The Great News Network

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The Great News Network is a Christian ministry based in Denton, Texas, and founded by Christian businessman Darrel Rundus in late 2003. It is an evangelism training ministry that is closely linked with Kirk Cameron's and Ray Comfort's The Way of the Master program. As of June 2006, it comprises close to 1,000 members in ten countries. Over 100 of these members (who call themselves "seed sowers") are also "local leaders," those whom Rundus and his team have chosen to be official Way of the Master/GNN evangelism team leaders and contact points in their home towns. These local leaders receive special training and resources to conduct and promote WOTM-style evangelism in their areas.

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[edit] Affiliation with Living Waters/Ray Comfort Ended

In an email[citation needed]sent on January 30, Living Water/Way of the Master announced an end of cooperation with GNN.

Due to growing concerns involving the direction of The Great News Network, the leadership of Living Waters Publications and The Way of the Master has decided to withdraw our ministry’s endorsement of GNN. These serious concerns were greatly compounded by a recent letter issued by the Network’s founder, entitled: “”Warning! A Storm is Coming!” Our ministry strongly disagrees with both the severe tone of the letter and the disturbing ministerial philosophy engendered therein. Living Waters and The Way of the Master will no longer be working in conjunction with GNN in ministry outreach efforts, nor will we be recommending GNN to the friends and supporters of our ministry. We greatly regret this recent measure, but feel that it is most necessary for the good of our ministry and all those involved. Living Waters Publications / The Way of the Master

In relation to the letter, GNN opened a thread on its private forums to the public, where Darrel has posted several posts trying to clarify his intentions in his letter. [1][2].

On 10th February, Darrel Rundus issued a “”formal response to the Way of the Master News Blast”. In this he says that GNN will continue holding evangelism boot camps. He regrets the manner in which Way of the Master ended their affiliation with GNN. However, the forum section for the thread concerning the letter and Darrel's response have since been emptied.

[edit] Evangelism Boot Camps

GNN regularly runs "Evangelism Boot Camps" (EBC for short) across North America, Australia, and New Zealand. From their site, a Boot Camp is a "hands-on, role up your sleeves; get in the trenches, big time battle against the most evil enemy ever. EBC is the place where you learn to face your fears and boldly proclaim the Great News that Jesus is Lord."

"Live reports" of witnessing at the camps are sometimes broadcast via cell phone on "The Way of the Master Radio", however Way of the Master ministries publicly disassociated itself with the Great News Network in an e-mail announcement dated January 30, 2007 because of concerns about the GNN's direction. The concern stems from a letter written by GNN's founder on their private message board called "Warning! A Storm is Coming!."

[edit] List of North American Boot Camps

This was the first special boot camp meant solely for boot camp graduates.

[edit] Million Dollar Bill Tract Seizure

On June 1, 2006, the United States Secret Service seized 8,300 copies of the "million dollar bill" tract (printed by Comfort's Living Waters Publications) from the GNN headquarters because, they claim, a woman in North Carolina attempted to deposit the tracts as legal tender (despite the fake bills clearly stating "This is not legal tender.") The Secret Service also stated that they would seize all copies in stock at Living Waters' California headquarters. [1] Comfort has stated that he will refuse to turn over the tracts without a warrant, which was not given during the raid on GNN. [1] In an official statement on the GNN Web site, he stated that "the USSS was overzealous in their seizure of our property and they violated our constitutional rights by depriving us of property without due process. Without a court order, warrant or any legal precedent, they barged into our office, disrupted our daily activities and illegally seized our property." Rundus further suggested that the message on the "money" was the reason why they were seized. [2]

On June 5, 2006, the following statement was found at the million-dollar bill entry on LWP's online store:

The Secret Service is going to be very busy if they want to be consistent in their pursuit of justice. Typing "Million dollar bill" into Google gets 35,800,000 results--sites that say things like, "It looks real, feels real and even smells real." If we are issued with a "Cease and desist" order, we will immediately do so until this is sorted out. In the meantime, we have our printers ready to run off 100,000 million dollar bills that comply to their requirements (1 ½ times larger). So these will be bigger and better than the bills that were seized by the Secret Service, as we have since improved the artwork. We will keep you updated. Thank you for your prayers and encouraging emails. [3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50495 WorldNetDaily article on the Million Dollar bill situation.
  2. ^ http://www.thegreatnews.com/mdb_official.html Official Statement by Darrel Rundus and GNN on the Million Dollar Bill tract seizure.
  3. ^ http://www.livingwaters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=298 Million Dollar Bill entry at Living Waters Ministries

[edit] External links

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