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By Ashley Fuller
Cherokee Tribune Staff Writer
World Harvest Church in Ball Ground isn't going anywhere, according to its leaders.
Bishop Lance Johnson, founder of the nondenominational church with an average Sunday worship attendance of between 350 and 500 people, resigned as its pastor earlier this month.
Ernie Darnell, an elder at the church, said there is no truth to talk in the community and on the Internet that the church campus is for sale.
"We have never had any discussion. It has never been an option," Darnell said. "Nothing is getting sold. We are always going to be right here."
He said Johnson's letter of resignation was received by the church earlier this month, and the news then was shared with the congregation.
Johnson could not be reached for comment.
"He told us what he needed to do. Sometimes, you just have to release. We released him and there are no hard feelings," Darnell said of Johnson.
The church now is being led by a new pastor, Seth Kinneer, and will continue to operate as it always has. The church is financed through a mortgage company, Darnell said.
"Lance has resigned. That is the only difference. As a church body, we are going to keep going forward and functioning," Darnell said. "People need to cut their ears off to gossip. If they listen to gossip, they will come to the wrong conclusion. If they come to church on Sunday, they will know everything."
Postings on the Internet reported Gary Lamb, pastor of Revolution Church (formerly Ridge Stone Church), which meets at Riverstone 15 Cinemas in Canton, was planning to move his congregation to the campus.
Lamb said the church is not pursuing the purchase or use of the building.
"We wish them the best," Lamb said. "We pray for them and hope they go on forever."
World Harvest meets at 835 Mineral Springs Road for worship service at 11 a.m. every Sunday. On the last Sunday of every month, the church conducts a 7 p.m. evening service.
The church will present a free concert Saturday by the band Builder's None.
For information, call the church at (770) 735-3947.
afuller@cherokeetribune.com
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Posted Comments
Ashley, Thank you for clearing all these rumors up. You did a great job and we appreciate you following up on this with the truth.
Thank you for printing the truth. We invite everyone to Sunday and Wednesday night worship at WHC. Please support our youth and come to Builders None concert!!!
When our family became members @ WHC we got behinds it’s vision, and are still behind it. It is a vision like no other. Don’t lose sight of Gods vision purpose for WHC. Always have and still do pray for WHC Pastors, leaders & Elders.
Thanks for clearing this up. I had heard these rumors at work and thought them to be wrong. I know Revolution is looking for a place to meet since we are out of space at the movie theater but they are adding a third service in the fall and starting another campus in Holly Springs so that might keep us at the theater longer. We love attending church in a movie theater!
I absolutely love meeting in the theater! I love my comfortable seats and the cupholder for my coffee cup! The services are awesome and I leave inspired to spread the word every Sunday. After years of searching it was nice to finally find a church the preaches the word as it is written..but also makes it a fun experience!
Nice of you darnell, since yall were kindergarteners together, i suppose you will be paying for all the churchs debt? awesome man of god you are!
Thank you so much. We knew all of the gossip was untrue, but had no idea what to do. We are so thankful that this has been cleared up. We are very PROUD to call WHC our home & very PROUD to call the Johnson's our FRIENDS. It is terrible that people would try to tear them down in their time of need!
Thank you for printing the truth!! I am a proud member of WHC.
Thank you for printing the truth!! I love Jesus, and World Havest Church as been my home for many years now...In the mist of it all, we are still standing!
I am glad to see the truth be told. If not for Bishop Johnsons vision I know my husband would not be here today. We need to all remember him & his family in our prayer. My family is in the grace of the Lord thanks to his leadership.
I wish the best for WHC , anytime a church has issues its sad , I know @rev we are really trying to be cheerleaders for other churches.. I know I will be praying for WHC
interesting article. also a very tame article. revolution and whc should just merge together since they are both about the pastors ego.
how can you say Rev is about the pastors ego , have you been to the church , have you met the members, have you seen the vols get up at 4 am on a sunday to get the church ready .. Just because you may think the pastor has a ego doesnt mean the church is all about his ego .. more people than just a pastor makes the church the church .. and thats any church not just rev
this article was to take care of the rumors concerning WHC being for sale and has now turned into posting about two pastors egos. I can't speak for the other church but I attend Revolution and gary isn't about ego. He is outspoken, in your face, confident in his ability but to say he is about ego would mean you don't know him. I've never known a church where the volunteers are so willing to help, that isn't about buildings, is willing to help other churches and spends a lot of money on helping the community and other churches get started. We have other pastors in our services every sunday because Revolution isn't about being the biggest but about helping others. All those things are a result of gary's heart. The church isn't about him but it does take on his heart as most churches do with their pastor. I think the proof of this would be found in the lives changed and the huge amount of growth the church has had since starting 3 years ago. If it was about gary's ego he would push himself more and would push the church to be in huge buildings where he could impress others. Instead we meet in a movie theater.
Gary just preached a message on being cheerleaders for other churches. He's answer in the article shows the way the church feels about WHC. That does not sound like a ego to me. A few weeks ago Gary got on stage on prayed for area churches by name. I know nothing of Lance Johnson so I can't give thoughts on him but Gary is about as down to earth as you will find in a pastor. Come check it out Sunday and I think you will find my thoughts to be the same thoughts of the other 1000 people who show up every week.
If WHC is as low as people say they are in attendance and they truly want to reach the area they would give their building to revolution. I hear they can't afford the building and Revolution is running out of space. That would say a lot about the heart of WHC.
Gary Lamb is as far from big ego as you can get. He loves Revolution, the volunteers and the members as if they were his family. He and his wife started Revolution to make a difference in a town where 70 percent the people weren't attending Church. If you bothered to attend instead of putting down our pastor you would see that Revolution IS making a difference! We love our Pastor and back him all the way!!! We are all praying for the Johnson family.
Guys, Satan is right now laughing at us. He loves seperation among Christians. Lets not fight but seek each other and heal the wounds we have caused by arguing amongst ourselves. We are a family in Christ and not rivals. Whatever the reasons, Lance has stepped down. Perhaps this great man just needed a rest from the large burden a man of God feels when he is leading a flock toward heavens gates. Bless you Pastor.
The one time we met Mr. Lamb he for lack of a better term "scolded" us for having brought our kids into the service. Apparently children are not allowed. Something every visitor should know! We discussed how many times Mr. Lamb referred to himself in the 1st and 3rd person vs. how many times he mentioned God or Jesus. We were not impressed by him or his ego. Other pastors in the area have shared a similiar opinion of him. It does not suprise me that he would be accused of buying another church and kicking them out. On Mr. Lamb's own blog he has refered to another area Pastor and wanting to "punch them in the face". Does that sound like someone filled with the Holy Spirit and the love of Christ or someone bitter because they got their ego hurt? Best of luck World Harvest!!
First allow me to say we are lifting the Johnson family and World Harvest Church up in prayer. Second allow me to say that Revolution Church is probably the church in the area making the biggest difference. They are truly reaching people that no one else wants and Gary is the real deal. I had heard rumors they were looking into the WHC building but if Gary says they are not you can assume they are not. For the record I don't attend Revolution. I am actually the pastor of another church in town that looks on with envy at how God is using Gary and Revolution.
YOU SHOULD BELIVE THAT YOU,R CHURCH IS THE BEST CHURCH IN THE WORLD. TO FIND OUT YOU MUST ASK GOD AND YOU MUST ACCEPT THE ANSWER THAT HE GIVES. AFTER ALL IT IS NOT WHAT WE WON,T BUT HIS WILL ALL ELESE IS GIVEN AND WILL COME TO NAUGHT . BE VERY CAREFUL BEING WRONG WILL COST YOU EVERYTHING AFTER ALL IT IS NOT ABOUT THIS LIFE BUT THE NEXT.
It's not Ernie Darnell's place to pay for all the debt that Lance Johnson incurred while he was pastor. And if there were a problem, Lance should have been available for comment. Now, what were you saying about your kindergarten?
It's a shame people are more intrested in tearing people down rather than lifting them up in prayer. If we spent as much time in prayer for people as we do gossiping about them maybe things like this would not happen. Even if the pastor is no longer at WHC we should lift him up in prayer reguardless of his faults he is a brother in Christ who needs our prayers go beyond what your flesh wants to do and say we are 1 body we ALL need each other?!
WE are very Thankful for What all Bishop Johnson and his family has done. I was able to see who GOD was thrue him. God used Bishop for HIS glory and to help so many hurting people. God Bless You Bishop Lance Johnson(and family). You ARE still a TRUE MAN OF GOD. "Thank You" for all that you have done for us and all the other hurting people.You showed us God's path.We will walk it and we will NOT GIVE UP. You said to me once..Satan fights the hardest on the ones that are a threat to him.BOY...you were right!Thank you. We love you and will miss you guys!!!
I love WHC, I have been a member for years. It is an awesome place to come & worship. The people there are very loving & friendly. Sometimes people feel compelled to move on, that's it. We have our wonderful new pastor & we haven't forgotten what we are there for... to worship God. He loves all of us, not just the people in the church of so and so. Aren't we all on the same team?? Every church is different, they all have their own purposes so I don't think you can say one church is better than another. I also think it's silly to say that just because our attendance is down we should get out & give it to another church. Is God beyond filling our pews once again. I think not. Take a lesson from King David when pressed to kill Saul, he would not tear the man of God down. Love God, love one another.
I would just like to know the truth! I was a member of WHC for 4 years, and went back to my home town and now I am hearing from some old friends that Bishop Lance has left the church and is being charged with Stealing Money from the church. I always like the church and Bishop Lance. Could someone please clear this up for me. Thank you.
Any updates to this story? I have visited this church numerous times and know the family well and wish them all the best.