GFA generally prohibits wives from attending any outside bible studies, and generally prohibits staff from conducting any regular small group bible studies or fellowship activities at their homes. All staff must seek the permission of GFA leadership to conduct any regular meetings at their homes, and are usually denied the request or told that it’s a bad idea and can promote negativity and gossip. As of June 2015, we have heard that these restrictions on bible studies are still in place at GFA.
*GFA also has a history of actively discouraging staff from being a part of a local church, though since the time our letters were sent, we learned that KP announced to the staff that they are free to attend local churches without restriction. Even the fact that he had to announce this is an admission that it was understood differently before. Historically, when changes were made and policies relaxed, those changes were often reversed a short time later.
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- According to God’s Word, believers are to be in a local church and in regular, close fellowship with one another. To prohibit this goes directly against the commands of scripture for believers not to forsake “the assembling of ourselves together… but exhorting one another.” (Heb. 10:25)
- Hearing weekly messages about the need to “stay in the battle” is not the same as studying the Scriptures and being transformed by the Word of God. Large group prayer meetings cannot replace small group fellowship where people feel more free to share their personal questions and struggles.
- We are extremely concerned that on many occasions staff have been told not to attend Bible studies nor to discuss the Scriptures among themselves. “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42)