Freedom Church

Freedom Church
Freedom Church logo
Map
CountryWorldwide
DenominationEvangelical[1]

Non-denominational[1]

Charismatic[1]
Websitewww.freedomchurch.cc
History
Former name(s)New Life Church
FoundedMay 1988 (1988-05)
Founder(s)Gary Snowzell, Heather Snowzell

Freedom Church is a global non-denominational evangelical Christian[2] church whose vision is to "Connect Anyone Anywhere to a Life Changing relationship with Jesus".[2][3][4] The church is headquartered in Hereford in the United Kingdom with locations in Africa, North America, Asia and Europe.[5] Freedom Church is a member of the Evangelical Alliance.[6][7]

History

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Freedom Church was founded as New Life Church by Pastors Gary and Heather Snowzell in 1988.[2] Originally situated in Leominster in Herefordshire, in around 2005 it moved to Hereford and was renamed Freedom Church.

In 2011, Freedom Church partnered with the Southern Baptist megachurch NewSpring Church in South Carolina. The purpose of the partnership was to help Freedom Church plant churches all over the world.[8][9] This arrangement came to an end in December 2017.[10] In 2015, Freedom Church started to give 10% of its income as a tithe to NewSpring Church,[11] though this has since ceased[12][failed verification].

Freedom Church's first planted church was in Cardiff in 2011,[13] and it has since started locations in Africa, North America, Asia and Europe.[5]

In 2015, Freedom Church's location in Hereford moved location to a converted cinema and nightclub.[14][15]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Freedom Church in Worcester, England supported a local food bank with storage space.[16][17]

Music

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Freedom Church has produced 3 albums, 2 singles and an EP.[18][2][19]

Albums

  • Thunder. Reign (2018)
  • Uncharted (2015)
  • Everything Changes (2012)

Singles and EPs

  • Courage & Fire - EP (2009)
  • Running The Race (Live At The Cave) - Single (2018)
  • This is Love - Single (2014)

Media

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Freedom Church has a YouTube channel and its messages have been shown on the TV channels TBN UK[20][21] and TBN Africa.[22]

Freedom Heroes

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Freedom Church in Kampala, Uganda runs an organisation called 'Freedom Heroes' which takes homeless boys aged 12–21 off the streets of Kampala, Uganda and supports them with housing, a "Street School", and "Street Church" with the stated aim of reuniting them with their families. Sponsors from the United States can visit their beneficiaries on a missions trip with NewSpring Church.[23]

Freedom Heroes is a registered charity in both Uganda and the United Kingdom.

Notable people

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Stuart Anderson, who sat on Herefordshire Council as councillor for Kings Acre ward and was later elected as the Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton South West in the 2019 general election, is a member of the church along with his wife, and has appeared on Songs of Praise to promote the church.[24] His former business eTravelSafety previously shared the same registered address as Freedom Church Hereford.[25][26]

Freedom Church has also maintained a connection with NewSpring Church's founder Perry Noble, who continued to deliver sermons for Freedom Church after being ousted from NewSpring Church.[27]

Controversies

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In 2011, the Hereford Times publicised allegations of arranged marriages, fight clubs, and mass baptisms.[28] They also alleged that the church encouraged its young members to turn to church leaders for relationship advice rather than friends or family, and that the church and its youth group, 2XL, had links to Herefordshire Council. 2XL reportedly received council funding to deliver certain youth services in local schools.[29] Freedom Church strenuously denied the claims, saying "We have never encouraged 14-year-old girls to 'consider marrying older men'", "Nor have we ever implied that if a girl were to be baptised 'it will lead to a relationship with someone in the church'", and "We do not brainwash people [...] if Freedom Church is not the place for [new people], they are quite free to leave".[30]

In 2012, the police were called on Freedom Church volunteers, who were giving out sweets with attached leaflets to children outside the gates of Whitecross Hereford High School in order to promote the Church's youth club.[31][32]

In 2013, a Freedom Church staff member at the newly-opened Siem Reap church attracted criticism after posting that Cambodia "...is a spiritually dead place but there is an increasing anticipation amongst the team and a sense that this city is ours. Despite all the false worship, rampant sex trafficking and the go-to party destination in Southeast Asia, we know that Jesus has given us this city".[33] Freedom Church were accused of evangelising, which is technically illegal in Cambodia (although rarely enforced in practice), and preying on the poor.

Swansea University

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In 2014, the Swansea University student newspaper reported that the church was banned from campus by the university after concerns were raised about student welfare.[34] The article quoted Kevin Childs, Director of Student Services, saying: "Concerns have been raised by various organisations and individuals in Wales and elsewhere about the operational methods used by the Freedom Church to recruit members by targeting vulnerable members of society and their cultic style of operation".[35] Freedom Church responded saying it was "baffled by the Swansea University ban, claiming the institution had 'never spoken to us about anything.'"[35]

The University later retracted saying: "We have not officially banned this organisation from holding services and events on campus. Permission is not granted to any faith group unless they are a society registered with the student’s union. The Freedom Church is not registered with the student’s union. This is what we meant by the term affiliated."[36] A University Spokesperson further clarified: "Only affiliated faith organisations are permitted to hold services on the campus. Members of the Freedom Church were not removed from campus but the 250 posters which appeared just before the Freshers arrived were taken down. Only approved posters are permitted on campus."[7]

An ex-member told Wales Online that they joined the church at a vulnerable time of their life but felt the church 'drove a wedge in families'. When they were asked to attend a £1,000 year-long course they declined and described it as a 'red flag'. It was also claimed that members "never" had relationships outside of the church. The church responded by saying that they were “great believers in the importance and strength of the family even when families sometimes have a different perspective” and was "more transparent than just about any church".[35]

The Evangelical Alliance strongly denied that the Freedom Church is a cult, saying that it has worked alongside the organisation for over 20 years. The national director for Evangelical Alliance Wales Reverend Elfed Godding said, "We are fully supportive of what they do. They're an orthodox Christian church; they have a good track record of social engagement, of caring for needy people. I'm not quite sure what the issue of complaint was about."[7]

Locations

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Freedom Church has churches across the world, with locations in the following cities:[5]

Europe
Africa
Asia
North America

References

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  1. ^ a b c "What kind of Church is Freedom Church?". www.FreedomChurch.cc. Freedom Church. Retrieved August 31, 2022. People would typically consider Freedom to be a charismatic, evangelical church, if these sorts of groupings are helpful to you.
  2. ^ a b c d Cummings, Tony (8 May 2018). "Freedom Church: The church from Hereford with an American record deal". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Freedom Church - About". freedomchurch.cc. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  4. ^ Hayne, Ed; Kelly, Siobhan (6 April 2017). "Finding Our Religion — The gospel according to Hereford". medium.com. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Freedom Church - Locations". FreedomChurch.cc. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Find a church - Find your nearest Evangelical Alliance member church". eauk.org.cc. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Busteed, Desmond (7 January 2015). "Church banned from Swansea University". Premier Christian News.
  8. ^ Noble, Perry (16 December 2013). "Thank You NewSpring - We Are Getting Closer…". Retrieved 9 June 2020. Thank you SO MUCH for the way you have given SO generously this year. Because of the way you gave[...]We were able to partner with Freedom Church in the UK...assisting them in planting churches all over the world! And...within three years we will have assisted them with planting at least one church on every continent in the WORLD (with the exception of Antarctica!) YEP...because of YOUR generosity we are literally to do more to fulfill The Great Commission!
  9. ^ "How is Freedom Church funded? | Freedom Church". Archived from the original on 9 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ "Trustee's report 2015 - 2016" (PDF). Charity Commission. Retrieved 3 July 2020. Freedom Church Hereford CIO has been receiving financial support for a number of years from NewSpring Church (South Carolina, USA). As anticipated, and by mutual agreement, this support came to an end in December 2017
  11. ^ "Does Freedom Church give money to other causes or organisations? | Freedom Church". Archived from the original on 9 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ "Does Freedom Church give money to other causes or organisations?". Freedom Church. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  13. ^ "FAQ - When did you start Freedom Churches in other locations". Freedom Church. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  14. ^ "No vote as Freedom Church gets go-ahead for new HQ". Hereford Times. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Freedom Church sees former Hereford cinema and next door nightclub site as a new HQ". The Shuttle. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Worcester Foodbank praises generosity of local community". ITV News. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  17. ^ Walton, Grace (2 June 2020). "Worcester Foodbank receives 30 tonnes of donations since April after community rally". Tewkesbury AdMag. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Spotify - Freedom Church". spotify.com. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Artist Profile - Freedom Church". crossrhythms.com. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Freedom Church". TBNUK.com. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Freedom Church". dvber.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  22. ^ "Freedom Church with Gary Snowzell". TBNAfrica.com. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  23. ^ "Freedom Heroes FAQ". reachapp.co. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  24. ^ "Hereford". Songs of Praise. 29 October 2017. BBC. BBC One. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  25. ^ "Travel Safety Ltd". companieshouse.gov.uk. UK Gov. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  26. ^ Garcia, Carmelo (17 December 2019). "Former councillor is elected as Wolverhampton MP". Sunshine Radio. Hereford. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  27. ^ "Perry Noble Admits He's Disqualified from Ministry, then Says He's Not Quitting". PNP News. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2017. As I was working on my messages this morning for Freedom Church in the U.K. this weekend I had an overwhelming sense of fear that I simply was not going to be able to clearly communicate what I feel needs to be communicated – and that someone else would be much better suited for the task.
  28. ^ Ferguson, Paul (4 March 2011). "The Freedom Church in Hereford: church or cult?". Hereford Times. Hereford. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  29. ^ ""Turn to Church, not Family", says Hereford Freedom Church Founder". Hereford Times. Hereford. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
    - "Petition questions Herefordshire Council's links with youth project". Hereford Times. Hereford. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  30. ^ "Senior Leadership team of Freedom Church, Hereford, are grateful for support shown about Freedom Church". Letter to Hereford Times. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2020.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  31. ^ "Church group targets pupils: Police called as Freedom Church volunteers hand out sweets to Whitecross High School pupils". Hereford Times. Hereford. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  32. ^ "What's wrong with Hereford's Freedom Church?". Anorak News. Harrow. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  33. ^ Walsh, Alistair (1 March 2013). "Unholy war of words". The Phnom Penh Post. Phnom Penh. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  34. ^ Fiteni, Laura (1 December 2014). "Cult-like church is banned from campus". The Waterfront. No. 247. Swansea: Swansea University Students' Union.
  35. ^ a b c McCarthy, James (16 January 2015). "'Cult' Welsh university tells controversial church: 'You're not welcome here'". Wales Online. Cardiff. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  36. ^ Keumars, Afifi-Sabet (7 January 2015). "Swansea University Bans 'Cultic' Religious Group Freedom Church From Campus". Huffingdon Post.
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