Maranatha Church

A special place in hell for Jack Ballinger indeed. The list of relationships and families ruined by this place could wrap around the earth. Speaking of the earth, the pastor preaches that god created the earth flat and that a worldwide conspiracy is the reason you think the earth is round. If you don’t believe it you’re negative.

Negative = Not in agreement with Jack’s teaching
Positive = In agreement

This is church is dying as the pastor’s teaching goes further and further outside the mainstream. Just stay away.

This place is insane. And the congregation sequesters themselves, discouraging relationships with anyone outside the church (not just outside the religion, outside the CHURCH) in order to keep their neurotic little eschatological bubble from collapsing on itself. A little sample for those of you who may think you're mentally unstable (or bored) enough to attend:

STA- "Sinful Trend of Adam". The magical curse you are born with and for which you deserve to be on fire forever.

SG3- Tangible rewards you will get in heaven for doing righteous things while "in fellowship."

In fellowship- Currently right with God

Rebound- How you get right with God. You confess your sins to God, and he will immediately wipe your slate clean(no matter how atrocious your actions are) and allow you to accrue SG3 until your next slip-up. After your next slip-up, you have to rebound again so that you can begin accruing heavenly coins again.

Crown- the ultimate reward some Christians will receive in heaven. The pastor, Jack Ballinger, no doubt believes he is getting one of these (bc he rebounded after the adultery he was involved in). Yes, even in the eternal interdimensional Afterworld, there is a class system.

Have fun!

Where to start?
I only attended this church for a little over a month. When I stopped going I was given the option to either continue my services to the church or I would be "cut off' from being friends with anyone that attends the church.
The pastor teacher referenced an old church he used to preach at, telling the congregation that he was no longer wanted at the church and that the deacon was upset that he took away the "deacons prayer". He then stated that the last time he saw the deacon, he was in the hospital dying of throat cancer. The pastor made the comment, "it must have been the prayer, because it didn't make it past the damn ceiling". The people in this church have a very self-righteous outlook on the bible. Judging others for not knowing as much as them. This is a very prideful way to be. Just because someone doesn't attend YOUR specific church, doesn't mean that you are more intelligent than anyone else. This is just ignorant. Now, if they in fact know as much as they say they know, then should they be so prideful? Unwilling to make friends with anyone who doesn't attend their bible study?
This church provides 0 outreach to the community. I have noticed that instead of them preaching and acting "like Christ" they do the exact opposite. It is all about pride and shaming others for the lack of knowledge they assume people to have.
Also, the pastor teacher leaves little room for individual growth. Meaning, they would rather the members stay at this church and deny any offer of a possible move away from "the local church". This makes no sense. They make it seem like you have to attend THIS church to be able to study, worship (which they do not do) and grow spiritually. God has a plan for every single person, that doesn't always mean you aren't allowed to move somewhere else. It is made clear in the bible how God lead his disciples to many places. This is why you see a lot of reviews calling this church a "cult".

Molly. You should escape while you can. I feel bad that you will never experience the world and will only live within the constraints of this cult

Very refreshing. One of the very few places you can find the TRUTH nowadays and not what people want you to believe.

I grew up in and attended Maranatha Church until the age of 14. My mother taught in the prep school (their term for children's religious instruction). This church is a perfect example of religion gone bad. I was personally involved in the pedophilia scandal. A friend of mine confided in me that his uncle was molesting him and other family members. I told my parents, and they met with the parents of the molested, the deacons, and the pastor (Jack M. Ballinger). The group was instructed that the church would handle the matter. The pedophile was allowed to continue attending the church and law enforcement was not involved (a police officer was a deacon at that time). This is not a post to defame Maranatha, but an attempt to affirm the posts serving as warnings to anyone considering this church.There have been a litany of scandals involving this church, but adultery among church staff pales in comparison to allowing a pedophile to continue practicing his evil upon children in the congregation. One of the victims of this crime eventually committed suicide as a result of the cover-up and continued exposure to the pedophiles acts.This church preaches separation from all (including other Christians) that do not hold the EXACT understanding of Maranatha's doctrines (see link to Maranatha's website for doctrines-doctrine of separation detailed here http://www.versebyverse.org/doctrine/separation.html) . I posted this after seeing a blog that was written by one of the pedophiles victims, and was reminded of the lifelong damage that this church has visited on the children of its past and present members. Link to blog can be found here ( http://personalinjustice.blogspot.com/ ). Also, see following link detailing a police report involving the pastor: (www.versebyversecult.org). Make an informed decision about your church attendance. There is a special place in hell for Jack Ballinger.

Interestingly enough, this pastor copied exclusively from commentaries for Job and for his "breakthrough doctrine" of the Eternal State. There is also PROOF that he has been using others' work for several decades so it is doubtful that he is capable of doing what he claims is necessary in order to teach in an adjusted local church. When the proof was presented to the church, the whistleblower was shunned and called negative and berated from the pulpit. I would advise against attending such an unhealthy organization.

The glowing review below this one was made by a fellow "pastor-teacher" of the pastor of Maranatha Church named Stuart Wolf who started his own sister church in Sarasota Florida, so let that review be judged as so. I was raised in this "church". I cut my teeth on their doctrines, as well as many in my family. They are separatist and teach vehemently their "Doctrine of Seperation". You are taught in this "church"

that the whole world is "Negative" and that only members of Maranatha (or one of her few sister churches) are "Positive". It's funny how they ridicule those that teach you can lose your salvation, but if you don't attend their church you lose your "Positive" privileges. This includes "getting your crown", "becoming a member of the royale family", "becoming negative", and of course losing out on all that "SG3". SG3 is the super cool points you rack up while being "in fellowship" that you can trade for super cool prizes when you make it to heaven! Wow, as I type this and look back it's hard to think that I really believed this stuff at one time, but again I was raised there and brain washing a child is USUALLY easier than brain washing an adult. Anyway I could go on but words really don't do it justice. To have been there, raised there, lose loved ones that believed in this crap there, my pedophile uncle they still protect and so on. Now when I look back all I feel is pity, but I wouldn't take a second of it back. It help make me who I am today. So if any of this sounds like it's for you and your family than Maranatha Church in Bethany, Oklahoma taught by Jack Ballinger is the one for you!

I spent most of my childhood and young adult life in this chuch. In the early 80's and 90's I do believe this church was committed to growing spiritually. However, many things were taken to extreme. I watched familes become torn as parents introduced their children to the church and then they would divide if one would leave the church.



I grew up thinking we were superior to every other church. There were only a handful in the country that were accurate in our search for biblical truth like us. I grew up thinking that singing and praising the Lord was wrong and that you should only learn from strict no-emotion teaching.



I grew up making fun of most every other church because they were so out of touch with reality and not seeking the hard core truth we sought.



I grew up thinking that you turned your back on everyone outside of the church. It was not our concern to witness, testify to others - as they would be given opportunity to seek the truth at God's will.



I grew up with family telling me to rebound every time they thought I had sinned.



I grew up telling all my friends how I would have a better "job" in heaven because I was getting to spiritual maturity far greater than they could ever know.



I grew up thinking it was a waste of time to sing in church in any manner that praised GOD other than one quick song to be the school session going.



My family left the church, yet our relatives never spoke with us again - even on their death beds as they had gone off to create similar churches in another state. The did this thinking they were helping us change our reversionism so we'd return to the church.



I grew up - Thank God - my immediate family left the church. After a decade I realized it was ok and healthly to sing and praise the Lord in church and realized that about 500 people in the entire world can't be the only ones that are pleasing God and reaching spiritual maturity. It has taken a long time for me and I'm still hopeful my parents will find the same peace and a new church. They haven't been much since escaping Maranantha.



I do believe this church did have the best intentions at heart, yet stumble as many there seek refuge in joining a group in which they feel superior to all others. The common thread of the church members seemed to be that they all lack some form of social acceptance in general society and seek their sense of superiority through this misguided church. May God help them all to remove the veil and soften their hearts. Please visit with caution.

I attended this church most of my life and can attest to you that this church is not the kind of place to bring your family. Although it is correct that the pastor does not condemn sexual immorality, the fact that he himself had an ongoing sexual relationship with married woman in the church doesn't exactly fill one with confidence. He is also one of many as sexuall immorality is rampant. What the previous reviewers do not say is that if you attend and leave you will be shunned from that point forward. Yes I mean if they see you at the grocery store they will ignore you. The pastor teaches that.



This church holds up knowledge as being superior to all else. The sad thing is that the entire spirit of scripture is lost. They believe that literally every other church in Oklahoma is wrong and that they are the only ones who are teaching truth. Oh, and they will also ask you to seperate from anyone who does not also attend the church.



Hmmm, a church with a pastor who claims he is the only one with the truth. A church that shuns previous members. A church that expects you to limit your friendships to those within the church. Sounds like a cult to me.



Oh, and if by chance you do check out the church, keep an eye on your kids, they have a least one member that is a pedophile.

The reviews posted previously all reflect a distinct bias, as they toss the term cult around, without knowing the definition of a cult. The atmosphere is more rigid than in most fundamentalist organizations, since there is no attempt to appeal to the emotions, but rather a strict verse by verse approach that is not for those that are not serious about knowing and applying what the Bible says.



The attacks concerning sinful activity in a church is both unsubstantiated, but spurious. If anyone studies the Bible carefully, he will find that the Corinthian Church was filled with all manner of problems. However, they were not called a cult, but addressed by Paul in a manner designed to "right the ship". There has never been any evidence that the pulpit encourages such activity, but has, in fact, discouraged divorce.



If one simply wants to blame the pastor for all the sins of any church, that is easy to do. However, if one is looking to understand the Bible at a level that is not available in other churches, I would certainly recommend this one.