• Different Gospel: Wellspring Church adds exclusive teachings that set it apart from historic Christianity.

• Only “True” Church: Wellspring Church claims to hold restored truth and only authentic form of worship.

• Total Control: Wellspring Church demands lifelong loyalty and submission to church leadership.

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Wellspring adheres to many orthodox Christian beliefs including: The Fallen State of Man, The Eternality of God, The Incarnation, The Virgin Birth, The Full Deity and Full Humanity of Jesus Christ, The Passion, Death, Burial, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ.

 

​Although Wellspring markets itself as just a local church, it holds distinctive beliefs which make them feel special and separates them from mainstream Christianity. In their minds, maintaining fidelity to these beliefs justifies the practice of shunning and breaking up families. This website exists to warn believers and seekers of these beliefs and behaviors in advance.

 

Wellspring Church's distinctive beliefs rest atop several concepts: ​

 

1) Restorational Doctrine: Wellspring believes their doctrines are the pure, revealed doctrines of the early church. They claim these truths were lost soon after the original apostles died. They believe that God has fully “restored” these truths to them. These foundational doctrines were taught to them by the founder of Wellspring Church and self-proclaimed "apostle" Norman H. James.

 

Since no other church holds the entirety of their distinctive blend of "restored" doctrines, they do not recognize other churches as having fully restored truth or fully correct Christian doctrine.   

 

2) Worship Authenticity:  Wellspring believes that its worship is the only true and fully restored pattern of Christian worship. They teach that it reflects both the worship of the New Testament church and the worship of heaven. Specifically, they understand true worship "in spirit and truth" to be expressed through weekly congregational speaking in tongues (everyone in the congregation speaking in tongues concurrently), followed by opportunities for prophecy.

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Although this pattern closely resembles forms of worship that have long been practiced in Pentecostal revival traditions, what distinguishes Wellspring is not simply the practice itself, but the claim that it is the restored apostolic standard for the true church. Churches that do not follow this pattern are therefore not regarded as "worshiping in the Spirit" or practicing true worship.

 

3) Emphasis on Church Authority: Formerly to the "apostle", now subject to the board of elders, obedience and submission to church authority is paramount in this group. Scripture verses discussing church authority are highly regarded. Those who challenge church leadership often report being publicly corrected, humiliated, or pressured to submit through practices described elsewhere on this website. Those who repeatedly challenge or disobey the leadership are compared to those who practice witchcraft and are ostracized by the group.

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4) Church Membership: Wellspring requires a "church membership commitment" which they consider a lifelong commitment to both God and the leadership of the church. They teach that one must permanently remain in the church they were “born in”, either physically or spiritually. This expectation puts members under extreme psychological pressure to remain in the community, similar to other cults and high control groups. Members fear leaving Wellspring Church because they fear breaking their church commitment, which the leadership likens to a marriage commitment. 

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None of Wellspring Church's leaders have attended seminary or earned a theological degree. More significantly, the church has generally viewed formal theological education with skepticism, often portraying seminaries and Bible schools as sources of doctrinal error. As a result, its leaders have been shaped almost exclusively by the teachings of Wellspring's founder and the church's internal theological tradition rather than by the broader history of Christian theology.

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It is important to understand that Wellspring Church employs language and terms familiar to Christians, but their internal definition of that terminology differs profoundly from Christian churches. As we will demonstrate, Wellspring's internal definition of church membership, worship, salvation, being born again, God's sovereignty, the Trinity, sonship, the kingdom of God and other doctrines are radically different from Christian churches that use the same terms.