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The History and Who is Who Behind Gospelcom.net
- Seven years after its launch, Gospelcom.net has grown to
become the most popular Christian website in the world. From
its 1995 inception with 10 alliance ministries, Gospelcom.net
has mushroomed to now include over 300 individual online ministries
working to use technology and the Internet to reach the world
with the message of Jesus Christ.
In 1994, conversations between Gospel Films Director of Marketing
Duane (Smitty) Smith and Calvin College Communications Professor
Quentin (Dr. Q) Schultze, gave birth to an idea for spreading
the Gospel on the Internet.
- The idea was presented to Gospel Films President Billy Zeoli,
who quickly caught the vision and had the team present the plan
to the Gospel Films Board of Directors. The Board, under the
chairmanship of Richard
M. DeVos, also saw the great potential for ministry in
this new medium.
Under Zeoli's leadership, the plan now included inviting other
Christian ministries to join in an online alliance to 1) promote
cooperation among likeminded organizations, 2) minimize
duplication of efforts, and 3) maximize online traffic. The GCI-sponsored
alliance was to be called the Gospel Communications Network..
In April, 1995, with Smitty as Director of Alliances, Dr. Q as
special consultant, and a host of new and existing GCI/Gospelcom
staffers and alliance members working toward the goal, Gospelcom
went online with ten ministry organizations. Since then, we have
grown to the number of organizations you see on our main page
and millions of accesses per month. But the most gratifying result
for we who are involved in this ministry has been the many
changed lives and the overwhelming response in positive feedback
we continue to receive. http://www.gospelcom.net/home/history/
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- Amway
- The Amway Corporation was founded by Jay Van Andel and Richard
M. Devos in 1959 and is headquartered in Ada, Michigan. Amway
has sister corporations and is world wide. Andel and DeVos
first realized the marketing potential of independent distributors
when they worked selling Nutrilite. In 1959, they organized their
own system of marketing through independent distributors selling
L.O.C.® Multi-Purpose Cleaner. Quickly the business took
off and, according to Amway, did a half million dollars in business
their first full year. Since its beginning, Amway has grown to
do 7 billion dollars in sales and has reached 14,000 employees
worldwide. Their plant in Ada, Michigan stretches a mile and
covers 390 acres.
- "The System": The key to Amway's success is not
the products they sell, rather the system in which they sell.
Amway does not have a traditional sales force. In fact, Amway
technically does not employ sales people, rather they sell their
products through independent contractors. It is a business made
up of small businesses. Only a small aspect of the system is
the products you sell. What truly makes a successful Amway distributor
is a person who sponsors many other distributors. Each distributor
has an "upline" which consists of the person who sponsored
them, the person who sponsored the sponsorer, and on up. A successful
distributor will also have an extensive "down line"
which consists of people who they sponsored, anyone that person
may sponsor, and on down. A distributor not only gets money for
what they sell, but they also get a bonus based on how much their
"down line" may sell. Therefore a person with a very
large down line may never have to sell a product themselves,
yet still make a lot of money.
Amway as a Para-Religion
Classifying Amway as a Para-Religion: Much to the Amway Corporation's
dismay, Amway has often been compared to religious groups or
even "cults." Although Amway is a non-religious entity
(ultimately it's a business!), it shares many features with religion.
It seems Amway would fall into the category of the "para-religious."
According to Arthur Greil, the para-religious are "phenomena
that clearly fall outside the American folk category of religion
but which nonetheless seem to be "like" religion in
certain notable ways."
Amway and the Entrepreneurial Model of Religious Formation:
As a possible explanation for religious formation, Rodney Stark
and William Bainbridge have presented the entrepreneurial model
to show how certain religions may have formed and grow. Although
Amway does not fit the traditional definition of a religion,
Amway seems to have formed in a similar way. The entrepreneurial
model notes that religious founders may consciously develop new
compensator-systems in order to exchange them for great rewards.
The entrepreneur is often stimulated by prior involvement
in a religious movement, are open to experimentation and
restructuring of their products, and are motivated by a desire
for profit. Motivation to enter the movement is stimulated
by the perception that such business can be profitable.
De Voss and Andel .. carefully constructed their business
around a great vision which would hopefully attract as many potential
distributors as possible: the American Dream. It is of no coincidence
that Amway's name (although it cannot be used for legal
purposes) stands for "the American Way." The
key to gaining distributors is promoting the vision of free-enterprise,
financial success, and the feeling of operating your own business.
Amway is specifically structured so that everybody has the same
potential for success... Amway is carefully constructed with
a grand reward system. http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/Amway.html
Who Is Reaping What?
Detroit Free Press/October 8, 1997 - By Doron Levin - DeVos
received a heart transplant. "For the past month, DeVos
was recuperating in the western coastal town of Viareggio, Italy,
aboard his 125-foot sailboat, Freedom, watching construction
of his new 175-foot sailboat, Independence. Once Independence
is completed next summer, DeVos and his wife, Helen, plan a two-year
cruise around the world, joined at various times by his four
children, their spouses and 13 grandchildren. "We're a very
close family, we do things together and we decide things as a
family," said Dan DeVos, 39, Tuesday before his father's
arrival. A year ago the DeVos family had a much tougher issue
to resolve than which exotic ports to visit: Should Dad keep
trying to cheat nature with a failing heart? Or should he go
forward with an offer -- one that had been very tough to secure
-- to seek a heart transplant in Great Britain?
"His heart was slowly winding down. We watched him progressively
losing energy," said Dan DeVos. "Once we got through
the initial shock of the offer in London, it really was a family
decision. We knew it was all or nothing.... He will make it or
he won't." In 1983, Rich DeVos -- whose net worth Forbes
magazine estimates at $2.4 billion -- had a heart-bypass operation
and remained in pretty good health until the early 1990s."
http://www.rickross.com/reference/amway/amway24.html
Affiliates of Amway
Quixtar
[Ednote: study the symbol of Quixtar: it contains the sun,
symbol of skull and bones and the pyramid. Is it any wonder]
IBOs Generate Record Quixtar Sales of $1.1 Billion in Fiscal
2004. Bonuses and Incentives Earned Up $30 Million for the Year.
Independent Business Owners (IBOs) powered by Quixtar's I-commerce
business model generated record sales of $1.1 billion for the
fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2004, up $65 million from the previous
year.
In addition, IBOs created $68.5 million in revenues for Quixtar's
online Partner Stores and Services, up $10.2 million from fiscal
2003. For their business efforts, IBOs earned more than $373
million in bonuses and incentives, up $30 million from the previous
year. "We're certainly pleased with the financial results
of the past fiscal year, but the biggest success belonged to
IBOs who achieved record growth," said Ken McDonald, Managing
Director of Quixtar. "IBOs earned a record number of bonuses
and incentives this year, and we continue to look for new products
to enhance their businesses and help them attract younger and
more diverse IBOs and customers." http://www.quixtar.com/About/Default.aspx
Access Business Group
[Ednote: Symbolism, pyramid and the sun]: Jay Van Andel
1924 - 2004 Expert Business Solutions
Gospel Communication International
Matthew 6:21-24 For where your treasure is, there will
your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore
thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But
if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.
If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great
is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he
will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to
the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
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- Gospelcom.net Ministries as of March 27, 2005 has drawn into
its network some 300 different online Christian ministries
comprise the Gospelcom.net alliance, ranging greatly in size,
vision, and purpose. Among them are some very popular ones. The
list includes: Forest Home Christian Conference Center
[founded in 1937 by Henrietta Mears who taught the original five
Henrietta Mears, Louis H. Evans Jr., Richard C. Halverson, Billy
Graham and Bill Bright. (1 John 4:5 - "
They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and
the world heareth them.") Armin Gesswein ~C.E. Fuller,
Harold Ockenga, J. Edwin Orr, Armin Gesswein and Henrietta Mears
were friends and co-workers who layed the groundwork for the
workers who prepared to follow them and become "world changers"
and "expendables for Christ" . Working together they
established the ecumenical campus movements which has
become the method of continual change as demonstrated in articles
such as Joel's Global Police Force. The combined resources in
these article traces the move of Reconstructionism and Manifest
Sons of God Doctrine into the 'evangelical' and fundamentalist
church, which we discuss in our other articles as well.. The
goal is a 'theocracy', which does not fit with Biblical doctrine,
but rather the apostasy of the antichrist. The acceptance of
the various movements and their teachings all combines into the
attitude and spirituality necessary for the eventual worship
of the beast. C. E. Fuller was founder of Fuller Theological
Seminary, in Pasadena, CA. Mr. Fuller was one of the earliest
speakers on Christian radio. His "Pilgrims Hour" and
"Old Fashioned Revival Hour" laid the groundwork for
a global ministry that has transcended denominational barriers
and which formulated the ecumenical pastoring evident throughout
churches and television and radio evangelism. The radio shows
eventually siphoned off church dollars into the global movement
and numerous other para church organizations. Dr. Fuller taught
at Henrietta Mears's Forest Home Christian Conference Center
and promoted Mears and her Forest Home conferences on his radio
show, the Old Fashioned Revival Hour. Fuller would announce the
conferences and encourage his listeners to attend in order to
work toward revival, which he and the others had as the ultimate
goal. http://www.seekgod.ca/fuller1.htm
]
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- Others on this list are: The Lausanne Committee for World
Evangelization, Billy Graham Center, Calvary Church
[Ednote: Dave Hunt frequently speaks at Chuck Smith's Calvary
Church and became tied into this global community, but he denies
being a member of the CNP (Council of National Policy) and I
checked the list of members and did not find him on the list],
Answers in Genesis [Ednote: I noticed on their last newsletter
that the symbolism had changed, sure enough, they are on this
list], Intervarsity Press, Luis Palau Evangelistic
Association [Ednote: much involved with President Clinton
when in office], Maranatha, NavPress, Navigators,
Radio Luce, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries,
Regent Colllege, Stonecroft Ministries, Word
of Life Fellowship, YWAM International.
- Browse through the list below of ministries involved with
http://www.gospelcom.net/
Amway partners with UNICEF
http://www.amway.de/default.asp?zone=Amway%20und%20UNICEF&lan=DE&num=1
Amway Is A Global Community
- Amway is a global leader in multilevel marketing. Founded
in 1959, the company now operates in more than 80 markets and
territories, with more than 3 million Amway Business Owners.
Our many years of experience in responding to local markets reflects
our ability to develop products and sales opportunities all around
the world. Our global vision is to help people live better lives
and we share a commitment with our Business Owners to succeed
in building better businesses that support better lives. Ours
is a unique global community and we take great pride in the principles,
people, and products that support our international work, enabling
us to play an important and positive role in so many people’s
lives around the world. Explore the globe above or use the links
on the left to scroll the page for details about our global family.
Amway in Russia will begin operations in March, 2005. http://www.amway.com/en/GlobalComm/global-community-10339.aspx?
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Some time ago we addressed the issue of Amway since we had
a confrontation with them when we first joined the Mormon Church,
but were asked to remove the information because they are not
a church. We accidentally came upon this information through
the http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ when they suddenly disconnected
from Gospelcom.net. We started researching and wanted to know
why? Much information became available from other sources as
well by email.
- Following are some websites that feature critical information
about Amway and sister companies.
- The Sceptic's Dictionary
http://skepdic.com/amway.html
This site presents facts, opinions, and other information that
is critical of the Amway business, as well as its distributors,
Quixtar (its "sister company"), and Alticor (its parent
company).
http://www.cocs.com/jhoagland/
- ex-cult Resource Center
http://www.ex-cult.org/Groups/Amway/
- Rick Ross
- http://www.rickross.com/groups/amway.html
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