke at a service in March, assuring the congregation that the church is OK. No criminal charges have been filed in this case. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. Find more information on upcoming services, workshops, and ministry events. Open sin with no sense of remorse or wrong doing ! When a ministry encounters failureor even worse, scandalits difficulties can almost always be traced to a breakdown in governance, ECFA says in explaining Standard Two. In addition to $100,000 invested in TurnCoin for Celebration, the report said investments were made on behalf of two church spinoff organizations, Honey Lake Farms and AWKNG, as well as. When a ministry encounters failureor even worse, scandalits difficulties can almost always be traced to a breakdown in governance, ECFA says in explaining Standard Two. These are they that Peter says were born for hell before they were conceived ! Cormier also rented the church another house, but billed the church $137,871 for renovations, the suit said. It also operates in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Paris, the Netherlands and Zimbabwe, according to the website. He even spoke about his experience in a recording of his church's Sunday service, which is posted on YouTube. . A civil court hearing on the case between the Weemses and Celebration Church is scheduled for May 31. Wells without water clouds without rain, they are the foam of the ocean washed up upon the shores ! He also took steps to remove other trustees a few days later, the suit indicates. Hobby Lobby moved to Parkway Shops in River City Marketplace in 2015 and also opened a store at The Strand at Town Center. The News4JAX I-TEAM looked into what Celebration Church received in PPP money, which was distributed to help businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By clicking "Accept", you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. No criminal charges have been filed in this case. The Roys Report reached out to ARC, asking when the Weemses and Celebration Church were removed and why, but did not immediately hear back. Timberlake said in his sermon that the church is praying for a . Spokesperson for Stovall and Kerri Weems says funds were used for legally allowed purposes, Multiple large transfers to new for-profit entities that the Weemses intended to manage going forward, Churchs purchase of a parsonage (in which Stovall and Kerri Weems were to live rent-free) for $1,286,863.30 that a company solely owned by Stovall Weems had bought four months earlier for $855,000, Advancement of nine months salary to Kerri Weems and seven months salary to Stovall Weems in violation of Florida statute and the churchs own internal policies, despite neither Stovall nor Kerri Weems performing the duties of the offices that purportedly justified those salaries, Improper use of over $1,000,000 in PPP loan proceeds to fund the Weems-managed entity Honey Lake Farms, LLC and to purchase TurnCoin, an illiquid, speculative digital currency, (Copyright 2022 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved. Ministry Watch 2022 All rights reserved. The leadership as a whole sucks and the unsaved world lives better. After the employee delivered the car as demanded, Stovall Weems told him to find his own ride home, the report reads. Celebration Church on the Southside of Jacksonville. Stovall and Kerri Weems released a statement to News4JAX on Wednesday: We could never have imagined that the church we started and nurtured for nearly 25 years would be seized by individuals whom we believe are prioritizing their individual interests in power and money ahead of their duties to Celebration Church and its mission. Wednesday afternoon, he said by email that the new complaint was very disappointing and a distraction from the churchs ministry. Tim Timberlake has been leading Celebration Church since last year. We highly encourage you to use the advanced search tab under the group search bar to help you find the best group for you. Pastor Stovall and his wife, Kerri Weems, founded the Jacksonville church in 1998. 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