The Way International - Splinter Groups

Splinter Groups

By the early 1990s, following the 1982 retirement of Wierwille and his death in 1985, a number of splinter groups had formed from the main body of The Way.

• Christian Family Fellowships
• The American Fellowship Services
• Christian Biblical Counsel (renamed Living Hope in 2005)
• Great Lakes Fellowship
• Pacific West Fellowship
• Spirit & Truth Fellowship International* (also Christian Educational Services, 2005)
• The Foundation of Life (2008)
• Living Truth Fellowship (2009)
• Philadelphia Bible Teaching Fellowship
• Outreach of God's Word, (Newark, DE)

The formation of splinter groups took place in the wake of actions by L. Craig Martindale after his appointment to replace Wierwille, including the implementation of new rules and beliefs, and the dissension among its leadership when Chris Geer initially read the authored 40,000 word document titled "Passing of a Patriarch" to the Trustee leadership and Way headquarters staff. In it, Geer claimed that Wierwille, during his final weeks, revealed observations, concerns and recommendations regarding the unbiblical direction of The Way and the lack of Biblical leadership by Martindale. The document was later read to The Way Corps who disseminated the information throughout The Way.

The splinter groups' presence as organizations became significant in 1989, when L. Craig Martindale fired all Way staff-including local "branch," "territory," "limb" and "region" leaders who did not sign an "oath of allegiance" document to him. Martindale demanded that Way leaders declare openly whether they were supporting him or Geer as titular leader of The Way. Many leaders, as well as followers, saw this demand as unbiblical and withdrew voluntarily from association from The Way. Others, including those who did not choose sides, were dismissed. Shortly afterwards, Martindale sent a letter to all members announcing the firings. In the aftermath, according to figures cited by Martindale at the 1994 Word in Business and Profession Conference in Dallas, Texas, approximately 80% of the membership at the time had left The Way either by their own decision or by being dismissed. Large numbers of ex-Way followers formed the foundation of the splinter groups.

In recent years, since Martindale stepped down from president and left The Way, administrative authority and decision making has been spread across a larger base of leaders, checks and balances.