Gospel Outreach (Humboldt)

Gospel Outreach was a Christian Church which emerged in Northern California in 1970 as part of the Jesus movement.[1] Originally located at Table Bluff, in Humboldt County, California, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of Fields Landing, at an elevation of 318 feet (97 m) on a bluff adjacent to the Pacific Ocean,[2] the local movement still exists with a school and Church in Eureka, California which was completed in 2009.[3]

1951 view of Coast Guard Station that became "The Lighthouse Ranch" before most of buildings were razed, leaving the signal building. The Table Bluff Lighthouse (lower left) was moved to Eureka's Woodley Island Marina located in Humboldt Bay in 1987.

Lighthouse Ranch

During the 1960s, members of the hippie counterculture sought a simple life; many were drawn to areas away from large cities and getting back to the land. "Lighthouse Ranch" was an abandoned Coast Guard station, 11 miles south of Eureka, California, situated on the hippie trail that then extended along the west coast of California.[4] The ranch was acquired by real estate agent and pastor, Jim Durkin who purchased 8 acres (32,000 m2) of the surplus Coast Guard property from Norman Kenneth Smith, an evangelical minister, in 1970.[5] Renamed "Lighthouse Ranch," it became a stop over for young adults seeking spiritual direction.[6][7] Young travelers visited, some stayed, building alternative dwellings such as geodesic domes out of wood, and working the land. Building plans were published in the Whole Earth Catalog as part of the Back-to-the-land movement.[8]

The ranch was subsequently owned by Sabine Ball a German evangelist and manager of social projects who, in later years of her life, returned to her roots in Dresden, Germany as a Christian evangelist.[9]

Church Growth

By 1972, Gospel Outreach Lighthouse Ranch had grown to almost 300 members.[1] The group started attending a local Assembly of God church in Eureka and asked the minister Jim Durkin to lead Gospel Outreach.[1] Within a few years the Lighthouse Ranch sent out planting teams all over the world. Throughout the 1970s and 80's, missionary teams established churches in Palmer, Alaska, Chicago, Brooklyn, New York, Silverton, Oregon, Philadelphia, Germany, United Kingdom, Nicaragua, and Hawaii.[1] With 100 affiliated churches worldwide the Gospel Outreach network is one of the denominational legacies of the Jesus People Movement.[1] One of the most important components of this legacy was the group's involvement in Guatemala. They converted the military officer, Efrain Rios Montt who subsequently become dictator of the country and was advised and supported by Gospel Outreach elders in his genocidal war against peasants seeking land reform.[10] Gospel Outreach has never publicly acknowledged it's role in providing spiritual succor and support to a campaign of genocide, even after Rios Montt was convicted. Members involved still claim that Rios Montt is just misunderstood. As recently as 2013 they are still defending Rios Montt.[11]

Central Message

In the 1970s Jim Durkin preached a pivotal message "God's Purpose And Vision for your Life" that was very similar to the message later developed by Rick Warren.[12] Durkin also emphasized repentance, as in a need for a follower of Christ to experience a "turning away' from past wrongful behaviors. This concept was readily understood by young people who had recently identified themselves as hippies.[13]

Durkin practiced what he preached, as he himself was a compassionate, humble, encouraging and caring individual who emphasized the importance of considering the needs of others first, and the personal growth of each individual.[14] The name "Gospel Outreach" reflected the words of Jesus, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel (good news) to the whole creation.[15] The Jesus that Durkin preached however, at time seemed to be more of a prophet of US capitalist imperialism than the voice of a Jewish prophet. Durkin saw his Jesus as a warrior against the social justice pursued by Christian liberation theologians in South America and a defender of natural resources as a gift for capitalists and not communists.[16] Given the fact that early Christians were forbidden from joining the military, and the Jesus of the gospels speaks of turning the other cheek, one wonders about the sources of Durkin's gospel which used the cosmic conflict between Satan and Jesus as support for military dictatorship and genocide.[17]

In Literature

Two nonfiction books were written featuring the experiences of individuals involved with Lighthouse Ranch.[6][7]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Balmer, Randall Herbert. Durkin, Jim (1925-1996), Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism. p. 182.
  2. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Table Bluff
  3. ↑ Sczepanski, David. "Gospel Outreach of Eureka". Gospel Outreach Reformational Church. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  4. ↑ Hainey, Michael, Feb 2010, Exploring California's Northern Coast
  5. ↑ Balmer, Randall Herbert. Durkin, Jim (1925-1996), Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism. page 182. 26 March 2012
  6. 1 2 Fallon, D'Arcy (1 July 2004). So Late, So Soon: A Memoir. Hawthorne Books. pp. 224 pages. ISBN 978-0-9716915-3-7.
  7. 1 2 Anfuso, Joseph (5 March 2010). Message in a Body. Pediment Publishing. pp. 247 pages. ISBN 978-1-59725-253-9.
  8. ↑ Whole Earth blog
  9. ↑ Rivers, Grace. "A Saint Has Gone Home, Sabine Ball". Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  10. ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/1994-09-18/opinion/op-39942_1_rios-montt
  11. ↑ http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/preacher-ties-guatemala-dictator-efrain-4012289
  12. ↑ Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, 26 March 2012
  13. ↑ The Jesus movement, Larry Eskridge, "Jesus People" in Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley, David B. Barrett, Encyclopedia of Christianity "The beginnings of the Jesus People movement can be traced to the San Francisco Bay area, where in 1965 a group of young bohemian converts began to gather within John MacDonald's First Baptist Church in Mill Valley, California."
  14. ↑ James Frank Durkin, 26 March 2012
  15. ↑ Mark 16:15-16 King James Bible at Gateway March, 2012
  16. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/04/06/leaders-faith-puzzling/a3b6018c-902e-4814-98cc-374ee34e1ede/
  17. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=-ojiw8UP-X0C&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87&dq=jim+durkin+and+rios+montt&source=bl&ots=__Tr9VatYE&sig=jslCCRYW7ZU4lYpxg7IirLroikU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiR19LSvP3LAhUjLKYKHTOiDaEQ6AEIPjAF#v=onepage&q=jim%20durkin%20and%20rios%20montt&f=false

External links

Coordinates: 40°39′29″N 124°12′59″W / 40.65806°N 124.21639°W / 40.65806; -124.21639

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