I joined GCFI in November 2004 when I moved to Long Beach to get married. My then fiance praised Pastor Alton Trimble and I fell in love with his no-nonsense teachings of the Word. My husband and I immediately began to tithe weekly and gave to whatever the church 'needed' on the side. In order to be married by Pastor Trimble, we had to attend marriage counseling and have what I call a 'personality slash compatibility' meeting with the Pastor. The forms we filled out was very complex and thorough, and I was eager to have our final meeting so we could actually get married, but one item that should have been a red flag to us was when the Pastor said that I should handle the money matters. Could it have been that on one of the forms we filled out, we disclosed our salaries and I made more money than my husband at the time? Surprise, surprise...
In about half a year, my husband and I had given over $2500 in tithes and money for the infamous 'building fund'. I was very excited about the new building as we had attended many meetings regarding it, so my husband signed a contract stating that we would give at least $3500 during the next year, on top of the $2500 we had already given.
Unfortunately, my husband's ex-wife decided she didn't want to be a mother anymore and my husbands son had to come and live with us. To make a long story short, with legal fees, the loss of my job and the extra mouth to feed, we fell behind on our rent and we were evicted. Of course, I thought that my 'church home' would be able to help out, so we had to fill out paperwork for a $1500 loan. I figured we had been more than stellar church members and since it was for a LOAN, not a handout, the church would have no problem giving us the money. Well, we were flat out DENIED. No explanation why or anything, no sympathy calls, NOTHING. Fortunately, one of the accountants in the main office felt our pain (guilt?) and he gave us $500 out of his own pocket to help us.
But we still attended church regularly and although we did not give even half of much money as before, we still gave some. Then came the meeting regarding the building fund: apparently some money was missing or misappropriated and that was the end for me - we stopped attending. And just recently we found out that Pastor Trimble had been having affairs with some of his female church members. It doesn't surprise me at all - I was tempted to attend this Sunday just to hear what he has to say. But I decided just to pray for him, his congregation and his wife and warn other potential members to STAY AWAY from this megachurch - they are all about money and your spiritual life comes in last place!
Glory Christian Fellowship International Reviews
I joined GCFI in November 2004 when I moved to Long Beach to get married. My then fiance praised Pastor Alton Trimble and I fell in love with his no-nonsense teachings of the Word. My husband and I immediately began to tithe weekly and gave to whatever the church 'needed' on the side. In order to be married by Pastor Trimble, we had to attend marriage counseling and have what I call a 'personality slash compatibility' meeting with the Pastor. The forms we filled out was very complex and thorough, and I was eager to have our final meeting so we could actually get married, but one item that should have been a red flag to us was when the Pastor said that I should handle the money matters. Could it have been that on one of the forms we filled out, we disclosed our salaries and I made more money than my husband at the time? Surprise, surprise...
In about half a year, my husband and I had given over $2500 in tithes and money for the infamous 'building fund'. I was very excited about the new building as we had attended many meetings regarding it, so my husband signed a contract stating that we would give at least $3500 during the next year, on top of the $2500 we had already given.
Unfortunately, my husband's ex-wife decided she didn't want to be a mother anymore and my husbands son had to come and live with us. To make a long story short, with legal fees, the loss of my job and the extra mouth to feed, we fell behind on our rent and we were evicted. Of course, I thought that my 'church home' would be able to help out, so we had to fill out paperwork for a $1500 loan. I figured we had been more than stellar church members and since it was for a LOAN, not a handout, the church would have no problem giving us the money. Well, we were flat out DENIED. No explanation why or anything, no sympathy calls, NOTHING. Fortunately, one of the accountants in the main office felt our pain (guilt?) and he gave us $500 out of his own pocket to help us.
But we still attended church regularly and although we did not give even half of much money as before, we still gave some. Then came the meeting regarding the building fund: apparently some money was missing or misappropriated and that was the end for me - we stopped attending. And just recently we found out that Pastor Trimble had been having affairs with some of his female church members. It doesn't surprise me at all - I was tempted to attend this Sunday just to hear what he has to say. But I decided just to pray for him, his congregation and his wife and warn other potential members to STAY AWAY from this megachurch - they are all about money and your spiritual life comes in last place!