Pastors at NAR church in British Columbia face multiple charges of sexual assault

As reported by Samantha Anderson of Peace Arch News, October 4, 2017:

For eight years, Samuel Emerson was a pastor at Cloverdale Christian Fellowship Church, also known as “Cloverdale Church.”

His last day as a pastor came on May 18, when RCMP “showed up at the door of the church” and led him out in cuffs, said Samuel’s father, Randy Emerson, who is the current pastor of Cloverdale Church.

In a media release issued Tuesday afternoon, Surrey RCMP revealed that they received several allegations of sexual assault against Samuel Emerson and his wife Madelaine on May 17, 2017.

The South Surrey couple – who have five children – were arrested the next day.

Samuel Emerson, 34, has been charged with 13 counts of sexual assault, 11 counts of being in a position of authority and touching a person for a sexual purpose, and one count of sexual touching of a person under the age of 16.

Madelaine Emerson, 37, has been charged with one count of sexual assault, one count of being in a position of authority and touching a person for a sexual purpose, and one count of threats to cause death or bodily harm.

The alleged assaults occurred between 2015 and 2017.

Surrey RCMP explained the 4½-month delay in announcing the arrest that “there was no investigational or public safety need to report out on this matter.”

The day of the arrest, Randy Emerson wrote on Facebook: “If you know us and our church please pray. We are under attack like never before and we need the accuser of the saints to be silenced and Truth prevail.”

Two days later, he wrote, “Thank you to everyone who is praying for us and expressing love at this time. You are making a difference. This is a time when we must not believe with our eyes and ears but with our spirits. Let God be true and every man a liar. Can’t be specific at this time but your prayers are making a difference.”

Randy Emerson and his wife Christine started the Cloverdale Christian Fellowship Church, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this Sunday.

“Sam, being our son, was a part of the church right from the beginning,” he told the Cloverdale Reporter on Wednesday. “If I’d seen anybody go out that way, it’s traumatizing. Any of our staff taken away (in cuffs) would be tough… Being my son, it was it just the cherry on the ice cream, you know?”

The couple was not previously known to police, and they were later released under “strict conditions… sufficient to alleviate any safety concerns,” an RCMP spokesperson said.

One of those conditions is that Samuel and Madelaine cannot have contact with the church, according to Randy.

No mention of Samuel or Madelaine is on the church’s website, but according to his social media accounts, Samuel was a pastor at Cloverdale Church, and worked with Youth Church Cloverdale.

Randy said that Samuel worked “in every ministry of the church,” which includes the youth ministry.

Samuel Emerson’s work as a pastor also took him to other churches in Surrey, including Life Church in White Rock. In a Facebook post in September 2016, Life Church wrote, “This Sunday we welcomed young Pastor Sam Emerson from our sister church in Cloverdale, B.C.”

“Sam grew upon our church, and had some very important insights to share,” the post reads.

Following the arrests, Sunday services at Cloverdale Church were subdued for “almost two months,” said Randy.

“People were in shock for the first while,” he said. “It was very, very difficult and very quiet and subdued. For the last couple of months we’ve been building towards something lively and full of life again. For awhile it was just, like, everybody was just staring off into space.”

The congregation went from a crowd of around 250 people to 50 people.

“People just left,” said Randy. “These are people, some of them that we’d worked with for 25 years.”

“They were ripped out of our relationships just immediately. And they wouldn’t talk to us. At all. Afraid, and I don’t know what for,” he said.

“As I understand it, none of the allegations occurred at the church,” said Randy, “which is where we work very hard to keep it safe here. We’re even reviewing those policies and protocol to see if we can tighten everything up.”

Randy said that Cloverdale Church’s safety protocols are “pretty typical.” They include criminal record checks for staff. No minor is left in a room unsupervised with an adult if the minor and adult are “opposite genders,” he added.

“As far as we know nothing happened [at the church],” said Randy. “And I can’t control stuff that happens off the property and on people’s own time.”

The Cloverdale Church continues to be active in its work. “We continue to do the things that we’ve always done, but it’s on a much more subdued level,” said Randy. ”We’ve pulled back, but we’re not stopping.”

Surrey RCMP have said the investigation into Samuel and Madelaine Emerson is still ongoing, and that they believe there may have been other victims.

They are asking that any potential victims come forward to speak with police.

Surrey RCMP as that anyone with more information call 604-599-0502, or, if they wish to remain anonymous, to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

As reported by Ms. Anderson in the Cloverdale Reporter, October 4, 2017:

Several Cloverdale churches have come together to issue a statement after former Cloverdale Christian Fellowship pastor Samuel Emerson and his wife Madelaine Emerson were charged with multiple counts of sexual assault...

...“We are deeply saddened and shocked by the numerous charges laid against Sam and Madelaine Emerson, pastoral leaders at Cloverdale Christian Fellowship,” the statement reads.

“We grieve for the victims and support all the efforts of the RCMP and our judicial system to do what is right. We hope that all details will be exposed thoroughly so that justice and healing can be accomplished effectively for the sake of all involved.”

The statement was sent to the Cloverdale Reporter on behalf of Centre Church, Cloverdale Baptist Church, Coast Hills Community Church, Crossridge Community Church, Hope Community Church, Pacific Community Church, Sonrise Community Church, West Coast Community Church and Zion Lutheran Church.

“It’s a wake up call,” said Jim Heuving, executive pastor at Pacific Community Church.

In the wake of the charges being laid, Heuving said that the members of Cloverdale churches are asking themselves, “Are we doing the best we can do? If not, let’s do better.”

There are “strong protocols” in place in order to protect vulnerable people, said Heuving.

“Many churches, Pacific Community Church is an example, are all about safety. Every member of our staff and volunteers are screened and trained in how to work with children, youth, seniors, and those with disabilities.”

Heuving said he will be calling his congregation to unite in prayer and support of those who have been affected. “There’s a lot of hurt,” he said.

The churches are offering to “provide support to any who are impacted by this troubling situation,” including those “who may need financial aid in accessing counselling and support.” Anyone who is looking for support can reach out to the ministries through their websites.

That Cloverdale Church is part of the New Apostolic Reformation is clear from their website, which has a page on the Cloverdale School of Supernatural Ministry. Oddly, the church seems to have recently lost the ability to minister in the supernatural:

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING CLOVERDALE SCHOOL OF SUPERNATURAL MINISTRY
Hello Friends,

After much prayer and discussion between Pastor Randy and I, we have decided to postpone the 2017-2018 Cloverdale School of Supernatural Ministry school year for the foreseeable future. This decision has not come lightly, nor joyfully. Cloverdale Christian Fellowship has been in the midst of a difficult transition since the Associate Pastor resigned earlier this year. Between the building lease, staffing turnover, worship team cutbacks, and numerous other considerations, there is no way to launch by September 12.

This has been an incredibly difficult decision. CSSM began on a hope and a prayer 10 years ago and we have never looked back. This is the first year we will have to postpone in the history of the school. CSSM has been one of the longest running Bethel DVD schools in the world. As we tackle the season we have found ourselves in, it has become abundantly clear that it is necessary to postpone any future plans for the school.

Any updates to the direction of the school and potential launch dates will be posted here, Facebook, and emailed through our email lists. I apologize for not updating you earlier in the summer. Again, this is not a decision that we have taken lightly. In light of this, there are a number of other ministry schools in the local area that we can recommend. These are all ministries we are acquainted with and have seen proven fruit come from them.

Church on Oxford Hill - Oxford School of Ministy (OSOM) - http://www.oxfordhill.ca/general-information.html

Windword - Winsom - http://windword.ca/winsom/


Samuel's Mantle - https://www.samuelsmantle.com/

New Life North Shore - North Shore School of Supernatural Ministry (NSSSM) - https://www.newlifenorthshore.com/ministries/

Ignite the Fire (Reina Carlson) - school@ignitethefire.ca

Any of those school will be great environments to learn and grow.

May you seek His Kingdom and His righteousness,

Joshua Hoffert

Director, Cloverdale School of Supernatural Ministry

Cloverdale's website also has a page promoting the August 17, 2017 Kingdom Culture Conference, featuring "Apostle" Everton Weekes. I appreciate Mr. Hoffert mentioning the other churches in the area; it saves me the bother of looking up which churches to recommend avoiding.

As unsound as Cloverdale Church is, with its NAR doctrine and claiming to act according to the Bible while in fact acting contrary to scripture (e.g., having women as pastors and elders), I disapprove of the virtue-signalling of the churches that issued the statement saying that they "grieve for the victims." We don't know that the accusers are victims--that's for the trial to determine. For the churches that issued this statement to refer to the accusers as victims is to presume the guilt of the accused. If those who signed this statement know that Samuel and/or Madelaine Emerson are guilty, they should give evidence to that effect in court rather than issuing public statements before the trial.

For more information on the New Apostolic Information, I recommend Lighthouse Trails Research Project and Herescope.