Georgia Congregation Locked Out Of Building After Church Split
Men changing the locks on the Winder Church building (Photo by Steve Price)
On Sept. 25, the pastors of Winder Church (formerly War Hill South) found themselves locked out of their own sanctuary in Winder, Georgia.
The move to have the locks changed came, they said, without warning, but was not entirely unexpected.
Five months prior, the small satellite campus, which draws an average of 45 people on a typical Sunday and hosts a Cub Scout pack, had disassociated from its parent organization, Church at War Hill, due to a string of scandals previously covered by MinistryWatch, including an alleged robbery cover-up and abusive treatment of PTA moms.
In an April 28 letter, Winder Church cited its 13-year history of partnering with War Hill “at every opportunity” and participating in “priceless opportunities to serve others” in the hope that War Hill Senior Pastor Don Allen and his board would relinquish any claim to the satellite campus property.
Allen responded several weeks later with a letter suggesting a formal meeting and indicated that “corporate changes already in progress” would make the split unnecessary.
Then, according to Associate Pastor Johnny Hicks from Winder Church, War Hill leadership ceased all communications, despite multiple follow-up letters. Hicks told MinistryWatch that War Hill never formally asked the Winder congregation to vacate the building, and no eviction notice was posted. And until recently, it also had not removed the satellite campus’ donation button from its website, though Winder had ceased receiving funds through War Hill.
This month, Hicks and Senior Pastor Steve Price learned War Hill had secretly solicited a potential buyer for the property. After Price contacted the buyer and explained the campus was currently occupied, the buyer backed out.
For Hicks, that seeming underhandedness was indicative of what had caused the split in the first place. He said the stories in the news about suspected mismanagement of federal PPP money and state special needs education vouchers caused him to realize War Hill’s business model did not align with Winder Church’s values.
Hicks also suspected War Hill of skimming Winder’s offerings, all of which were previously funneled through War Hill before being distributed back to the satellite campus. That suspicion, he said, was bolstered as monthly donations suddenly rose by $2,000 to $3,000 as soon as the Winder campus began managing its own offerings in April.
“What we expected [from joining War Hill] was oversight and accountability,” Hicks said. Instead, he says they ended up in a “corrupt system.”
Accepting they would likely lose the building that had been their home since 2018, Winder’s board members had arrived at the decision to secede by a 6-1 vote. However, the church is now working with an attorney in hopes that state law might offer some recourse. As for the changing of the locks, the local magistrate declined to intervene on Winder Church’s behalf due to the dispute being an organizational rather than residential matter.
Price detailed the investments Winder Church has made into Church at War Hill. “If War Hill chooses to not grant the request for the property, they will obtain a building purchased and paid for by a local business man, $170k,” he wrote on a social media page for War Hill critics and whistleblowers. “More than $100,000 of renovations were done, paid for by the giving of the Winder congregation. Current value is near $500k.
“The Winder campus gave $8k towards War Hills new student building while asking for permission to use the equity in the Winder campus to build our own multi purpose building, we were denied,” Price added. “Winder gave $5k towards the Toccoa campground, Winder paid a portion of Pastor Dons insurance monthly, Winder gave $200 a month to the radio station for 12 years, Winder campus supported a War Hill mission in Germany for several years.”
Though Winder Church is currently a flock without a home or an alternate plan to obtain one, Price has no regrets.
“Winder Church, we counted the cost and paid it,” Price posted Thursday on social media. “If any one of you has been helped by this, it was worth it! Setting our eyes on what God has in store for us! No turning back, no turning back.”
War Hill Church did not respond to requests from MinistryWatch for comment.
This piece is republished from MinistryWatch.
Tony Mator is a Pittsburgh journalist, copywriter, blogger and musician who has done work for World magazine, The Imaginative Conservative and the Hendersonville Times-News, among others. Follow his work and observations at twitter.com/wise_watcher.