Peniel Pentecostal Church
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Peniel Pentecostal Church is located in Pilgrims Hatch, Brentwood, Essex, UK. The church has one of the largest congregations in Essex[citation needed] and is led by Bishop Michael Reid.
Peniel Church has more lately been publicised as 'Michael Reid Ministries', although the church retains the Peniel name for its college, school and award winning choir. The school has over one hundred and forty children of mixed ability and performs well against its peer group as demonstrated in statistics produced by the Department for Education and Skills.
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[edit] Miracles
Along with his wife, Rev Ruth Reid, Bishop Reid travels globally and claims to have witnessed miraculous healings through his ministry,[1] although a 1999 investigation by the Advertising Standards Agency was unable to substantiate the claims.[2][3]
[edit] Leadership
The church's founder, Michael Reid, is a former Metropolitan police officer and insurance salesman, and was made a bishop by the International Communion of Charismatic Churches in Benin City, Nigeria in 1995.[4]
He is the author and co-author of several books and a founder member of the Christian Congress for Traditional Values (CCTV) and the Global Gospel Fellowship (GGF). He is closely associated with the Oral Roberts Evangelical Association in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Michael Reid has recently become a patron of the English Constitutional Convention.
[edit] Controversy
Controversy has surrounded Bishop Reid for many years and both he and Peniel Pentecostal Church have been the subject of many critical media articles. In 1999, the church received national publicity when Martin Bell stood for Parliament in the Brentwood area following allegations that the church were attempting to infiltrate the local Conservative Party.[5][6] The allegations were investigated by Conservative Central Office who reported that they saw no evidence of entryism.[7]
Some former church members have claimed the church is a cult, and relate experiences of poor treatment prior to and on their departure from the organisation.[7][8][9][10] In 2004, all the other churches in the Evangelical Alliance in Brentwood resigned in protest against the Peniel, leaving it as the only member.[11] The church is no longer a member of the Evangelical Alliance, having left the group following controversial circumstances in 2005.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ "Stand by your man and put a ribbon in your hair", The Guardian, December 10, 2000
- ^ "Miracle ad does not wash with watchdog", The Guardian, April 13, 1999
- ^ "Church defends miracle cure campaign", BBC News, April 12, 1999
- ^ Martin Bell, the white-suited 'ethics man', turns Essex man to contest general election, Dec 9, 2000, The Independent
- ^ "Never send to know for whom the Bell tolls", The Guardian, May 23, 2001
- ^ "Bell prepares to stand against evangelical Conservatives", The Guardian, December 8, 2000
- ^ a b "The oracle of Essex", The Guardian, November 15, 2000
- ^ "Bell agrees to fight Tory safe seat in Essex", The Guardian, December 9, 2000
- ^ "Sects, power and miracles in the Bible belt of Essex", The Observer, December 31, 2000
- ^ "Church sued over 'undue influence'", The Guardian, February 3, 2001
- ^ "Local MP Pickles has to answer questions says Lib Dem PPC", Brentwood & Ongar Liberal Democrats, November 23, 2004
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Michael Reid Ministries
- Peniel College of Higher Education
- Peniel Academy
- The Christian Congress for Traditional Values
- Michael Reid Publishing
- michaelreidmiseries.org – Experiences of a former member of Peniel Pentecostal Church
- Apologetics Index - Peniel Pentecostal Church
- Christian Witness Ministries - BBC TV 'Private Investigations'
- Rick A. Ross Institute - "Church cult 'taxed members at £2,000 a month'" (originally from The Times, February 4, 2001)
