QUESTION: Did This UPC pastor Steal Money from the church?? you decide
 

Church members say pastor took money
Nearly $1 million involved, lawsuit says
By Dennis M. Mahoney
The Columbus Dispatch
Thursday, February 1, 2007
SHARI LEWIS | DISPATCH

The Rev. David Thompson has been pastor for more than 10 years at World of Pentecost Church, 3431 E. Main St.

An East Side pastor drained nearly $1 million from his church, according to a lawsuit filed by some members of his congregation.

In the civil suit, filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, 18 members of World of Pentecost Church accuse the Rev. David Thompson, 44, of taking the money for his own use. Several other church officials also are defendants.

The suit says Thompson told members recently that he had lost $800,000 of the church's money by investing it in an unspecified "energies scheme." It also says he admitted taking out a second mortgage of $130,000 on the church at 3431 E. Main St.

Thompson, who has been pastor for more than 10 years, admitted he had taken the actions without the approval of the members, as required by church bylaws, the members assert. According to their lawsuit, he also told them he had fraudulently used the signature of the church administrator, Dave Simpson, to obtain the mortgage.

Repeated efforts to contact Thompson yesterday were unsuccessful. Telephone calls to a number of the plaintiffs were not returned, and their attorney, James Banks of Dublin, also could not be reached.

The church was founded in 1967 as Glencoe Apostolic Church, later became the Apostolic Church of Christ and got its current name in 1998. It is affiliated with the United Pentecostal Church International, based in Missouri.

The denomination's Columbus-area supervisor, the Rev. William Sciscoe, known as the presbyter, said he could not comment because of the pending lawsuit. Several calls and e-mails to officials at the denomination's Ohio headquarters in Toledo were not returned.

Thompson's house, at 3207 Mistover Lane next to the Westchester Golf Course, is valued at $279,000, according to Franklin County auditor's records. He bought it in 1996 for $222,000.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and the recovery of at least $800,000. It says the former pastor, the Rev. George Thompson, who is David Thompson's father, is now running the church. He, too, is named in the lawsuit.

According to the suit, George Thompson attended a Bible-study service on Jan. 23 and told the congregants that his son made a mistake and that they must forgive him. And if they pressed his son for answers about the money, they were "children of the devil."

The suit also says that all the defendants conspired to cover up David Thompson's misuse of money. Among the defendants is his wife, Michelle.

No criminal charges have been brought against David Thompson.

dmahoney@dispatch.com

Sad for everyone involved!

that is sad... I hate it when things give the church a bad name..... oh well... truth always prevails!

but let's be fair.
we always talk about the charismatics stealing from the church do we not?
we have to be honest when it's our own too shouldn't we ????

Brother Thad we need to pray for him.Souls are on the line with all this going on.
Jesus would have us to pray.This man is in alot of trouble and he is our brother.
Lets pray he does not try to end his life.People do stupid things all the time.

Jesus help Brother David Lord.Help him to turn to you with all of his heart.Help him to be honest and face whatever is ahead.You see his failures.You see his faults.
You know his heart.Help this church family Jesus that people are not lost because
of the bad witness of this thing.In Jesus Name.Let all that was done in darkness be revealed and you get the Glory out of this bad situation.

I think the courts are making that decision. This is SAD!

* * * * QUESTION * * * * *


I am Hearing that pastors are having him come to their churches
and raising Big Offerings for him to pay this off ??? No????

If it's true , what do you think of this ????.

This kind of junk happens many places..

There was a church here in California where the Bishop was pulling a bigger salary then his son as pastor... and the Bishop was retired.. the church couldn't pay the bills... the son said.. SeeYa... Bishop decided to come back out of retirement...:hmmm... go figure...

Blood is thicker than water.. ..

Old news ... got Ren Rutledge all riled up about this at GNC a few months ago