Foursquare Church in Urbana Closed, Pastor Questions Rationale

Long-time Foursquare pastor Michael Elmore claims the church was closed and the building taken by the denomination against the congregation’s wishes.

Michael Elmore was a pastor in the Foursquare denomination for 30 years. He believes his small congregation in Urbana, Illinois, was targeted by the denomination and its property taken without justification.

“In the past, Foursquare has been loathe to close churches unless it can’t support itself, but that was not the case in Urbana. It broke the congregation’s heart,” he said.

Foursquare is a Pentecostal denomination started in 1923 by Aimee Semple McPherson. One of its most well-known leaders is Jack Hayford, who died in January. The denomination claims 8.8 million members worldwide.

In January of this year, Elmore and the congregation of Urbana Foursquare Church were considering selling their building and purchasing a smaller, less expensive property that would better suit their needs. The church, established in 1926, owned a large 10,000-square-foot building appraised at about $750,000, but the congregation consisted of only about 25 members.

The church was meeting its financial obligations and was growing, albeit slowly, Elmore said.

The year before, Foursquare denomination officials gave it some goals to meet, such as creating its own church council to govern matters, charging the community to use its building, and growing the size of the church to 100 people. Foursquare spokesperson Brad Abare agreed these goals were given, except he the membership goal was 30. Elmore said the church had met two of the goals and was engaged in outreach to grow its membership.

When Elmore called the district supervisor, Antonio Sims, to discuss the matter of selling the building, Elmore said Sims told him, “Don’t sell. I have plans for it,” adding that an announcement was coming in April. According to the Foursquare denomination’s bylaws, the denomination owns the congregation’s building, assets, and finances even though the congregation has paid for the property.

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In April, Elmore met with church leaders at a nearby church in Mahomet, Illinois, and said he was given three choices: retire and receive a $20,000 deposit into his retirement account; stay at the church but pay for the parsonage—a benefit he had received as part of his compensation; or find a different meeting time other than Sunday morning for worship and allow the Mahomet congregation to take over the building as a satellite.

“I felt forced to retire,” Elmore said. He said he was given $20,000 by the denomination. When asked about the retirement funds, Foursquare said they don’t discuss pastoral compensation. “Pastor [Elmore] was provided with a generous financial transition package to aid him in the transition. Funds for the transition did not come from separate denominational funds,” Abare told MinistryWatch. Elmore believes it was taken from the Urbana church bank account.

When the Urbana church congregation met with Foursquare denominational leaders about the fate of the church, they felt they were being forced into a corner.

“Options were discussed, but they were given to appear that we had options,” Elmore said. None of the options were acceptable to the congregation, Elmore said, and the members were very upset.

Elmore had learned of a situation in Gilroy, California, where the Pastor Mark Wilson claimed to have been locked out of the church building and fired by the denomination. Elmore thought Foursquare had learned to tread a bit more carefully than it did in California, and at least appear to give a congregation options before taking its property.

To add to the situation, Elmore said the church council voted to give him $24,000 from the church account as a housing allowance for the two years he had expected to continue as pastor of the church in Urbana.

However, Abare disputes that account. “There was not a $24,000 ‘gift.’ Not following proper protocols, the local church’s payroll vendor transferred $24,000 to Pastor [Elmore]. Pastor [Elmore] has been asked to return the money that was inadvertently transferred to him by the payroll company.”

Elmore sees it differently. He claimed the church council contacted an accountant and that the gift was made properly. However, he has agreed to return $16,000 due to the stress he said he has endured because of the Foursquare demands.

As for the Urbana church building, Elmore says it hasn’t been used since the congregation stopped meeting in June. According to Foursquare, the Mahomet Foursquare church is authorized to operate the Urbana property as a campus and for ministry partnership to serve the local community.

“The intention is to maintain a Foursquare presence in Urbana. Foursquare has a rich history and legacy in Urbana and has no plans to discontinue being a Gospel presence for this community and beyond,” Abare said.

Elmore isn’t sure of his next plans. He is not in ministry as a pastor now and doesn’t plan to attend a Foursquare church because he “has lost faith in the organization.”

“I want to corroborate what Mark Wilson [in Gilroy] has been through and help other Foursquare churches and pastors so they don’t have to experience what I did,” Elmore said.

Main photo: Photo of Urbana Foursquare Church via social media