Note 121 - Establishing Churches Where Churches Already Exist
See the letter from 16 brothers in 12 churches in southern Chile, October 31, 2007:
Report from Juan Rubilar, church in Concepción, June 16, 2008:
The "divisive table" in Concepción carried out by Dong Yu Lan's followers was initiated through Brother Dong Yu Lan's teaching given at the July 2007 conference in Santiago, Chile. He taught that those who do not follow his ministry fell and became Laodicea, but they are Philadelphia, the genuine recovery. After they returned from the conference in Santiago with Dong Yu Lan, these brothers never approached us to talk to the responsible brothers of the church in Concepción to tell us of their intentions to separate, establish another table, and form "another church," the church in Philadelphia, which they immediately started after leaving the conference in Santiago.
Report from Miguel Lagos and Luigi Espinoza, the church in Los Ángeles, Chile, June 16, 2008:
In August 2007, after the visit of co-workers Albert Lim, Sherman Robertson, and Victor Molina, two brothers stopped meeting and began to have separate meetings elsewhere in the city, due to the general orientation from Brother Dong Yu Lan by means of speaking and writings from the July 2007 conference in Santiago, Chile. Later, maybe in the month of September, one family that for two years was not meeting joined the two brothers and began a second table meeting, breaking the bread with only 5 adults. They also proclaimed themselves as the church in Philadelphia according to Revelation 3.
Hugo Vergara, Report on the church in Talcahuano, June 19, 2008:
The second divisive table was initiated by Brother Dong Yu Lan's followers after the teachings given at the July 2007 conference in Santiago, Chile. It was said that he was the apostle raised up by the Lord with the organic ministry who will bring the Lord back and the rebellious ones have fallen into Laodicea, only being full of knowledge for studying the truth.
A Letter of warning to all the churches and saints in South Africa, May 10, 2009:
Johannesburg
As their work grew, Brother Dong's workers withdrew from the church in Johannesburg and formed a division. His workers declared Johannesburg to be the centre of Brother Dong's work in Africa. They have held conferences and trainings in Johannesburg completely apart from the fellowship of the churches. They started meeting separately, calling their meetings "the church in Johannesburg" and establishing a separate "table" meeting. The attached pictures, which were posted on the Internet, show one of Dong Yu Lan's followers with a sign proclaiming their meetings as "the church in Johannesburg."
Their "table" meeting was held in Rosettenville, a district within Johannesburg, in direct violation of the truth of the ground of the church. Brother Dong's workers established their meetings in full knowledge that there was already a church in Johannesburg breaking bread at the Lord's table. Thus, what they started was not the church in Johannesburg as they claim but a sect. Dong Yu Lan's workers established their sectarian meetings without the prior knowledge of or fellowship with the leading ones in the church in Johannesburg. Their divisive work and meetings continue to the present day.
Roodepoort
The church in Roodepoort began the Lord's table meeting more than seventeen years ago. An email report dated May 14, 2007, also posted on the Internet, recounts how two of Dong Yu Lan's workers travelled to Roodepoort to carry out a divisive work there:
On May 5, the Lord brought us to the city of Roodeport [sic], South Africa, myself and brother [name redacted], to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, find the sons of Peace and to establish the King's table!....Hallelujah for on the 13th we broke the Bread with 9 local saints and some children giving testimony that the Lord of Roodeport is the Lord Jesus Christ! [E-mail Report, Noticias da Expansao – Africa do Sul: Roodeport from Estevao Christo, May 14, 2007]
They gathered together a small number of local people and began to meet separately from the church in Roodepoort, including having a separate "table" meeting. They did so without regard for the longstanding Lord's table of the church there. Their work was done without the knowledge of the brothers in the church in Roodepoort. Brother Dong's workers cannot claim ignorance of the existing church since Dong Yu Lan and Ezra Ma visited the church in Roodepoort in the 1990s.
Click on the icon at right to view the document. 
"Testemunhos da Africa e Portugal, que maravilha!," December 31, 2007:
Brothers, thanks to the Lord because today the Lord's Table has been established in Kampala, Uganda's capital. Thanks to the Lord that there is a testimony of the table here and now this city can be blessed. Seven local brothers were there, but what in our sight is a humble start, surely in the sight of the Lord is something great.
At the time this divisive "table" was set up, there had already been a church in Kampala since 2003.
Letter from Sherman Robertson, Victor Molina, and Paul Hon, October 30, 2007:
Fernando and Rueben began their work without any fellowship with or acknowledgement of these saints and the existing church in Barcelona. They began a separate "Table" meeting on their own without consideration for the existing situation and, in effect, rejecting those saints thereby forming a sect.
On June 18, 2007, Sherman Robertson, Paul Hon and Victor Molina visited Barcelona and met for fellowship with Fernando and Rueben. Paul Hon warned Fernando and Rueben that their table may be "illegal" because of their exclusion of the existing Spanish saints and the nearby Chinese speaking saints.
Click on the icon at right to view the document.
Letter of warning to the saints in the churches throughout Spain, February 8, 2009:
Following this, Fernando moved to Barcelona, where he continued to work in a divisive manner. He started a so-called "table" meeting there apart from the existing saints who by February 2007 had been meeting for ten years. On June 18, 2007, three co workers—Sherman Robertson, Victor Molina, and Paul Hon—visited Fernando and warned him about holding an illegitimate table in disregard of the existing saints. Fernando once again falsely claimed that Joe Davis knew about and approved his work, even though this assertion had already been contradicted in Madrid. The "table" of Brother Dong's work continues separately from the church in Barcelona. Brother Dong's son, Andre, another of his senior workers, met with that divisive gathering in Barcelona and gave a conference there in April 2008.
Click on the icon at right to view the document.
E-mail from Hector Aponte, Update on Spain, April 25, 2008:
I can confirm that as of last February, the saints in Barcelona, both Chinese-speaking and Spanish-speaking are meeting together weekly for the table and prophesying meeting. Fernando and his group in Barcelona continue to break bread in another part of the city.
E-mail from Aleix Ferraz, the church in Barreiras, May 31, 2008:
There is information that the dissidents meet in homes and break the bread. Recently (2/23) they promoted a conference in this city with co-worker Joel, three African brothers and other saints from Brasília. For this conference, they rented an auditorium. They say that the saints who stood up for the one ministry are only the rich ones and those who seek knowledge; do not call upon the name of the Lord, neither sing the hymns of Hymnal; and that they became Laodicea, rebels who abandoned the Lord's move.
Letter from the church in Belford Roxo, Brazil, October 26, 2007:
As the brothers bearing responsibility in Belford Roxo, Brazil, in October 2006, we decided not to continue to follow the work of Brother Dong Yu Lan, but to receive and to participate in the general and unique ministry of the co-workers in the Lord's recovery and to participate in the fellowship of the churches in the whole earth.
Brother Dong and his co-workers responded by appointing new brothers to be the responsible ones in the church and by starting a second meeting of the Lord's Table in our locality. They boldly proclaimed that we had became Laodicea, and began a new "congregation" with just one family.
Belford Roxo History (Based on e-mails and telephone calls with Jose Cassiano and Phone Call from Genodi, April 23, 2008):
Dong Yu Lan's coworkers labeled the church as Laodicea and sent [a] brother and his wife (from the church in São Joao de Meriti) to live there and to establish the second table. In that time, this brother started a persecution and made accusations against brother Jose Cassiano. He set up a second table with about other 5 saints, claiming that the church had forsaken South America 's apostle and had become Laodicea.
João Carrenho, Daniel Ostheloniz, et al, Statement from Diadema, October 25, 2007:
As responsible brothers of the Church in Diadema, we made a decision to no longer follow the regional work of Brother Dong Yu Lan, but to align ourselves with the unique ministry of the Lord's recovery and to participate in the fellowship of the churches in the whole earth.
However, a few days later, that is, on June, 30TH 2007 (Saturday), brothers Andrew Dong (from São Paulo) [and two other brothers from other cities] promoted a meeting in the house of a defenseless brother with the purpose of establishing a second table in this city.
Those co-workers reacted to our position, appointing new brothers to be the responsible ones here and to begin the second meeting of the Lord's Table in this locality.
Letter from Antonio Carlos and Paulo Moreira, October 26, 2007:
We have always been encouraged by reading the Life-studies and the books of the ministry, and from this we have acquired sobriety and perception concerning the deviation of the "apostle," so we made a decision to no longer follow the regional work of Dong Yu Lan, but to receive the general ministry of the co-workers in the recovery and to participate in this way in the fellowship of the churches in the whole earth, since for us there is only one Body.
Brother Dong and his co-workers ... reacted by appointing old and problematic brothers to be the responsible brothers in the church here, and they established a second meeting of the Lord's table in this locality.
Interview with Antonio Carlos and Genodir Andrade Moreira, April 8, 2008:
In July [2006], brother Dong made an urgent call for a special service meeting for all the serving ones in the churches in Brazil, at Estância Árvore da Vida, when the "jumping" practice was introduced officially for all the churches in Brazil, through brother Ezra Ma. The churches in Nova Iguacu, Mesquita, Mage and Belford Roxo did not follow this orientation. During that time, they were already reading the Morning Revival in Portuguese entitled The Crystallization-study of the Body of Christ...
The church released the room it had been using for meetings back to its owner and rented another meeting place. Neemias, one of Brother Dong's co-workers, phoned Antonio Carlos a few times in order to know about his position concerning Dong Yu Lan's ministry and Antonio Carlos always told that they are for the Body. After a fellowship in November in which there was no resolution, Neemias and several other brothers from other localities came to Mesquita to support the establishment of the second table. There are only three brothers from Mesquita that participate in this divisive table.
Throughout this time the church in Mesquita continued to break the bread in a proper standing on the ground of oneness.
A co-worker of Dong Yu Lan, September 26, 2006, concerning Nova Iguacu:
The brothers who want to keep fellowship with the Apostle, we are going to consider as the church; and as for the table? It will have two tables. How long has the church in Nova Igaucu broken the bread – 14, 15 years? They are going to continue breaking the bread. And you, those who want the Apostle's help? You are going to break the bread too! Will it be considered two tables? No, it will be considered one table.
Letter from Osterne Fausto, on behalf of the church in Nova Iguacu, Brazil, October 17, 2006:
We also hope that our beloved brothers who took the way of establishing another table in Nova Iguaçu may as soon as possible recover the vision of the unique Body. As we already made clear in the beginning of this report, the decision of the brothers to divide was induced by the coercion, assistance, deviation, and exaggeration brought by the "work" [of Dong Yu Lan]...
Statement from the responsible brothers in Nova Iguacu, Brazil, October 25, 2007:
As the responsible brothers in the church here, in September 2006 we made the decision that we could no longer follow the regional work of brother Dong Yu Lan, but that we must be faithful to receive the general ministry of the co-workers in the Lord's recovery and to participate in the fellowship of the churches in the whole earth.
Brother Dong and his co-workers reacted in November 2006 by appointing different brothers to be the responsible ones in the church here and establishing a second Lord's Table in this locality.
Statement from the church in Vitoria-Espirito Santo, Brazil, October 30, 2007:
We have been one for the Unique Ministry and we remain faithful to the heavenly vision and not following the work of Brother Dong. This is what we believe.
Once we took this position we have been seen as rebels and lepers. We have kept our meeting hall and only one sister stopped meeting with us due to her blood relationship with a brother in Belo Horizonte. Today we are about 35 saints.
Around 8 or 10 months ago, we were informed by some saints from the region that a family of São Mateus, after moving to the capital (Vitoria), was meeting in their house, carrying out Brother Dong's work. After they had been meeting a few months, we received information that the same group (a family of 5 members and the sister that stopped meeting in Vitoria) had rented a meeting hall and had begun to meet regularly in that meeting hall and even breaking the bread.
Letter from the responsible brothers of the church in Ambato, December 2004:
We were greatly surprised to find out that brother Dong visited the city of Ambato to give a conference in a Christian group called "Bread of Life". Why did he not seek fellowship with the church? This meeting was attended by approximately 10 brothers that meet in the locality, as well as by some brothers that belong to that Christian group and brothers from other localities that accompanied brother Dong. After the conference, brother Dong had fellowship with the brothers that attended from the locality and with those that accompanied him, and said that he had begotten the church in this locality and that now a miniscule group of brothers, called responsible brothers, had rejected him; therefore, there was no longer authority in the church, he did not recognize anymore the responsible brothers and he stated that now the church in this locality had become a local sect. Thus, these 10 brothers are now the local church and they can begin breaking bread from that week onward in the house of sister Mariana Navas (mother of Jorge Navas), who lives in front of the meeting hall.
Click on the icon at right to view the document.
Letter from responsible brothers in Ambato, Ecuador, October 24, 2007:
A division was caused directly by Brother Dong in Ambato. When the church in Ambato made the decision to follow the ministry of the age, Brother Dong came to this city and did not seek fellowship with the responsible brothers. Instead, he held a conference in a denomination called "El Pan de Vida" ("The Bread of Life"). Ten saints from the church in Ambato attended the conference. Brother Dong told them that the church in Ambato had become a sect because they had left the apostle's orientation and, therefore, they (the ten saints from Ambato who attended his conference) were then the church and could meet to break bread. Now there is a group of brothers in Ambato who follow Brother Dong's orientation.
Click on the icon at right to view the document.
Letter from Julio Hinostroza and Luís Ramirez, October 30, 2007:
As of today, the group of brothers that left the church in Chiclayo to follow Brother Dong has started another table meeting in Chiclayo.
Letter from Sterling Byassee, October 25, 2007:
Shortly after that conference [in December 2005], a worker was sent to Chiclayo from Brazil. He worked independently of the church, damaged a number of saints, and established a Lord´s table meeting, totally separate from the church there. Brother Ezra Ma visited the independent group to give a conference. This, of course, has caused much suffering to the church there.
Letter from Andrés Capillo and Adrián Matta of the church in Lima, Peru, October 22, 2007:
Brothers Andrés [Capillo] and Adrián [Matta] were informed by several responsible brothers that on Lord's Day, October 10, at the conclusion of the conference in Huacho, Brother Dong called a meeting of the brothers from Lima who had attended the conference. In that meeting, Brother Dong appointed five new responsible brothers for the church in Lima (Sandro Calixto, Luis Bullon, William Ojeda, Fernando Baca, and Luis Ramirez). He encouraged them to rent a new meeting hall and offered to pay for 200 new chairs himself. The five newly appointed responsible brothers and a group following Brother Dong rented a new meeting hall on Zepita Street, not far from the meeting hall of the church in Lima at Chota 1116.
Letter from Andrés Capillo and Adrián Matta of the church in Lima, Peru, October 22, 2007:
The division in Lima, which exists to this day, was caused directly by Brother Dong. Following the events recounted above, brothers from ten churches in Peru wrote open letters to protest the actions of Brother Dong and/or to sever ties with Brother Dong and his ministry. Those churches are Cuzco, Moquegua, Arequipa, Nazca, Chincha, Huanaco, Piura, Trujillo, Chiclayo, and Lima.
Letter from Giulianno Capillo, October 20, 2004:
What I could not believe knowing Brother Dong, was when he literally said: "Now we are going to rent a hall in 431 Jr. Zepita. I will buy the chairs and you will meet there." We moved out three month ago from this hall because it was too small. Then he asked Brother Roberto to name right there the temporary responsible ones [names omitted]. Brother Roberto Graner would stay for two months and then Brother Ezra would come to give a training. This was never done before but it happened. The following Monday they gathered together at 431 Zepita to pray.
Open letter from Julio Hinostroza and Luís Ramirez of the church in Chiclayo, October 18, 2004:
We do not accept that in the locality of Lima, some have rented another hall for meetings apart from the Jr. Chota No. 1116, causing a division, since there is now two halls, and in both of them bothers and sisters are participating. We consider that it was a very light act (without due consideration) from our beloved brother Roberto Graner and some of the brothers in Lima who have helped him.
"Open Letter from the Church in Trujillo," Peru, November 16, 2004:
There are abnormalities in the church in Lima, since the church has been meeting in Chota 1116, and still are meeting in there, where they are giving testimony of the oneness. But something sad happened, since brother Dong proclaimed in Huacho speaking to Roberto [Graner], that, "They should rent the hall in Zepita [another street nearby] and to buy 200 chairs and we are going to restore the meeting hall in Zepita!" This caused confusion among the brothers, since we did not know his intention.
Without any consideration of the [principle of] one city, one church, in Chota 1116, the Apostle caused a division, taking a group of his followers to Zepita St.
History of the church in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, by Luis Ribera, Arturo Ramos, Jose Luis Saucedo, Alfredo Mier-y-León, Gary Solis, and Ivan Castillo, October 29, 2007:
In August 2007, after a national conference held in Cochabamba, brothers following Dong Yu Lan´s ministry proclaimed that they would go to "recover the church in Santa Cruz." They rented a huge facility that was previously used by the church for some activities. It is owned by a son-in-law of Brother Mario Viscarra Vargas, who now meets with Mario. On October 14th, Mario Viscarra Vargas and leading brothers from other localities from Bolivia, such as Eliseo Limachi, from La Paz, Juan Carlos Pelaez from Sucre, and two unidentified brothers from Brazil, established a second table in Santa Cruz. A new CEPPEV training was also initiated at that time. We found the pictures of the event at: igenarequipa.multiply.com.
Ezra Ma, letter, October 2008:
This offensive started in a definite way when Brother Mario Viscarra and his wife Ada left La Paz, where they were serving for many years, and migrated to Santa Cruz at the end of last year. On October 10, 2007, the Ceape Bolivia started with a glorious breaking of bread.
Letter of warning from leading brothers in the churches in Colombia, March 29, 2009:
When the church in Tuluá did not receive Brother Dong's ministry, a small number of saints, instigated by Brother Dong's supporters, withdrew from the church without explanation and started separate meetings, including a divisive "table" meeting.
Click on the icon at right to view the document.
Letter from the leading brothers in Tuluá, October 25, 2007:
After some time, Ernesto moved to another place because of his job, but he continued to contact two brothers, Guillermo Herrera and Ruben Moreno, who were not in agreement with the leading brothers of the church in Tuluá regarding the matter of one publication. The leading brothers in Tuluá are for the unique New Testament ministry as opened to us through Brothers Nee and Lee, and Guillermo and Ruben are for Brother Dong's ministry. In September 2007, the leading brothers in Tuluá learned about Ruben Moreno and Guillermo Herrera's intention of setting up another Lord's table with the support of Ernesto Velasco, who also follows Brother Dong. Their reasons for attempting to set up another table are as follows:
- They claim that there are no patterns to follow in the church in Tuluá and that the church allows sinners to take the lead.
- They insist that there are no elders in the church in Tuluá because the existing ones do not meet the requirements.
- They maintain that there is too much knowledge in the church but no reality.
Interview with Jorge Farias, May 7, 2008:
Ernesto Velasco is one of Dong You Lan's workers. Ernesto Velasco used to be in the church in Tuluá. At a certain point in time, the responsible brothers in Tuluá made a stand for the ministry and Ernesto Velasco was not following the ministry, so he was asked to leave the lead. Ernesto Velasco moved to Dosquebradas and had fellowship with Edward Stanford. It may have been Ernesto Velasco's real intent in Tuluá to introduce Dong Yu Lan's ministry to the saints. This was tolerated in Tuluá for a while, but the saints there did not want Dong Yu Lan's books. The brothers asked Ernesto Velasco to stop selling the literature, and Ernesto Velasco agreed but continued to sell the books in a hidden way.
A brother named Guillermo left the meetings in Tuluá without saying anything to the brothers. He left with 2 or 3 families. When the brothers heard of it, they talked with Guillermo, but he said that he had already made his decision. He started the meetings in his home, but right away rented a space for the meetings and started taking the 'table' within one week of talking with the brothers. Guillermo also had the support of Ernesto Velasco and Floyder Viveros.
