Angela and I had been home support raising to come back on staff after our time in the School of Discipleship. During that time, we grew to be close friends, and after a year and a half, we felt the calling on our lives to get married. We immediately told our mentors of our calling, and that we would inform leadership so that we could both receive individual counseling until we were both back at GFA and able to attend marriage counseling together. Our goal was to wait for three to six months after we were both at GFA to begin dating, so that we could focus on getting adjusted to our role as staff members. Angela and I planned a weekend for her to come to my hometown four hours away and visit my parents. I told my mentor that she would be coming to visit in light of our calling. Throughout this time, GFA called me back to join staff, and her only days after.
The next day I received a call from my mentor. He told me he never received any notice of Angela coming to visit (I later sent him the email in which I said she would be visiting, a line which he overlooked.) He then proceeded to tell me that KP and leadership gave me an ultimatum: Cut off all ties with Angela or I couldn’t return to GFA. Shocked by such a response, I emailed David C. and made sure to clarify that Angela and I weren’t trying to hide something and all we wanted was accountability and guidance during this time. He told me I couldn’t be in contact with her for at least two years, and then only marry her with their approval. When I asked David, Danny and my mentor for a BIBLICAL explanation for their reasoning, I received no answer, other than one from my mentor saying I was coming across as “hostile” towards them. I was then asked to not come back on staff, and Angela resigned after that. We then disputed with GFA over the money we had raised, as GFA claimed the money belonged to them by law. Only until after some supporters called in to complain did they say there was a “new law” that allowed them to return the money.