The Assembly-George Geftakys

Written in 1992 by a former long-term member of the Geftakys Group

The Assembly currently has two corporations. One is Torch and Testimony, a California non-profit corporation. The persons listed on the board of Torch and Testimony are Robert Ford, Mark Miller, Tim Geftakys and possibly Jim Hayman. Early records list Steve Irons who has left the organization. Torch and Testimony run a private school, Cornerstone. The group did own property on Commonwealth on Fullerton but sold it for a large profit. With the interest from the sale of the Commonwealth property, a suburban was purchased for Tim Gaftakkys for $25,000. The other corporation is Dorian Enterprises, a for profit California corporation.

Currently the Assembly has groups in Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Placentia, West Los Angeles, Northridge/Woodland Hills, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Louis Obispo, San Francisco and Arcada - all in California. Groups in Nebraska are in: Omaha, Hastings, Norfolk, Lincoln and one other town. There is a group is the St. Louis/Bellmore, Missouri area. In Illinois groups are located in Gailsberg, Tuscola, Springfield, Champagne and Forest Park. There is one group in Annandale, Virginia and one in New Jersey. Outside the U.S. there are 4 groups in Canada, one in Cuernevaca, Mexico and one in Manchester, England. George visits each of these groups at least once a year. Travel arrangements are made by "Gail" Fullerton Travel Agency.

There is a push to move into Nigeria, where there are 25 members, and Kenya and Uganda. George probably has designs on taking over a group called the Awakening Brethren in Kenya and Uganda.

It is reported that George wanted to be a missionary to China and is an admirer of Watchman Nee. Currently there are three members of the Assembly working in China. One weeks as a nurse, another with computers. George has been to China twice. There may be some churches in China George could control.

George and his wife Betty and their two sons Tim and David, all take part in running the Assembly. All monies go directly to Betty in the form of cash or money orders. A woman member who was single did all their banking. It is believed much of their funds are in precious metals which may be stored in their home in Fullerton. Someone is always there. They have been impressed by one investment letter in particular published by a Mormon, possibly William Rusher. The Gaftakys' are fearful of tracing and tracking. For that reason they never use credit cards - only cash and travelers' checks. It is reported George and Betty do file taxes. Betty was a teacher in the Fullerton School District until she retired. She may have a pension from there. It has been rumored that they also own a ranch in Texas. David is a diabetic who was not expected to live past 30. His illness is reportedly beginning to affect his eyesight and circulations. He attended a junior college in St. Louis, Missouri and may have taken a course in oceanography. He never finished college. He is totally supported by the "works" that is, the Assembly as is his brother, Tim. David has been called hard nosed and authoritarian, always right and just like his mother, Betty.

The Assembly is not interested in many new recruits, just totally committed ones. Almost all recruits are college students and all are trained to be recruiters. After a recruit graduates from college s/he is expected to devote two years on campus, recruiting before they begin any career plan. Members are not allowed to vote, although Betty Geftakys does vote. Members are prohibited from watching television and reading newspapers and magazines, although there is not any time to pursue interests outside the group.

The children of the early members of the Assembly are now seniors in high school. It is probably too early to ascertain what they will do with their lives.

The Assembly is now calling itself a Gathering of Christians or just Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

General 'Assembly' Information.

"The Assemblies" are a group of about 50 tightly affiliated small churches in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, England and Nigeria, under the authority of George Geftakys. The first "assembly" had its origin in 1970 in three weekend seminars George gave in his home to a group of about 35 young people. George Geftakys is a Talbot Seminary graduate, ordained as a Baptist minister. He says that after a very short period as a pastor of Sunkist Baptist Church in Sun Valley, California, he became convinced of Plymouth Brethren beliefs and so he left the ministry. The Plymouth Brethren are an evangelical Christian denomination which began in England in the 1800's as one of the many protests against the formalism of the Church of England. They do not believe in having a paid clergy. George and his wife, Betty, associated themselves with the Plymouth Brethren while George attended graduate school in philosophy at USC, and Betty supported the family by teaching school. During these years, George was very active in the Brethren Goodyear Assembly, the Pomona Assembly and Grace Bible Chapel in Fullerton.

By 1970, George was working as an insurance salesman for New York Life, Inc. and was loosely affiliated with the Plymouth Brethren as an itinerant preacher. He asserts that he was by this time disillusioned with the Brethren because they had "lost the vision" of their beginnings and were compromising. Men who were associated with George during this time in the Fullerton and Goodyear Brethren Assemblies say that George was refused a position of leadership, but was allowed to preach.

In 1970 George's son Timothy was in high school, and was involved with Christian students. He was in touch with young people who were in several Christian communes which had sprung up as part of the then - current "Jesus movement." George's first seminars were attended by these students, as well as by several young couples and several older women who had met George through his itinerant preaching in the Brethren Assemblies. The first seminars were intended to inspire shallow Christianity - that there was the possibility of each believer becoming "an overcomer", and that there was the calling of believers corporately to "express Christ" locally according to "the new Testament pattern", which was George's version of what the Plymouth Brethren had failed to be.

As a result of this teaching, in February 1971 the seminar group obtained permission to use the recreation center at Hillcrest Park in Fullerton, and began meeting weekly for Sunday morning and afternoon church services, as well as a weekly evening Bible study. A weekly prayer meeting was begun in a home. The Sunday morning preaching was conducted on the Brethren pattern: all the men were strongly encouraged to be prepared to "give a word", of whom three would be spontaneously led by God to preach. The last of the three was considered to have the weightiest influence, and for a long time George always took that place. In addition, the Sunday afternoon preaching and the weekly Bible study was always done by George when he was in Fullerton. George has continued to give 3 or 4 weekend seminars a year.

The students in the group became very active in witnessing for Christ on their college campuses. They began campus Bible studies and invited George to come as a weekly lecturer. Various other gospel outreaches were developed, including "Gospel marches" and open-air preaching. The late 1960's and 1970's were an era of much public activism on the part of young people - on political and social issues, as well as religious. It was a time of much religious interest, especially with the publication of Hal Lindsay's book, "The Late Great Planet Earth." The Calvary Chapel movement began, with huge numbers of people being baptized in the ocean. So the zeal and intensity of the assembly did not seem unusual to those drawn to it. For those who initially came to Christ in that movement, it was all they knew, and for those who were attracted from other mainline churches, it provided a very appealing sense of vitality and belongingness.

Six months after the Fullerton assembly began meeting as a local church, George and Betty went on a six- month trip, visiting contacts across the U.S. and Europe. Most of these contacts were individuals and small groups who had been influenced by the ministry of T. Austin Sparks, which had expressed concepts similar to George's on the overcomer and the pattern of the local church. In some of these places George was invited to preach to small groups meeting in homes. As a result of this trip, people from around the country began to visit Fullerton for George's seminars, and George was invited to hold seminars in some of these places. Within two years George quit his insurance in order to give full time to the ministry. Betty continued to teach school for several years.

In time the Fullerton assembly grew to over 300, with another 200 visiting for seminars. Smaller assemblies were begun in some of these places. Each of these assemblies have from 2 to 5 men who are designated "leading brothers." The leading brothers in each assembly is directly and regularly accountable to George. Following the Brethren tradition, formal training such as seminary is not considered necessary for the roles of leadership and preaching. Technically, they repudiate the concept of a paid clergy, believing that men should hold down full-time jobs, in addition to their church responsibilities. However, George, as well as both his sons and two other men, are now "supported full-time in the work."

"The work" is a hand-picked group of people from many of the assemblies, whom George has selected to especially support his ministry. Most of them are chosen either for their leadership qualities, or for their outstanding loyalty, or for certain useful talents. All leading brothers and their wives are workers. The workers meet twice a month on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the various locales. The headquarters of "the work" is in Fullerton, California, where George and his wife, Betty, have their home. Once a month the workers on Fullerton are joined by the workers from outlying assemblies, coming from as far as San Luis Obispo. A joint workers meeting in Fullerton has about 50 people in attendance. Once a month, there is also a joint workers meeting in Chicago, with workers coming from Nebraska and Missouri as well as Illinois. Once a year there is a workers seminar, held in Colorado, which is attended by all the workers worldwide. In recent years there have been 120 to 140 people in attendance.

Because of adhering to the Plymouth Brethren principle of no formal training, all of these workers and leading brothers have received their training only from George and Betty. They are all at least 20 years younger than them, and most of them came into the assemblies when they were college age, having had very little or no previous Christian experience. There is no one in the assemblies who is George or Betty's peer in any way. Consequently, although plans and problems are discussed by leading brothers and workers, decision are always deferred to George and Betty's approval, and much of the time is devoted to instruction from George in the meetings of the leading brothers and workers. The tradition of the Plymouth Brethren in rejecting the formal churches has been strongly continued in George's teaching, so that there is no communication at all with mainline Christianity. "The Assemblies" have become a completely closed system.

Along with this isolationism has developed a very tight enmeshment of "the saints" (as assembly people refer to themselves) with each other. George and Betty have assumed the roles of father and mother, and teach the workers to look upon themselves in those roles as well. From that vantage point, there has developed extensive control on people's lives, with no one in a position of authority to challenge the doctrine, the directives or the procedures that come down from George and Betty Gaftakys.

One example of this is the area of finances: All donations are accepted only in cash; all the donations exceeding local expenses in each assembly are sent directly to George and Betty by money order; there is no accounting to anyone, and since the money is given in cash, and received by George as personal gifts, there is no accounting to the IRS.

There are many other area of control without accountability. Communal living is strongly encouraged, in the form of "Brothers Houses." These are homes with a married couple in charge, who usually are workers. Several single men live with them in order to be trained. The couple minutely oversees their schedules, finances, relationships, assembly involvements, attitudes, etc. There is no dating in the assemblies; two people may "spend time" together under the direction of a leading brother. There are mothers meetings in which young mothers are ….