False prophecies that Goodwin made In this section, you will find direct quotes from Goodwin that proved to be false. Misc quotes by Goodwin Quotes from books and tapes. Was he power-mad or what? Personal experiences Personal accounts from former members of GAC. Don’t read these if you are easily offended. Audio Here you can hear Goodwin for yourself! In one of these sound bytes, Goodwin says that Jesus visited him. Legal Stuff: Find out how much Goodwin was worth at his death; read “Goodwin v. US” and more. Gospel Assembly Christian Academy A NON-ACCREDITED school Glenn Goodwin Glenn Goodwin (current pastor of the Des Moines GAC) calls a child molester a “great man” and more. Lee Ray Did you know he had sex with girls and women in the church? Did you know that he also molested little boys? Misc GAC photos Photos of the church, the ministers and more. Misc. Info This section contains info that does not fit into the other categories. Newspaper articles Newspaper articles about GAC The Covenants In 1988, Goodwin made the entire church take 10 “covenants” which you can read here. Weird stuff! Yoke of Bondage One man's story of his involvement in the Tom Jolly organization. Jolly was later convicted as a pedophile – and was one of Lloyd Goodwin’s mentors along with others. William Sowders A history of William Sowder's ministry. (Sowders was another one of Goodwin's mentors.) Information on cults Information and links on destructive cults, mind control, brainwashing, and more. Visitor Comments See what others think! Contact info Contact information for us and Des Moines GAC Other web pages about Gospel Assembly Churches Erroneous Goodwin teachings This section refutes some of Goodwin's doctrines. Go back to the Mason’s Homepage

OVERVIEW OF THE BACKGROUND AND BELIEFS OF GOSPEL ASSEMBLY CHURCH The Goodwin Gospel Assembly Church organization is based in Des Moines, Iowa. It has churches on 6 continents at last report. The original movement started over fifty years ago along the banks of the Ohio River. William Sowders was the founder. (His picture is still on the walls of many of the churches around the country.) He began his movement by synchronizing the doctrine of two alleged cults, the Jehovah's Witness and the Seventh Day Adventist, while adding a mixture of his own views, including Pentecostalism. Back then, it was called "The School of the Prophets." Other names that we've heard it called by are: The Latter Rain Movement, The Body of Christ and This Present Day Move of God. They believe that every church outside of the "Body of Christ" is a part of "Babylon." Individual churches from this movement call themselves by different church names such as: Gospel Assembly, Gospel Chapel, Gospel Tabernacle, Gospel Temple, Gospel of Peace, General Assembly and etc. (I'm sure there are others.) It is essentially a Shepherding group and most of them have a central doctrine that separate them from mainstream religions but most have their differences to separate them from each other. Common Doctrines that started with William Sowders: Two in the Godhead, No literal Hell, Restoration of the five-fold ministry, 144,000 in the Bride of Christ and The Body of Christ will exist as the Latter Rain Church. They believe that only men could be in true leadership positions and that essentially women were to submit to the man under all circumstances. They have severe dress codes for both women and men. Differences: William Sowders taught that we would have to be "overcomers" in the flesh. He taught that true overcomers would eventually overcome the desires of the flesh such as sex. Lloyd Goodwin taught that sex was not something to be overcome and it was taken to the other extreme in his church. William Sowders taught that there is no literal devil but when you look in the mirror, you see the devil. He believed that the devil is the flesh that you have to overcome. Lloyd Goodwin taught that there was a literal devil and demons and the practice of "casting out demons" was taken way out of bounds in his church. There were paper towels and wastebaskets around for every service to catch the phlegm that came with the outcast demons. Glenn Goodwin and his followers still believe in this. Through the years we were in this "church" it was commonplace to see members throwing up into napkins when they "cast out demons." Some of the other churches had more lenient hair and dress codes. Some believed in sterilization for men and women to prevent children because there just wasn't time to raise them-- meaning they believed Jesus was coming back very soon. Goodwin encouraged people to have children to propagate the church and indoctrinate them early on. We had our own school where only the children of church members were allowed. When William Sowders died, he named T.M. Jolly as his successor. In 1963, Jolly-- who was later convicted as a pedophile-- sent Lloyd Goodwin to pastor the Gospel Assembly in Des Moines. In the early 1970s, Lloyd Goodwin broke fellowship with the Jolly group because he said God was giving him "special revelations" that his brethren could not accept. Lloyd Goodwin believed himself to be "The Apostle" for our dispensation-- and the only Apostle. He placed himself right next to Jesus Christ. This is stated right in his "A Handbook of New Testament Order for New Testament Churches" in the first chapter. Lloyd Goodwin's church was-- and still is-- very controlling of it's followers. Some of Lloyd's rules were: Wear long sleeves and long pants at all times, even in summer. Television and movies not allowed. Give at least 10% of your income to the church; preferably more. Never miss a service, even for a relative's funeral. Women must wear their hair up on top of their head at all times. Women's skirts must be below the knee. No members of the church could marry, or even date, without his approval; and even then it MUST be to other members of the church. Ask permission of the pastor before leaving the city for a vacation. Approve EVERYTHING you do with the pastor before you do it. Things like buying a car, choosing an investment, or buying a home all must be approved by the pastor. Actually, the doctrines of a group have no real bearing on whether a church is considered a cult or not. Doctrine is merely the interpretation of an individual or group. If you look at the definition of cult in the dictionary, Jesus and his followers would have been classified as a cult. What we are looking at here is a "Destructive Cult" which is the type that controls every move of its members, including "thoughts." They use manipulation, public humiliation and deceit to control their members, which is actually a form of Mind Control. Lloyd Goodwin taught that the only way to be saved was to go either to his church, or to a church under his leadership, in his fellowship. He apparently did not believe that Jesus was the Way, the Truth, and the Life alone, but taught that if someone rejected Lloyd Goodwin, they could not be saved. Glenn Goodwin and his followers still believe this. Lloyd Goodwin died in July 1996. His brother, Vernon, took over the church, but only 16 months later, he died also. He put his son, Glenn, an attorney, in charge of the church-- despite the fact that Lloyd Goodwin had given instructions for others to be in charge. Glenn Goodwin is still holding up his uncle Lloyd as a man of God and an Apostle, despite the fact that many of Lloyd Goodwin's prophecies were wrong. In addition, it would seem that Glenn is still using the same tactics of fear and mind control that his uncle used. He also has so far refused to do anything at all about the charges of past rapes, sexual molestations, and abuses of young girls in his church-- not to mention the beatings that went on in the school. In our opinion, the Gospel Assembly Church in Des Moines, Iowa fits the description of a Destructive Religious Cult, to a tee. Go back to the main page