2019 Update: Please note that during the most recent export/import process from a previous website, images did come through in the xml. document, but once the site was deleted, it erased the images; therefore, not all of the photos on the original article are on this one (the captions remain).  Thankfully, I found the images in my old computer files recently (in February 2019).  I have uploaded them here:

Public comment of a previous member of CCGV

Another member’s public comment on CCGV (when referencing Rick Ross cult expert’s “unsafe group warning signs” (available online).

A different member, public comment

Hello, welcome.  Spiritual abuse is clearly wrong and against God’s Word.  I urge you to not be scared silent with intimidation tactics if you have had problems at Calvary Chapel Green Valley or any other Calvary Chapel (they are all run the same, by the “Distinctives”, a set of by-laws that are contradictory to God’s Word and use twisted scriptures from the Old Testament to make the pastor out to be a “Modern Moses”, which is precisely what the “Moses Cults” do).  Please search this site about more information on the erroneous Moses Model.

Here are some practical things you can do if you or your child have received spiritual abuse from this organization.  Please contact the proper authorities, like the Nevada Department of Education.  Posting on Yelp is good, but chances are, your review will be removed (I’ve seen dozens of reviews mysteriously vanish).

Go to www.ag.nv.gov where you can submit a complaint to the Attorney General.  Click the complaint tab then click general complaint.  Non-profit, tax-exempt businesses will get in trouble if they are harming children or minors in any way or violating the government’s rules for non-profits.  It is very important to speak out, and to put fear aside.  This church will tell you that you are “slandering” them, and has tried relentlessly to scare people from speaking out.  Silence is not always golden, especially when there are children involved.  Do not succumb to their intimidation tactics.  Slander, according to my legal counsel, is only speaking falsehood, not speaking the truth or being a truthful witness.  I digress.  According to Nevada law under the Duty of Care section, non-profits are not allowed to be a “one-man show”.  According to the church by-laws, called The Distinctives, written by Chuck Smith, the pastor is not accountable to others, not even the board (or else, Smith says, he will turn into a “hireling”).  Please see my article on this website called, “Do You Really Know what Your Calvary Chapel Believes?  It’s not just the Bible, it’s the Distinctives”, which provides the exact section and expounds on this heinous error.  This, of course, is a severely warped twist on Scripture (Jesus warned about twisting scriptures). Also, if you recall, Chuck Smith was the one who said the Lord would return in 1981.  Didn’t happen.  This clever detail in the by-laws provides nothing but a healthy breeding ground for hyper-authoritarian abuse to go unchecked.  According to government documents, one or two directors of non-profits “are not to dominate the board”.

One may argue that they are a church and do some good, but how many hurt children does it take to make a church unsafe?  Is it “three strikes and you are out”?  I think one is enough.  Nobody “on top” at Calvary Chapel churches is held accountable (yes, this is what the leaders at CCGV tell you, that they are “above” everyone else, “laterally above” in status and rank, while everyone else is “below”).  That’s the very structure of their organization.  It is a structure that lacks accountability to the core, and from the start.  This is against Christ’s form of pastoral leadership – one of humble service – “the greatest among you shall be your servant”, rather than “lording it over the flock”.

Sadly, there are kids involved in this spiritual abuse, and possibly even physical abuse (please understand that it is unclear to me if the latter has occurred).  I will give you a few examples of the outcries from the public concerning CCGV and the youth there. These were all taken off of a public forum, and I have photo screenshots of each and every one. If these were posted on Yelp or White Pages, they would have been deleted by now.  One woman said, “May they be convicted of their sins toward these little ones, repent, AND change their ways”. Another person wrote, in warning others and referencing the abused at the CCGV/school, “Please do not miss the word, ‘many'”. She was trying to emphasize that there are “many” victims. Another person wrote, “May God abundantly bless you richly for the daunting task of being a voice to many who have experienced abuse and who have left CCGV”. Another grown man in his 40’s wrote, “LISTEN everyone bottom line is there are problems in Calvary Chapel you cannot defend them for hurting innocent children”. Yet another wrote, “and for those of you who do see this, don’t mistake my sharing for bitterness or unforgiveness…the last thing I want is for this to get dismissed or taken lightly”. And another, a woman who is probably in her 50’s, wrote, “a church that calls out a child to ridicule needs to take another look at the WORD…if you don’t, God will hit you with a 2×4”. Another father, who was in ministry for years, who had children in the school, who left, wrote, “It would be great if CCGV would respond because this is just flat heart-wrenching”. Another woman wrote, in referencing the Rick Ross cult/potentially unsafe group warning signs list which can be found online, “CCGV people need to read the warning signs listed above. I want you to honestly tell me that is NOT happening over at CCGV. You may not notice it if you have not been in leadership or gone to counseling”.

Please read this helpful and illuminating article written by the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) by Dr. Darrell Puls.  Spiritual abuse at church is very common these days, and more awareness needs to be raised.  Dr. Puls does an excellent job at this.

http://www.aacc.net/2017/12/11/let-us-prey-the-frequency-of-narcissistic-personality-disorder-in-pastors/

Here is a brief excerpt of this outstanding article:

Jesus warned us about wolves dressed as shepherds coming into the Church to “kill and destroy” (John 10:10). They’re here! The enemy has successfully infiltrated the Christian churches of North America. Is your pastor one of them?

We have been inundated with heartbreaking stories of people singled out for destruction by narcissistic pastors. We have walked alongside them through the dismal places and will continue to help them find sunlight, health, and high ground. As I told one young woman at the AACC conference in Nashville, “I know that you are in the darkest, scariest swamp you ever imagined. Let me walk alongside you. I’ve been through that swamp, and I know the way out.” She burst into tears. At last, someone understood.

The damage these pastors do is incalculable. In one case, over the course of his career a toxic narcissist pastor recruited, groomed, and then attacked and drove out 21 associates. Only two are still in ministry in some form. In other situations, the congregation fractures and splinters until it can no longer function, and the pastor moves on to victimize yet another. The church building of one of these congregations is now a bed and breakfast.

If you have experienced unbiblical teachings or actions, shunning, slander (lies) and/or abusive speech from Calvary Chapel Green Valley in Henderson, sorry, and please know, you are not alone (that is the truth).

Through the years, LVAE has seen relationships destroyed and souls hurting.  Would you prayerfully consider speaking out with love and truth concerning your experience to help out your fellow-man?  Would you be comfortable letting the next Christian have the same experience as you did?  If people remain silent, that is exactly what will happen.  God has not given us a spirit of fear.  If God leads you, will you share your story?  If nobody shares their story, nothing will ever change.

As it is, year after year, there are more testimonies of people getting hurt.  This ministry has run into several Christians in the community who have their own heart-wrenching stories, but few of these testimonies make it to the public.

There are a variety of avenues that you can take to share your truthful story (if God leads you).  You can do so via an online review forum (like Yellow Pages or Yelp).  This can remain “anonymous”.  [Update: Please note, someone (CCGV, most probably?) has already requested/removed in May of 2013 one forum (called BOTW “Best of the Web”) where many in the community shared their experiences and concerns].  That page is now removed and unavailable to the public view as it once was; however, LVAE has photo screenshots of the public testimonies that came in via the online forum. This ministry also has on file photo screenshots of many of the people in the past speaking out via online forums.  These testimonies from the public were eventually removed (quite possibly because of their negativity and low “star” rating?).  LVAE has multiple screenshots on file.  See the end of this post for an example.

If you leave a comment on here, it will not be removed (except, of course, at your request).

People’s faith in God is truly being shaken and there is suffering and in some cases, devastation, in the “Body of Christ”.  Christianity teaches that when one part of the body hurts, all hurt (1 Corinthians 12:26).

Please note that the following captions were from screenshots which were actually removed during an import and deletion of a previous website!

Another screenshot, different person, referring to CCGV problems and child mistreatment

Another screenshot, different person.

Another screenshot, different person.

A photo screenshot off the internet (this, along with the dozens of other negative reviews, about a Calvary Chapel church across town, mysteriously disappeared.  Poof!  Gone.  People silenced.)

In July of 2013, this ministry decided to investigate CCGVCA’s public claim/advertising that they are “members of ACSI”.  CCGVCA stands for Calvary Chapel Green Valley Christian Academy.  ACSI stands for Association of Christian Schools International, an accrediting company.  The membership department at ACSI said that the school’s membership ended June 30, 2010. As of July 23, 2013, the erroneous information was still on the school website for parents and the public to see.  If you would like to see a screen shot photo of what the school website looked like on July 23, 2013 – please send an email.  The regional director of ACSI explained that CCGVCA was “never accredited” with ACSI.  They were only members up to June 2010.  Please note that membership is much different than accreditation.  However, the church school put in the “Membership and Accreditation” section of their school website that they are members of ACSI.  ACSI said, quote:

“They are promoting erroneous information.  They are not allowed to claim that since the are not members.” (ACSI).

Why wouldn’t this important information be updated to reflect the truth in over three years (especially since it appears that the website is updated with the current school newsletter and parent handbooks on a continual basis)?  A multitude of the parents sending their kids to school here were told false information – for OVER THREE WHOLE YEARS.  From a Christian church who claims to preach “the truth”, this, as well as all the stories and trails of spiritual abuse from the community, is concerning.  Please don’t forget to read the article at the top of this page written by Dr. Puls at the American Association of Christian Counselors.  Here is a photo (to establish this fact) of the email from membership: