Antioch International Movement Of Churches

The first Antioch Church was founded in Waco in 1999 by the couple Jimmy and Laura Seibert. The corporation is listed as a 501(c)(3) organization under the name "Antioch Ministries International." The movement strongly focuses on missions-based evangelism and global church planting. Antioch describes itself as non-denominational.

Antioch Movement
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Evangelical
Theology	Charismatic Christianity
President	Jimmy Seibert
U.S. Director	Drew Steadman
Headquarters	Waco, Texas
Founder	Jimmy Seibert
Origin	1999
Congregations	125+
Official website	antioch.org

Antioch received significant international press coverage in 2001 after two of its overseas missionaries, Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer, were arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan for "preaching Christianity." Antioch's relationship with reality TV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines also thrust the church into the spotlight for the movement’s opposition to gay marriage and partnership with Living Hope Ministries, an organization that "practices sexual orientation change efforts" and has been accused of engaging in conversion therapy.

 

The Antioch movement began with the founding of Antioch Church in Waco in April 1999. Founder Jimmy Seibert had been an Associate Pastor at Highland Baptist Church in Waco since 1988, where he introduced the concept of Life Groups (small prayer groups) and started a missionary school called Antioch Ministries International. Seibert left Highland amicably, with Highland's Head Pastor Barry Camp giving members of Highland the option to move to the new Antioch church. By December 1999, after meeting in several locations around Waco, Antioch permanently settled at a location in a racially diverse neighborhood in north Waco, with a plan to contribute to "renewal and rejuvenation" in the area. Antioch's Waco location subsequently started dozens of Antioch churches, both in the United States and internationally, and grew to be one of the largest congregations in Waco.

 

Jimmy Seibert says he did not grow up in the church. He was involved with Campus Crusade for Christ while he was attending Baylor University in 1985, and was influenced by its evangelistic mission. Despite his initial skepticism about this mission, it eventually became a part of what motivates his own ministry. In 1986, Seibert graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree (BBA). Then, after pursuing business for two years, he became a pastor at Highland Baptist church in 1988—first a co-director of evangelism, then a college pastor, and finally a pastor of ministries. As a young pastor, Seibert was mentored by a Pentecostalist named Robert Ewing.^{[citation needed]} Ewing inspired Seibert's faith with stories of smuggling bibles into closed countries and miracles, such as the resurrection of Ewing's assistant. During his time as the college pastor at Highland, he began a series of "prayer cells" (small prayer groups) that he called "Life Groups". According to Seibert, by 1997, 500 college students were participating in these prayer cells, which led to the plan to plant Antioch. Seibert's story of founding the Antioch movement is found in his first book, The Church Can Change the World, which has been revamped in the book Passion and Purpose.^{[citation needed]}

Politics

During the 2016 United States presidential election, Jimmy Seibert preached about the election, calling both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump "very flawed, immoral candidates." Seibert urged Christians to participate in the election, and to consider a number of issues including abortion, religious freedom, "traditional marriage," the "value of the individual," care for immigrants and foreigners, and concerns about transgender children choosing which restroom to use. Siebert expressed concerns about the marginalization of Christians who hold traditional views. He also expressed horror, disgust, and outrage with late-term abortions. Seibert said this was a typical election sermon and was not meant to influence people to vote for Trump. But one undocumented immigrant in the congregation reacted negatively to Seibert's sermon, citing fears that the Trump administration would overturn immigration protections. Seibert expressed a desire to assure her of the Church's support.

Antioch International places a high priority on starting new churches around the world, a focus that grew out of the missionary school that Seibert started while at Highland Baptist. Antioch sponsors a ministry in Haiti that is focused on building homes and providing humanitarian aid. They are also contributors to Restoration Gateway, a church planting and orphanage project located in Uganda. Antioch has also regularly hosted the World Mandate missions conference.

Antioch has trained and sent covert missionaries to countries and locations dangerous and hostile to missionaries. Several have been arrested and detained for evangelizing, most notably when the Taliban arrested and imprisoned Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry in Afghanistan in August 2001, holding them for 104 days on charges of "preaching Christianity," an incident which attracted international media attention. Taliban law forbids foreigners from propagating a religion other than Islam. The penalty for an Afghan who converts to Christianity is death, but Curry told the Waco Tribune-Herald that they warned Afghans of the dangers of asking them about Christianity, and they "never wanted to put anyone in danger unless they also knew possible consequences."From the very beginning, Mercer's mother protested the Antioch mission, and considered the missions work to be illegal from the onset. Mercer and Curry would go on to co-author a book together about their experiences in Afghanistan, titled Prisoners of Hope, while continuing to do work in Afghanistan on behalf of the Antioch Church.

Following the 2004 Sri Lankan tsunami, Antioch sent at least a dozen American Antioch members to Sri Lanka with tens of thousands of dollars in aid money and 2,000 pounds of medical supplies. Team leader Pat Murphy identified the group as a humanitarian aid group and not a church group. However, Antioch's website subsequently said the team was one of four teams sent to Sri Lanka who have convinced dozens of people to "come to Christ." Some Christian leaders in Sri Lanka called this unethical. They expressed concern that mixing proselytization with humanitarian aid violates Red Cross guidelines followed by other religious aid groups, and could provoke violence from the Buddhist majority. Jimmy Seibert responded to the controversy by stating that Antioch sees aid work and missionary work as "one thing, not two separate things" and that he hopes that Christians always bring their faith to their work.

Antioch Waco runs two residential addiction recovery programs, one for men and one for women. Mercy House, the men's program, offers six- to eighteen-month programs involving discipleship, counseling, and work therapy for addiction. Grace House, the women's program, was opened in 2009, and offers a free twelve-month recovery program that focuses on "group therapy, spiritual guidance, life skills and wellness."

In 2012, Antioch started a ministry called UnBound, which aims to assist the victims of sex trafficking by providing financial resources and raising awareness. According to the Waco Tribune-Herald, UnBound is "a leader in the fight against the dehumanizing sex trade." UnBound has hosted meetings of the statewide anti-Trafficking group, thee Heart of Texas Human Trafficking Coalition. UnBound has also received praise from Waco police Sergeant Jason Lundquist, who said police "rely on the help from UnBound and other resources in the community" in their fight against sex trafficking. County District Attorney Abel Reyna praised UnBound, along with others in their coalition, for "making prosecutors' jobs easier."

In 2017 Antioch Waco's own community outreach pastor, Edward Ignacio Espinosa, was arrested for paying prostitutes for sex at a local massage parlor. Women working at the massage parlor were forced victims of human trafficking. After Espinosa confessed, he was placed on administrative leave and later resigned. UnBound assisted the trafficked women who were found at the parlor.

The churches within the Antioch Movement recognize marriage as only between a man and woman in a lifetime commitment. In a sermon on the Church's stance on marriage and sexuality, founder Jimmy Seibert asserted that homosexuality is a sin "in thought and action" and that God can give each person power to leave homosexuality. Seibert further preached that "the statistics say that 90% of people who are in a full-blown homosexual lifestyle were abused in some way. Physically, sexually, mentally." Seibert also stated that "for over 30 years — I have seen hundreds of people personally change their direction of same-sex attraction from a homosexual lifestyle to a heterosexual lifestyle."

Antioch has a years-long partnership with Living Hope Ministries, an organization that practices "sexual orientation change efforts". The Antioch Community Churches in Texas, and Antioch Norman Oklahoma, are partnered with Living Hope Ministries. According to Vox.com, Seibert supports gay conversion therapy.

Antioch's position on LGBT issues led to controversy in 2016, when Buzzfeed published an article on HGTV Stars Chip and Joanna Gaines (hosts of the reality show Fixer Upper). The article covered their close relationship with Antioch Waco and its founding pastor Jimmy Seibert, and posed the question whether the Gaines shared Antioch's position on same-sex marriage and related issues. In response to the resulting controversy, a HGTV spokesman stated that HGTV did not discriminate against members of the LGBT community. Seibert also made a statement, reinforcing his beliefs to the Christian Post, "One man, one woman for life." He further stated that his church was not "anti-gay," and that the church's definition of marriage "is not the definition we made up" adding that the definition is "straight from the Scripture." Joanna Gaines went on to say the following during an interview with the Hollywood Reporter in June 2021:

"Sometimes I'm like, 'Can I just make a statement?' The accusations that get thrown at you, like you're a racist or you don't like people in the LGBTQ community, that's the stuff that really eats my lunch — because it's so far from who we really are. That's the stuff that keeps me up."

A 2019 Buzzfeed News profile of the Waco location reported that some anonymous ex-members and their family members have found the church to be "psychologically destructive," in part because of the church's stance on LGBT issues, among several other concerns. At least one anonymous former member reported a crisis of faith after being made to feel unwelcome at the church for "coming out as gay."

Antioch chose its location in north Waco to contribute to a project of "neighborhood renewal and rejuvenation." The church has started several "community outreach" programs. These include a "financial restoration" ministry that offers faith-based financial education, a summer meals program that offers free lunches to school children, a sport ministry program that offers summer sports programs for kids, a mentoring program focused on child literacy, and a mental health support group. In addition, Antioch has regularly hosted a missions conference that, according to the Director of the Waco Convention and Visitor's Bureau, brings significant economic stimulus to the local economy.

The church had attracted more than 100 families to the area as of 2011. The Waco Tribune-Herald quoted one long-time resident as welcoming the newcomers, and praising the results of the attempts to restore the neighborhood. But in a 2019 article, Buzzfeed News quotes others as raising concerns about "gentrification," specifically concerns about rising taxes and the possible displacement of long-time residents and racial minorities. A response to the 2019 article in the Baylor Lariat cited mixed reactions. Megan Peck, an employee for Waco Tours at the time, agreed with the article by expressing concerns about a "white savior" mentality in Waco that regards a neighborhood as struggling until white owned businesses come in to improve it. But another resident and member of Antioch Waco disagreed, noting that Antioch has more racial diversity than most Waco churches, including among its leadership.

In 1998, the Antioch Community Church in Waco sent out its first U.S. church planting team to Boston, Massachusetts. The next church was planted in 2001 in Dallas, TX. Since then, churches have been planted across the United States with a vision to see more reproducing churches established internationally. As of 2022, the Antioch Movement's public network list claims "over 40 churches in the United States."

Their 2022 North American public list is as follows:

• Antioch Phoenix
• Antioch Little Rock
• Antioch Northwest Arkansas
• All Peoples Church (San Diego)
• Antioch Fullerton
• Epicentre Church (Pasadena)
• Epicentre West LA
• Hope Community Church (Los Angeles)
• Antioch Ft. Collins
• Antioch Washington D.C.
• Antioch Indianapolis
• Antioch Wichita
• Antioch Baton Rouge
• Antioch New Orleans
• Antioch Beverly
• Antioch Brighton
• Antioch Waltham
• All Peoples Tijuana
• Antioch Ann Arbor
• Antioch Detroit
• Paradox Church (Warren)
• Waypoint Church (Omaha)
• Antioch Boone
• Antioch Raleigh
• Antioch Norman
• Antioch Oklahoma City
• Antioch Central Houston
• Antioch College Station
• Antioch Dallas
• Antioch Ft. Worth
• Antioch Galveston
• Antioch Houston
• Antioch North Austin
• Antioch South Austin
• Antioch Waco
• CrossBridge Community Church (San Antonio)
• Antioch Salt Lake City
• Mosaic Community Church North Seattle
• Mosaic Community Church Eastside (Bellevue)

Their 2022 international public list is as follows:

• Antioch Sheffield
• Antioch Aberdeen
• Antioch Banff
• Antioch Elgin
• Antioch Cape Town
• Antioch Stellenbosch
• Antioch Mongolia.

• Grace Alliance Mental Health, a support group ministry for members, by members, who suffer mental health that are intended to "fill in the gaps" of overloaded local mental health care facilities and professionals.
• Haiti Transformed, a ministry committed to partner with the Haitian people to see their region transformed and redeveloped located in Leogane, Haiti. In 2011, Haiti Transformed constructed over 100 homes in Leogane, over 30 of which were completed through a partnership with the Passion Movement.
• Living Hope Ministries, an organization that "practices sexual orientation change efforts" and has been accused of engaging in conversion therapy, are partners with three churches in the Antioch Movement: Antioch Waco, Antioch Community Church Bryan, and Antioch Norman.
• Restoration Gateway, a church planting and orphanage project located in Uganda.

• Chip Gaines
• Joanna Gaines
• Dayna Curry
• Heather Mercer