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. I would like to briefly give my take on this report before I share the linkand I really mean briefly: They nailed it. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. But that was easier said than done at a place where several former members stressed that Lebsack cultivated a climate that discouraged dissent. . . In fact, Burns said, interdenominational churches such as Valleybrook often follow a theology in which humans are viewed as weak and unable to do anything without God, making them more likely than other churches to put ministers on a pedestal. 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. Following is the mission of this website: Names of abusive leaders will not be protected. From the moment we could sit still in our mothers arms, we have loved stories. You can find a spot to park on the street (2-hour limit). We are located in the historic Hollywood Movie Theater. employees. Valleybrook Church 412 S Barstow Street, Eau Claire #HeIsRisen #JesusisAlive #ValleybrookChurch #EasterCelebration 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." Get directions on Google Maps. Valleybrook Church Sound Beauty Trunk-or-Treat at the Hive with Harry Potter Event Saturday, Oct. 31, 10am-5pm The Hive 1120 122nd St., Suite 3, Chippewa Falls A Harry Potter-themed Halloween event with special treats, themed menu, and more. We are solidly into the post-Christian world, and so the pressure for pastors to bind their congregations to themselves in steadily increasing. Create a password that only you will remember. You can expect main sessions, breakouts, and chances to connect with other ministry leaders at this influential conference. Support Local Journalism! Something just didnt feel right to us in our gut, so we left, Larson said, acknowledging that perhaps they too could have said something about their suspicions. This report will also be made available under " Media " in the site menu 2. Valleybrook Church: 412 South Barstow Street Eau Claire, WI 715-834-9993: GriefShare. Attached here is the report that Converge1 wrote about Valleybrook Church, following two days of intensive interviews with anyone who had a story to share relevant to Valleybrook Church. 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. Cause IQ is a website that helps companies grow, maintain, and serve their nonprofit clients, and helps nonprofits find additional foundation funding. The congregation lost that route.. New things, new revelations, new truths. Thank you for reading, and please remember to share posts you find interesting to increase our web presence. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. Valleybrook Church, 412 S Barstow St, Eau Claire, United States. We told people this is where we were, this is what weve done and these are the steps weve taken to establish layered accountability to prevent a leader from becoming autocratic in the future or operating without accountability.. The Bridge Church, Eau Claire 1210 E. Clairemont Ave. Salem Baptist Eau Claire 2514 Golf Road . Coach Indianhead Sport Parachute Club // Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin May 2019 - Oct 2021 2 years 6 months . 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+ Invalid password or account does not exist. 07/15/2022 The churchs standard monthly trash hauling bill totaled $1,053 under the former leaders. There was not much in them. How many people gave for absolutely nothing, just late fees? he asked in an interview. A Wisconsin church is under fire for behaving like a GASP! An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. To avoid the pain that can accompany spiritual abuse, Diederich encouraged people to take action and address such situations before they get out of hand. Shopping. 2023 Nonprofit Metrics LLCTerms of Service and Privacy Policy. Get our FREE Newsletters and special offers! 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. 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. 160 Granville Road*. Valleybrook is located in the heart of downtown Eau Claire. 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. GROUP Tickets available for groups of 10 or more. Parking VIP Doors OpenJoin us for a Q&Awith all speakers and artists. There has been lots of healing and many encouraging developments.. As painful as this all has been, Haugen said,I think that in many ways the church structurally is so much better situated right now than it was before.. Get Directions. Many people have several pieces of the puzzle, yet they have no idea how it all fits together in the greatest love story ever told. Please consider distributing fliers to your bible study or small group. Former Valleybrook staff member Matthew Mitchell said he believes tolerance of the abusive practices can be traced to how Lebsack coached parishioners and employees to believe criticism and questioning were bad. Lebsack didnt respond to questions from a reporter, but hes believed to be in Texas right now. 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! Valleybrook Church is child organization, under the parent exemption from. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. 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. Much of our heritage is learned through the passing down of stories. Order 10 or more to qualify as a group! Peers. Maybe parishioners stepping away from church would go a long way toward fixing the problem. The offices are located across the street from the Hollywood Theater. With just enough truth, and just enough fruit, to make us focus on the good, and distract us from the growing darkness, wrote Schultz, a pastor at Valleybrook for seven years who expressed regret he did not act on his misgivings sooner. With rumors about financial misconduct running rampant in the congregation in the wake of the spiritual abuse allegations, Valleybrooks transitional leadership team hired the accounting firm Wipfli to conduct an audit of the churchs books and then reported those findings to the congregation. When trust is violated, it takes a really long time for trust to be built back up.. Stay tuned with the most relevant events happening around you. 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. Ho-hum. We won't share it with anyone else. Our data and tools help professionals prospect for nonprofits, research opportunities, benchmark their clients, and enrich existing information. It started at the top the very top for Christians as the charismatic Lebsack was known for citing God and Jesus as the sources of his inspiration and the justifications for doing the things he did. 7:00 PM SHOW6:30 PM GA DOORS OPEN6:00 PM VIP DOORS OPEN. Jack is first name and Mandanka is last name. The majority of the congregation has no idea whats going on because they see the pastor only on Sundays. A Wisconsin church is under fire for behaving like a GASP! We won't share it with anyone else. Shes a regular at some of the best comedy clubs in the country and her versatile show has delighted crowds at fund raisers, corporate parties, and churches. Being told youre with the devil, thats powerful stuff, Burns said. People did express disappointment when they heard that, Solberg said. 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. But if youre curious, its like Valleybrooks denominations HQ. 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. The Employer Identification Number (EIN) is #391805767. 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. Its enough to make people think, Maybe Im wrong. The goal of those posts was to tell my part of the story, but also to expose some corruption within the leadership. There is nothing more perverse and distorted than a toxic pastor, he wrote. We also stream live from our Facebook Page and have a livestream link on our Valleybrook APP. We are a downtown church with a few different options for parking. Valleybrook Church412 S Barstow StEau Claire, WI 54701. Welcome To Valley Brook Community Church Hello! Pastor Kendall Anderson of Valleybrook Church, Eau Claire, officiated with music provided by organist, Barbara Sandford and soloist, Peter Lea. Stay tuned for details, Northwood grad credits active shooter training preparing him for Michigan ordeal. Our children's and student ministries are solid. Between 2008 and 2014, $6,488 in church money was used to pay parking tickets. Valleybrook was/is affiliated through Great Lakes Baptist Conference, which was renamed to Converge. All false, all heretical, all manipulative. Directions. Plenty of Halloween fun for both wizards and muggles alike. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. Call480-812-1100to have a packet sent to you. Please support us by making a contribution. There is not now, and will never be, a fee to access this site. The company is headquart ered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Unknown . Valleybrook Offices411 S Barstow StEau Claire, WI 54701. If We Applied Anti-Vaxxer "Logic" to Other Areas, It Might Sound Like This, "The way republican politics are going these days, that means the winner is worse than ", "It would have been more convincing if he used then rather than than. Valley Brook Outreach Baptist Church | Pelzer SC 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." . With the truth-telling voices gone, the abuse was able to increase and take deeper root, Diederich said. Valley Brook Community Church design by ChurchDev.com. "This has been the most challenging thing I've ever been a part of," Haugen said. Website. It is considered by many, inside and outside of its membership, to be a cult. 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. And they didnt miss a thing. The investigation results, presented recently to church members, contained details about seemingly irresponsible management of parishioners money, including that former Valleybrook leaders disbursed tens of thousands of dollars less than the pledged amount to mission organizations, spent thousands of dollars on credit card late fees and parking tickets, and failed to pay thousands of dollars in federal taxes. The church is under new leadership for the time being, but how do you undo years of damage affecting an entire congregation? 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. Thats the disgusting part to me.. One minute you are laughing and the next minute you realize that the Holy Spirit just spoke and you have an aha moment that will stay with you forever. Gas. Mitchell noted that Lebsack promoted a feeling that Valleybrook, whose parishioners he sometimes referred to as Gods chosen people right here in the heart of Eau Claire, was different and somehow better than traditional churches. Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. (With the bonus of a home run ball). 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. Doors Open for General AdmissionCome in early to shop and visit speaker and artist tables. This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Please refer your friends and family to this site if you find it useful or informative. Go-to place to discover events for more than 20M people globally. Thats the normal line of authority, Diederich said. Some of the pastors, including head of the church Rev. Another factor, Mitchell said, is that people tend to trust pastors because of their position. In February of 2015, an enormous exodus took place from a church in downtown Eau Claire. National Human Trafficking Awareness Day Events, St. Patricks Day Events & Celebrations In USA 2023, MicroMania Midget Wrestling: Glendale, AZ at 44 Sports Grill. Connect with neighborhood businesses on Nextdoor. Tales from the Cult is a free effort to bring stories of abuse into the light so they may be prevented from happening again. The primary goal was to provide the congregation with a factual representation of what we found in the books and, almost just as importantly, to outline ways were working to rebuild trust, said Chris Solberg, a longtime Valleybrook member who was elected to the transitional leadership team. I would finally like to point out that this is not an anti-Valleybrook site, although at first glance it certainly looks like one. Kind of. Sitting down to talk with worship artist Jaime Jamgochian you quickly realize she is a woman of faith who God is using in many different ways through her music and message. 5:30 pm. DSAW-Chippewa Valley WDSD Celebration at Action City. Valleybrook Church // Eau Claire, Wisconsin Feb 2019 - May 2022 3 years 4 months. No, this site is dedicated only to preserving information. I went and checked, said Solberg, who immediately negotiated an 87 percent reduction in the bill, down to $136 a month, after joining the transitional team. 412 S Barstow St. Eau Claire, WI 54701-3605. Other Chippewa Valley churches have been supportive through this difficult time, he said, with some even offering to partner in joint ventures. Hotels. Contact Us. Some folks tried to object through the years, but gave up and found a new church when their voices werent heard, leaving fewer and fewer people willing to stand up and say something, said Remy Diederich, lead pastor at Cedarbrook Church in Menomonie. Even Mitchell, whose blog was highly critical of what he called the truly terrible, abusive, manipulative, unethical and illegal acts that occurred under Lebsack and Clark, said he no longer has any qualms about Valleybrook under its new leadership, although he doesnt attend services there. Lindquist can be reached at 715-833-9209, 800-236-7077 or eric.lindquist@ecpc.com. 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. 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. An investigation early this year by a crisis intervention team from Converge Great Lakes, a denomination with evangelical Baptist roots that helped start Valleybrook 21 years ago in the former Hollywood movie theater building in downtown Eau Claire, generated a report highly critical of practices at the church. 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. You can park in the metered lot by the bus station on Farwell St. You can park behind Valleybrook in the parking ramp on Graham Ave. 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. Read More. When you eventually accepted that, youd just think he must be right, Mitchell said, recalling that Lebsack used to tell him his life would become more peaceful once he stopped rebelling and questioning things. 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.. Transitional leaders understand recovery will take time, and they have been reaching out to former members who left in an attempt at reconciliation. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. Valleybrook Church. 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.. 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. 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. It was during that time in Seattle that Jaime signed with Centricity Records and went on to record 3 albums with them. Valleybrook Church is part of the Organizations industry, and located in Wisconsin, United States. Transitional leaders reported that they have taken several steps to add checks and balances to the churchs finances. Get our FREE Newsletters and special offers! Select a subscription and get started today. Attend, Share & Influence! The church also has contracted with an outside bookkeeper to process payroll and payables, Solberg said. The Hollywood sign above the marquee will also be relit as part of the project to replace more than 1,100 bulbs at the outside entrance to Valleybrook Church in the 400 block of South Barstow Street in downtown Eau Claire. Without further ado, here's a PDF of the Valleybrook Church Report. 501(c)(3) Num. Valleybrook is trying to rebuild itself in a healthy way, and they are doing a fine job of that. This is what Shannon does! Valleybrook is trying to rebuild itself in a healthy way, and they are doing a fine job of that. Visit Website. Valleybrook Church is a Christian nonprofit organization in Eau Claire, WI that was founded in 1974. Humans can be so susceptible to peer pressure and group think, Burns said. Tales from the Cult is a free effort to bring stories of abuse into the light so they may be prevented from happening again. At first we really liked the sermons because they touched on real life things going on, but then it started turning to almost a little over the top, Larson said. Some of the most troubling financial revelations, confirmed by current Valleybrook leaders: Over a 15-month period studied, disbursements to mission organizations were less than half of the $75,000 that was budgeted and presented to the congregation. Find Best Western Hotels & Resorts nearby Sponsored. In addition, the shift to more extreme ideas was gradual enough that many people in the church didnt see it, Mitchell said. She was voted at top of the Floridas Funniest Competition for 3 years and has been featured on Nickmoms Night Out, Dr. OZ, and on the New Comedy Revolution DVD. #WELOVe - We are a Worshipping, Equipping, Loving, Outreach and Visionary. The developments led to the resignations of Valleybrooks entire pastoral team as well as three of the churchs overseers. This Converge Worldwide Baptist General Conference church serves Eau Claire County WI - Pastor Doug Lebsack. Our Staff Bethesda Lutheran Church Our Staff Called for God's Purpose Here to serve you Pastoral Staff Kirk Militzer, Lead Pastor kirk@c3ec.org My wife Julie and I moved to Eau Claire the summer of 2015. To view our latest e-Edition click the image on the left. She has an amazing way of connecting the pieces while sharing some of the funniest yet applicable personal stories you have ever heard. Valleybrook Church, 412 S Barstow St,Eau Claire,WI,United States, Eau Claire, United States Event Location & Nearby Stays: Host or Publisher Valleybrook Church Tags: Kids in Eau Claire Art in Eau Claire It's more fun with friends. Lighthouse Youth Center And Ministries, Inc. 310 E. Madison St., Eau Claire, WI 54703. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. 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. Please link to this site on your own sites if you are willing, please share links to stories and media on Facebook. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Without further ado, heres a PDF of the Valleybrook Church Report. The disclosure, posted . This can last for years, allowing all kinds of toxicity to develop and people to be hurt.. Staff photo by Dan Reiland Doug Lebsack Charlene Burns 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. Likewise, the pastors inner circle typically is muted, and those on the outer circle notice questionable behavior but dont have enough evidence or proximity to the pastor to say anything. 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 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.