Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship

Infobox Company
company_name = Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship
company_
company_type = Nonprofit Religious Organization
foundation = Toronto 1994
location = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
key_people = Founding Pastors:
John and Carol Arnott
Senior Pastors:
Steve and Sandra Long
Board of Directors: (As of 2007)
John G Arnott, President
Carol S Arnott, Member
June Bain, Treasurer
Joe Call, Member
Stephen Long, Vice President
Alan Macdonald, Member
Jeremy Sinnott, Secretary Duncan Smith, Member
industry =
products =
revenue = $7,606,860 (2006, CRA)
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees = 89 full time
12 part time (2006, CRA)
subsid =
homepage = [http://www.tacf.org/ www.tacf.org]
footnotes = Affiliated with Catch the Fire Ministries and the Partners in Harvest group of churches

Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (TACF) is a Christian church and religious organization in Toronto, Canada. It is a member of the Partners in Harvest group of churches and is directly affiliated with Catch the Fire Ministries. The church is famous for the Toronto blessing, an experiential religious activity which spread amongst the Charismatic church world-wide.

Origin

TACF was a church founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada around 1988 by Pastors John & Carol Arnott. The Church was licensed with the Vineyard & by 1994 it had fewer than 150 people. In January 1994 a Vineyard Pastor by the name of Randy Clark was asked to come & share. John Arnott had heard that he was blessed while at a conference with Rodney Howard-Browne. Clark had been a Vineyard pastor for eight years but was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. In the beginning it had taken him 11 months to get 11 people in his church. But after growing it large he had gotten away from what he had originally started the church in: Signs, Wonders, and Miracles. But now he was desperate and he had been touched while at this conference with Rodney Howard-Browne. Clark ended up staying months and today the church holds at least 8 conferences a year. Early in 2006 John & Carol resigned as the Senior Pastors, moving on to a new ministry, "Catch the Fire".

History and Criticism

TACF began as a tiny church (under 50) that met in various rented locations throughout Toronto. In the early 1990s the church found a more permanent home near the airport. It is located in Toronto, Ontario. Just a few meters away is the suburb of Mississauga.

The church is famous for the Toronto blessing, an experiential religious activity which spread amongst the Charismatic church world-wide. John and Carol Arnott are the founding pastors of the church and in 2006 commissioned Steve and Sandra Long as the Senior pastors to take their position.

The church was not originally a member of the Vineyard Movement, then joined the Vineyard Movement, but was 'expelled', some say, after others in the movement became critical of the church's beliefs and practices. John Wimber, the leader of the Vineyard Ministries International, met with Leaders at TACF and urged them to continue in what God was doing, but felt that he was too busy with the Vineyard Fellowships to continuously give explanations for and on behalf of TACF. As a result John Arnott and the Toronto Christian Fellowshop founded Partners in Harvest, a group churches worldwide that shared similar beliefs.

The church is also the source of the Golden Sword Prophecy. Another notable phenomenon that broke out there in March 1999 was the outbreak of allegedly instantaneous, allegedly medically documented dental 'miracles' including amalgam fillings or porcelain crowns being 'supernaturally' changed to high-quality gold.

At TACF Revival services, worshippers have exhibited unusual behaviours that they attribute to an encounter with God and the “fire of the Holy Spirit”. The most common described behaviours include laughter (or “holy laughter”), weeping, deep bowing, shaking, 'drunkenness', falling to the floor under the Holy Spirit's power (aka “slain in the Spirit”) and speaking in tongues. Other less common behaviours include manifestations that resembled roaring like lions and crying like an eagle. (See Derek Prince commentary). At one time the TACF website described it thus: “The Toronto Blessing is a transferable anointing. In its most visible form it overcomes worshippers with outbreaks of laughter, weeping, groaning, shaking, falling, 'drunkenness,' and even behaviours that have been described as a 'cross between a jungle and a farmyard.'"

Congregations

TACF currently has seven congregations meeting and one planned throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

TACF Airport

[http://www.tacf.org/Default.aspx?tabid=129 TACF Airport] is the main campus for TACF and the location of all its conferences and offices. Its Pastors are Steve and Sandra Long. As well as the main service, it also holds services for Junior High and High School students. The Senior High Pastor is Andrew Gazaneo and the Junior High Pastor is Ben Kennedy.

TACF Central

[http://www.tacf.org/tacforghome/LocalChurch/TACFCentral/tabid/511/Default.aspx TACF Central] is a young adult focused church in the heart of downtown Toronto. Its Pastors are Noel Grzetic and Andrew Gazaneo. It began in September 2005 and is situated closed to the downtown universities as a way to reach Toronto's young adults.

TACF East

[http://www.tacf.org/tacforghome/LocalChurch/TACFEast/tabid/374/Default.aspx TACF East] is a family-oriented church located in Ajax, Ontario. Its Pastors are John and Alexandra Tanyan. It is intended to serve those who live in the eastern GTA communities, including: Ajax, Bowmanville, Markham, Oshawa, Pickering, Richmond Hill, Scarborough and Whitby. TACF East is TACF's first satellite church.

TACF North

[http://www.tacf.org/tacforghome/LocalChurch/TACFNorth/tabid/517/Default.aspx TACF North] is a family-oriented church located in Newmarket, Ontario. Its Pastors are Bruno and Naomi Ierullo. TACF North serves those who live in the northern GTA communities, including North York, Richmond Hill, Aurora, Keswick, Barrie, Orangeville, Markham etc.

TACF Midtown

[http://www.tacf.org/tacforghome/LocalChurch/TACFMidtown/tabid/755/Default.aspx TACF Midtown] is a young families and young adult focused church located the Yonge and Lawrence area of Toronto. Its Pastors are Jason and Veronique Golloher and Gillian and Kevin Lea. It started in 2007 as an offshoot of TACF Central. As the number of young couples and families grew in TACF Central, it was felt that they would be better served by a church that reflected their specific needs in its meeting time and congregation.

TACF North York

[http://www.tacf.org/tacforghome/LocalChurch/TACFNorthYork/tabid/803/Default.aspx TACF North York] is a young adult focused church located North York area of Toronto. Its Pastor is Linda Cho. TACF North York serves those in the North York area and the students of York University.

TACF Vaughan

[http://www.tacf.org/tacforghome/LocalChurch/TACFNorth/NorthVaughan/tabid/830/Default.aspx TACF Vaughan] is located just north of Toronto. It is an offshoot of TACF North.

TACF Brampton

[http://www.tacf.org/tacforghome/LocalChurch/TACFBrampton/tabid/880/Default.aspx TACF Brampton] will start to hold regular meetings starting on September 21, 2008. It is pastored by Mel and Sue Natagoc and Faustin and Marina Fernando.

Planned Campuses

TACF is planning to plant new campuses in the Scarborough and Mississauga area. No dates have been set.

External links

* [http://www.tacf.org Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship Official Site]
* [http://www.ondoctrine.com/conversa/3char002.htm John Wimber and the Toronto Blessing]
* [http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/churchtimes/website/pages.nsf/httppublicpages/C76BEED3290FFFDD80256FA2000A4AF7 Church Times Article]
*Blog article by Adrian Warnock about the [http://www.adrian.warnock.info/2005/05/toronto-blessing-11-years-ago-this.htm Toronto Blessing] including overview of similar phenomena in church history
* [http://www.grmi.org/renewal/Richard_Riss/ Richard Riss on revival and Christianity]