Draft:Master's Commission

  • Comment: Too much of this is sourced from social media - Medium, Reddit, Spotify, YouTube. There seems to be a bias to the article overall. The whole piece is "source attribution" led, so rather than being a summary of reliable sources, it tends to reel off source attribution over focus on the content of the sources. ChrysGalley (talk) 13:29, 23 May 2026 (UTC)

Master's Commission is a Pentecostal discipleship and ministry training program for young adults. It began in 1984 at Phoenix First Assembly of God in Phoenix, Arizona, and later expanded into local church-based programs in the United States and other countries.

A 2007 doctoral dissertation at Asbury Theological Seminary defined a Master's Commission program as a one- to three-year program housed in a local church. The dissertation described the programs as providing advanced discipleship training, local and world evangelism, and ministry development for young adults, usually ages 18 to 25.[1]

Independent newspaper coverage described local Master's Commission programs as church-based leadership, Bible training, and character-development programs for young adults.[2][3] Former participants have also publicly discussed their experiences in Master's Commission programs, and some have characterized the program as a cult.[4][5][6]

History

Master's Commission began in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1984. The official Master's Commission International Network website identifies Pastor Larry Kerychuk and Pastor Carmen Balsamo as early leaders of the program.[7] Kerychuk was a staff member at Phoenix First Assembly of God and a co-founder of Master's Commission.[8]

The program began with 12 participants.[8] An official Master's Commission USA video also states that the program began with 12 participants and describes its early setting as "a converted biker bar".[9]

Lloyd Ziegler later became one of the main leaders associated with Master's Commission. He served as longtime director of the Phoenix and Los Angeles programs.[8] The official Master's Commission International Network website says Ziegler was later appointed director and formed the Master's Commission International Network.[7]

Sources give different dates for the formation of the Master's Commission International Network. An official Master's Commission USA video states that the network began in 1995 to help develop programs in the United States and internationally.[9] A profile published by The Jim Bakker Show states that Ziegler founded Master's Commission International Network in 1997 as a worldwide network of more than 90 affiliated programs.[10]

Master's Commission expanded through local church-based programs. In 1989, a Master's Commission program began in Spokane, Washington, through Harvest Christian Fellowship. A 1996 article in The Spokesman-Review described the Spokane program as a yearlong religious program for young adults ages 18 to 25 and reported that it attracted students from outside the United States.[2]

In 1993, Rockford Master's Commission began at First Assembly of God in Rockford, Illinois. Enrichment Journal, published by the General Council of the Assemblies of God, stated that the Rockford program began with 19 students and later grew to more than 130 students and staff.[11]

In 1997, Lewis County Master's Commission began in Centralia, Washington, according to a first-person Medium series titled An American Christian. The author states that the program began with four students and later included first-, second-, and third-year students.[12]

By 2003, Master's Commission had about 150 groups and 2,400 students in the United States, with additional groups overseas.[8] A 2003 religion brief in The Washington Post identified the Gettysburg branch of Master's Commission of Harvest Christian Fellowship as a leadership and Bible training program for teens and young adults.[3] Coastal Church in Vancouver, Canada, described Master's Commission as an eight-month discipleship program offered at the church in 2003 for people seeking to grow spiritually and serve God.[13]

In 2006, The Chronicle reported that Generation Training Center in Centralia, Washington, had started as Lewis County Master's Commission.[14]

By the late 2000s, Master's Commission programs had spread beyond their early Phoenix base into multiple U.S. regions and international church settings. In 2007, Enrichment Journal stated that programs had spread across the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Central America.[11]

A Master's Commission program also operated at Wasilla Assembly of God in Alaska. In 2008, Christianity Today republished a statement from Wasilla Assembly of God saying that Sarah Palin had spoken at the graduation service of "Master's Commission Wasilla Alaska", which the church described as its School of Ministry.[15]

Program model

Master's Commission programs were usually based in local churches rather than traditional colleges. A 2007 Asbury Theological Seminary dissertation described the programs as local church-based ministry training for young adults, often including discipleship, evangelism, ministry development, and sometimes residential community life.[1]

Programs varied by location. Local Master's Commission programs were autonomous, though about half were affiliated with a Phoenix-based network that was intended to preserve the program's standards and original focus.[8]

The Spokane program, as described by The Spokesman-Review in 1996, included prayer, Bible reading, classes, church assistance, and volunteer work. The article reported that the program had 25 enrolled students, charged $2,200 for a year of instruction, and housed out-of-town students with church members.[2]

The Gettysburg branch of Master's Commission of Harvest Christian Fellowship was described by The Washington Post in 2003 as a leadership and Bible training program for teens and young adults.[3]

Enrichment Journal described Master's Commission as a model of ministry training inside the local church. In its description of Rockford Master's Commission, the article said students worked with church staff, shadowed pastors, attended classes, memorized scripture, and took part in outreach and missions work.[11]

Writer Rob Fee described working with Master's Commission in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Orlando, Florida, in a 2013 article for VICE. Fee described Master's Commission as a Bible-college-like organization that combined ministry education with hands-on work.[16]

Growth and oversight

Master's Commission programs were part of a larger growth in church-based training within Assemblies of God churches. The Asbury Theological Seminary dissertation studied church-based Bible institutes and Master's Commission programs in the Great Lakes region of the Assemblies of God.[1]

The dissertation said church-based training centers were common in the Assemblies of God and could give students direct experience in spiritual development and ministry work. It also found that many church-based Bible institutes and Master's Commission programs did not have a clearly stated process for development and oversight.[1]

The study noted rapid growth in church-based Bible institutes and Master's Commission programs. According to the dissertation, the number of church-based Bible institutes reported in the General Council of the Assemblies of God grew from 665 in 2000 to 1,199 in 2004. Reported enrollment grew from 12,186 to 14,693 during the same period.[1]

Current status

Master's Commission continued after its early Phoenix-based period as a decentralized model of local church-based programs. Because programs have operated through local churches and affiliated networks, current programs using the Master's Commission name may differ in length, structure, leadership, and relationship to the Master's Commission International Network.[1][7]

Cause IQ lists Master's Commission International Network as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Huntsville, Alabama. The listing describes the organization's revenue as annual contributions from affiliated local Master's Commission programs that participate in the network and use the Master's Commission name and resources.[17]

Master's Commission USA later became associated with Texas. A 2015 MCIN Summit speaker page listed Lloyd Ziegler as "MCIN CEO/MC USA Director" and gave his location as Dallas, Texas.[18]

Former-participant accounts and cult allegations

Some former participants have publicly described Master's Commission as a cult.

In 2025, a Reddit discussion posted in r/Exvangelical asked whether other former participants had attended Master's Commission and described the poster's experience in the Fort Myers, Florida program.[19]

In 2024, OnTheStacks published an interview titled "I'm a Cult Survivor: Former Member of Masters Commission" featuring Amber Viola.[6] In the interview, Viola described attending a Master's Commission program after high school and discussed her later view of the program as a cult.[20]

The podcast My Culty College has published episodes discussing Master's Commission and former-participant experiences.[21]

In 2021, the podcast Let's Talk About Sects released an episode about Master's Commission featuring former participant Remy Attig. The episode page states that Attig grew up in the Assemblies of God church, joined Master's Commission shortly before his 17th birthday, and left Master's Commission and the Assemblies of God church at age 20. The episode description states that, in hindsight, Attig believed Master's Commission was a cult.[4]

In 2020, a first-person Medium series titled An American Christian discussed the author's experiences in a local Master's Commission-related program. The series describes Lewis County Master's Commission and Generation Training Center, including local leadership, student-year structure, rules, infractions, and a disciplinary practice called "Monday Club".[22][23][12][24][25]

In 2018, an article in Grunge about cult recruitment discussed Lisa Kerr's account of Master's Commission. The article quoted Kerr's description of being convinced that joining Master's Commission would mean joining an elite group of "soldiers for Christ".[26]

In 2013, Lisa Kerr published a first-person essay on HuffPost titled "How Cults Gain Power Over an Individual: a True Story". Kerr wrote that she was introduced to Master's Commission in 1997 while attending a charismatic church in California. She later came to describe the group as a cult.[5]

In 2006, a discussion thread on Blender Artists was titled "Master's Commission Cult?" and included user-generated discussion about the program.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Williams, Donald F. (2007). Assessing the Church-Based Bible Institutes and Master's Commission Programs of Assemblies of God Churches in the Great Lakes Region (Doctor of Ministry dissertation). Asbury Theological Seminary. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c Culver, Nina (June 22, 1996). "Young-Adult Challenge: Master's Commission Character-Development Program Attracts International Interest". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c "Loudoun Religion News". The Washington Post. April 10, 2003. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  4. ^ a b "Master's Commission". Let's Talk About Sects. February 17, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  5. ^ a b Kerr, Lisa (September 26, 2013). "How Cults Gain Power Over an Individual: a True Story". HuffPost. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  6. ^ a b "I'm a Cult Survivor: Former Member of Masters Commission". The Weekender. August 22, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c "Master's Commission". Master's Commission International Network. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  8. ^ a b c d e Kilpatrick, Joel (February 28, 2003). "He Dares to Give Love". Charisma. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  9. ^ a b Overview of Master's Commission USA. YouTube. Master's Commission USA. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  10. ^ "Lloyd Ziegler". The Jim Bakker Show. August 11, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  11. ^ a b c DeWeerdt, Jeremy (Winter 2007). "Master's Commission: A Generation Equipped To Influence Its Culture" (PDF). Enrichment Journal. General Council of the Assemblies of God: 59–60. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  12. ^ a b "An American Christian Chapter III: Master's Commission and Generation Training Center". Medium. October 26, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  13. ^ Kepkay, Karen. "The Great Reveal". Coastal Church. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  14. ^ "Training a Generation: Centralia School Offers Christian Leadership Skills". The Chronicle. January 28, 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  15. ^ "Palin's Former Church Swamped with Web Hits". Christianity Today. September 3, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  16. ^ Fee, Rob (November 25, 2013). "I Spent a Decade Working for Churches (and It Was the Worst)". VICE. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  17. ^ "Master's Commission International Network". Cause IQ. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  18. ^ "Pastor Lloyd Ziegler - MCIN Summit 2015". Sched. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  19. ^ "Masters Commission Survivors?". Reddit. 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  20. ^ I'm a Cult Survivor: Former Member of Masters Commission. YouTube. OnTheStacks Podcast. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  21. ^ "My Culty College". Spotify. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  22. ^ "An American Christian Chapter I: The Church". Medium. October 26, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  23. ^ "An American Christian Chapter II: The Joneses". Medium. October 26, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  24. ^ "An American Christian Chapter IV: Master's Commission and Generation Training Center Part 2". Medium. October 27, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  25. ^ "Monday Club: An American Christian Mini-Post I". Medium. October 31, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  26. ^ Markarian, Taylor (January 29, 2018). "How Cults Trick You Into Believing". Grunge. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  27. ^ "Master's Commission Cult?". Blender Artists Community. October 26, 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2026.

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