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Christian Fellowship Church Ministries International

Christian Fellowship Church Ministries International (CFCMI) is an American non-denominational church organization. From its founding in 1974 to 2008, CFCMI's headquarters was in Waukegan, Illinois; in 2008 the headquarters was moved to Norfolk, Virginia.

Origins

CFCMI's founder was Lloyd Ray "L.R." Davis (1935-1999), a former United Pentecostal Church pastor from Arkansas. Davis was married to Hazel Beck (1933-2021) of Tennessee and had three children: Debra, Pamela, and Larry. According to the CFCMI Website, Davis moved Hazel and their family to Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1971 to begin a street ministry. Much of his early teachings were along the lines of most Oneness Pentecostal Churches, including water baptism by full immersion in Jesus' name and the infilling of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in other tongues. By 1973 the Davis family moved to Waukegan, Illinois because L.R. Davis stated he felt a burden to reach the sailors and other people from around the Great Lakes naval base. In 1974, Davis created a gospel singing group known as the Good News Singers; these people were members of the church and travelled across the country. Three men who were members of the singing group were James Ottoson, Edward J. Thomas, and Peter F. Paine. Thomas married Pamela in March 1975; Paine would marry Debra later that same year. The Good News Singers would perform at various venues including Soldier Field, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and numerous churches throughout the midwestern United States. In 1977, Wineskin Records released the Good News Singers' only vinyl record. It received moderate regional interest.

Servicemen's Center and Growth: 1978-1986

In 1978, Davis opened the Christian Fellowship Servicemen's Center on Sheridan Road in North Chicago, Illinois. The location was ideal for the church's military outreach since it was located immediately across from the Great Lakes naval base. During the years 1978-86, hundreds of sailors and other people from Lake County visited the center, and many were baptized. While the center had a chapel room for worship services, the growth had increased to the point where additional space was needed. Weekly Sunday services were held at various locations until finally settling at the former Swedish Glee Club in mid-1986.

1979 saw the first congregation in another part of the United States. Edward J. Thomas was sent to Norfolk, Virginia to launch a congregation; within five years the congregation grew from a handful meeting in Thomas' home to their first full-fledged building, a renovated convenience store on Ocean View Road. By 1986, average attendance reached approximately 250 people. Thomas was also sent to Orlando, Florida to plant a church near the Nuclear Power School in 1980; he would travel back and forth until Michael Meuller took over the pastoral duties. Unlike Norfolk, Orlando struggled with a small congregation throughout its existence until its dissolution in 1993.

San Diego, California would be the fourth location for CFCMI's growth. Starting as a small military fellowship, Scott Morehouse was assigned to be the pastor in 1982. San Diego also experienced similar growth as Norfolk, reaching nearly the same number in attendance.

CFCMI's push to encourage its military members to teach Bible studies and evangelize overseas resulted in many conversions during this time, including a noted port call in Sri Lanka. Two men from the church - Daniel P. Lantis (1959-) and Jay Owens (1958-1990) held a Bible study with a Sri Lankan national named Henry Adihetty. In 1985, Adihetty contacted CFCMI and was baptized along withover 40 other people by Davis. Other foreign missions and fellowships sprouted at differing times in Grenada, Mexico, and Naples, Italy.

Peak Growth and International Headquarters: 1987-1991

In 1987, Davis announced that CFCMI was buying the building which formerly housed the Swedish Glee Club. Renovation began that year, and the dining area was converted to a large sanctuary which held between 750-1000 people during this time. The church offices were moved from Washington Street in Waukegan to Libertyville. The Servicemen's Center was damaged by fire caused by faulty wiring in 1988, but was re-opened by year's end minus the chapel, which had been destroyed. Norfolk, in 1990, relocated five blocks from their previous location in Ocean View to a much larger facility. Attendance there grew as well, with numbers in the 300-400 range.

San Diego was the first of the congregations to suffer a split. Morehouse left in January 1989, leaving the church without a pastor. In spring of 1989, Daniel Lantis was sent to replace Morehouse. After Lantis' arrival, there was a brief walkout of members, many of whom preferred Morehouse over Lantis. During this time frame, Lantis encountered a run-in with Mexican authorities over unspecified charges; after approximately a week in a Tijuana jail, Lantis was released and resumed his pastorate in California. Despite claims of abusive, controlling behavior, Lantis' efforts persevered and the congregation grew again. However, Lantis continued to use abusive tactics and tirades, and display generally poor leadership. The congregations continued existence was largely due to the efforts of Pastor Terrance Taylor and a few other faithful members. Until being recalled to Norfolk in 2008, Lantis steadily demonstrated a pattern of bizarre and unstable behavior.

Allegations Against L.R. Davis Arise: 1982-1991

L.R. Davis had always maintained from the pulpit that much of the controversy surrounding his ministry, even during the years he pastored in the United Pentecostal Church, was based on his stance on civil rights; given the civil rights movements and racial climate of the 1960s, such a claim was easy to accept. However, another more serious allegation against the CFCMI founder was raised. During Davis' 1992 trial, E.F. Canon, the former UPCI superintendent for the Arkansas district, stated in an interview that Pastor Davis was under investigation in 1968 by the church presbyters concerning alleged homosexual behavior involving Davis and male students at a local college. Rev. Canon's remarks stated nothing about any racial problems within the UPCI, in particular with Davis.

Similar accusations were made once again in 1982 when complaints about the Christian Fellowship Church were brought to the attention of the United States Navy. In 1982, Naval Training Center Great Lakes placed the church off limits. The reasons as specified in the order included allegations of using servicemembers for homosexual and financial gain, and encouraging servicemembers to take unauthorized absence (UA) or leave the service to work full-time under Davis' wing. Without sufficient proof of such activity taking place, by 1983 the church was removed from the base "off-limits" list. The same accusations also brought CFCMI, and Davis in particular, into a court battle with the Waukegan News-Sun newspaper. CFCMI won a libel suit against the newspaper in 1983.

Thanksgiving 1987 was a red-letter day in CFCMI. Davis claimed to have received a prophecy from God stating "give me 200 men who do not care where they live, what they eat, whether they will get married, and I will conquer the world with the gospel". It was then Davis began widely promoting his "eunuchship doctrine" to the congregations. The goal was to encourage many of the single men to take lifelong vows of celibacy (similar to Catholic priests) to be used solely for the Kingdom of God. Many men who made these vows were herded together in church-run apartments, often in crowded and substandard conditions. Prior to Davis' announcement, many single men who joined the church in its early years would live at the Karcher Hotel in Waukegan, Illinois; Davis also rented a room there.

By 1991, allegations rose anew concerning CFCMI's controlling behavior and Davis' homosexual advances toward single male church members. ABC News Frontline aired an expose on Davis in early 1991; three key men interviewed who shared their story to the network were Scott Morehouse (former San Diego pastor), Alfonso Castillo (brought to the church from Mexico as a teenager - went by "Enrique" in the interview because he was a minor at the time), and Bill Decker (attended Davis' Arkansas congregation as a teenager in 1968). These three men gave consistent testimony - in Decker's case 20 years before Castillo and Morehouse - that Davis had lured them into deviant sexual misconduct. Decker, in his interview, notified his mother about Davis (Decker's father was in Vietnam). When ABC News reporter Chris Wallace confronted Davis on the allegations he had committed homosexual acts with church members, Davis flatly denied this. However, he did admit responding to one ex-member's comments by saying "God will kill you for what you have done", referring to the Scripture "touch not mine anointed, nor do My prophets any harm".

1991 was also the year the first major walkout took place. In the spring of 1991, groups of men - some of them assistant pastors and elders - walked out of the CFCMI congregations, mostly in Waukegan and Norfolk. As a result of the walkouts, coupled with the ABC interview with Chris Wallace and renewed allegations of cultlike behavior, CFCMI formed a brief alliance with an organization known as Friends of Freedom. Friends of Freedom was a religious freedom group which had ties to the Church of Scientology; George Robertson, who was affiliated with Friends of Freedom and headed Greater Grace World Outreach's Maryland Bible College, joined forces with CFCMI in its defense. Also in 1991, Gary Scarff, a man who claimed to be a Scientologist, spoke at the Waukegan headquarters church stating support for Davis. Scarff had a questionable past, as it was revealed in his 1992 deposition concerning Scientology, how he was originally sent by Scientology to murder Cynthia Kissler. Scraff stated how Peter F. Paine, then the associate general pastor, succeeded in talking him out of committing the crime prior to speaking in Davis' defense. The legal defense was being built up as well. R. Eugene Pincham, a respected lawyer and judge from the Chicago area, agreed to help represent L.R. Davis in his upcoming trial.

L.R. Davis' Trial and Conviction, 1992

Davis was tried for the sexual misconduct charges in June of 1992. Davis, along with his legal counsel - Thomas Briscoe and Robert F. Will - opted for the trial to be handled by a judge only instead of a jury. Will stated the reasoning was because a judge trial would "allow for more flexibility". Lake County Circuit Judge Christopher Starck presided over the case. Attempts for a change of venue were denied by Starck, who also agreed to hear the testimony of 30 men who had former association with Davis provided their testimony was relevant to the charges. In addition to the 30 men, other testimony was shared from various sources including: E.F. Canon, former Arkansas superintendent of the UPCI, who stated allegations of misconduct as far back as 1968; Bill Decker, who was approached by Davis in 1969 at the age of 14. Judge Starck began reviewing the evidence on June 22, 1992. On July 10, 1992 Davis was convicted on 19 counts of criminal sexual abuse, criminal sexual assault, and child pornography. In August of 1992 Davis was sentenced to 31 years in prison.

Following Davis' conviction, Peter F. Paine assumed the role of acting general pastor, a position he would hold until 1999 when he became permanent general pastor following Davis' death.

Continued Growth after Sentencing: 1992-1999

Despite Davis' conviction, CFCMI continued to experience growth for the next six years. During the 1990s, both the Waukegan and Norfolk congregations would be averaging no less than 100 new converts through baptism each year. This was more than some neighboring Baptist and Pentecostal churches, which also used baptism either as a qualifier for church membership or as part of the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). In 1992, a house fellowship was launched in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in addition to the congregation in Orlando. However, Orlando had struggled with small numbers since its inception in 1980. In 1993, the Orlando church was closed and attention was focused on Fort Lauderdale. During the height of this growth period, Norfolk would average nearly 400 in Sunday attendance. In 1996, the Norfolk congregation would move to a new building, leaving the Ocean View section of Norfolk where they had operated for 15 years. Waukegan would continue to grow at its location on Belvidere Street, making room for an international headquarters and a church-run school in 1998.

1995 was a breakthrough year in foreign missions. Hubert Ulysse, a Haitian native who joined the US Navy and settled in Florida, had communicated both with L.R. Davis and his family in Haiti. That summer, Ulysse traveled to his homeland and began preaching to his family and neighbors. Eventually, this missionary trip would result in a series of small congregations throughout the island country, and Haiti would become one of the fastest-growing mission fields. In one address, Davis stated that Ulysse's successful trip was the fulfillment of a prophecy where Davis said he was shown a village of dark-skinned people who were hungry to receive the Word of God. In time, Haiti would have its own headquarters in Port-Au-Prince with Ulysse as the general pastor; he would oversee a number of local pastors from the surrounding villages.

Sri Lanka also experienced growth, even with the high levels of persecution associated with Christian churches in general with that country. Satellite fellowships developed, with the main congregation in Wadduwa. In 1996, Henry Adihetty was replaced by Sunil Hewage, a fellow minister and Sri Lanka native. Under Hewage's tenure as senior pastor, the Sri Lanka missions continued to grow.

Not all outreaches flourished. Orlando, Florida closed down in 1993; Michael Meuller, the pastor, was reported by Davis to have turned everything over to the CFCMI leadership with hardly any discussion. Fort Lauderdale, Florida was launched in 1992 through a Navy man named Roger Espinoza, who witnessed to his family; by 1994, Hubert Ulysse and his family moved to Florida to head the fellowship, which had grown and reached into the Latino and Haitian communities. One of Ulysse's primary assistants was Rintony Norelus, a fellow Haitian who would eventually take over after Ulysse was assigned to work in Haiti full time. Though the church grew in numbers, Fort Lauderdale struggled administratively and was even closed down for a short time.

In the main US congregations, bulletin boards were posted to keep track of the number of new converts beginning in 1995. This was intended to encourage personal evangelism, and until 1999 the numbers increased. Part of what encouraged this aggressive method of evangelism was periodic phone links between L.R. Davis and the congregations from the Dixon Correctional Center. These "telephone sermons" were scheduled based on the prison allowing Davis to make the phone calls, plus his own deteriorating health. Davis suffered from diabetes and heart problems, and this would sometimes cause delays in scheduling the sermons.

Several attempts were made to appeal Davis' sentence, in particularly in 1995; none of the appeals were approved. Davis died while incarcerated at Dixon on April 19, 1999 from a massive heart attack. He was buried in Waukegan, Illinois.

Decline Following Davis' Death: 1999-present

With the death of CFCMI's founder, the process was set in motion to install Peter F. Paine as the general pastor with Edward J. Thomas as the associate general pastor. Paine was formally installed in August 1999, an event carried online to all major congregations.