Packing In Those Canadian Tithe Dollars

Just what is David Pack's RCG doing in Canada?

David C. Pack, former Worldwide Church of God minister, affectionately known by many as the 'Packatollah', founded and operates a new kind of triple-tithe Worldwide Church of God based on cloning the old one- his very own Restored Church of God (RCG) knockoff brand from the Radio Church of God 'original'.

After parting ways with Rod Meredith, Pack incorporated his own RCG in Ohio on June 15, 1999. RCG headquarters is now located in leased office space at One Park Center Drive, Suite 209 in Wadsworth, OH. Pack appointed an initial board of three members consisting of himself as president, along with William P. Ambrose and John B. Holcomb as directors.

Pack then incorporated the RCG in Canada on December 23, 1999 with an initial address of 1006 East-West Line RR#2, Niagara-On-The-Lake Ontario, Canada. Besides himself, Pack appointed two others to serve for his Canadian board of directors.

Just how has Pack been doing since then? Financially, that is. The Canada Revenue Agency provided us with a peek inside the financial back office of RCG's Canadian church operation. Ambassador Reports has reviewed the last five years of financial reporting RCG has sent to the Canadian government, compiling a convenient summary of it for the first time on the Internet exclusively for Ambassador Reports readers to review. Here is the page link for viewing it (click on the following): RCG Canadian Financial Data, 2000-2005

As you can tell from the income section of the above website link, tithes and donations have increased in Canada from $76,976 (beginning in 2000) to $189,246 for fiscal year 2005. That makes for a grand total catch of $836,392 through 2005 in tithes and donations. It more than likely by now has exceeded past the million dollar mark on the RCG Canada donation 'thermometer'. Of course, the Ambassador Reports financial summary here represents just one Canadian slice of the total RCG donation 'pie'. It does not cover any tithes and contributions to RCG originating from inside the United States, which would be materially significant in amount by comparison.

What does the RCG say what is done with tithes and offerings donated in Canada?

"The Church prints, publishes and distributes materials regarding the church's beliefs and practises [sic] to various locations worldwide. In order to send materials to locations outside of Canada, the church employs the services of the Restored Church of God (Ohio), on behalf of the church, prints, publishes and distributes the church's materials." Source: 2000 CRA report (emphasis mine).

The 2005 RCG report mentions Canadians do get the service of one local ordained elder in Canada to serve the spiritual needs of Canadians who is "without remunerations", that is, serving without any pay.

The RCG also claims in the 2005 report that 85 cents out of a dollar donated goes to religious publishing and broadcasting, and about 15 cents out of a dollar goes to the support of local congregations.

RCG Canada, with only minimal assets listed on its balance sheet, is taking on the characteristic of a shell corporation. In compiling this financial summary, it appears the majority of the Canadian money donated is moved out of Canada and spent as the Restored Church of God packs those Canadian tithe dollars into its Wadsworth, Ohio coffers.

What does the RCG say about why it collects a third tithe? In an article on tithing, it states "Notice the phrases “the third year” and “the year of tithing.” The third year refers to the third and the sixth year in a seven-year cycle. The seventh year in this cycle is called “the year of release.” Every third year of seven during a Christian’s life, he is to pay an additional third tithe. This is called the year of tithing because this is the maximum number of tithes a person is commanded to pay."

For exactly what intended purpose does the RCG give for collecting this third tithe? It says further in the tithing article:

"Third tithe is used to support the needy within the Church—those unable to support themselves. This is a special tithe, in that it is God’s “insurance plan” for those less fortunate. This can be a child who has lost his father, a woman who has lost her husband or any person who has temporarily lost a primary source of income."

Helping those are less fortunate in life by collecting a mandatory third tithe might possibly be an admirable pursuit for the charitable purposes of a church. However, there is absolutely no evidence in these financial reports sent to the Canadian government of third tithe being set aside in a restricted fund or actually being kept in a separate bank account for the specific intended charitable purpose of helping the less fortunate. This is the way it legally should be held in trust to prevent mixing, or commingling of third tithe with general funds collected for other intended purposes, say for erecting a headquarters building or building an unaccredited school of liberal arts and theology. So for what is the third tithe money being collected actually being spent for by the RCG anyway? Jet travels to Petra, maybe?

Any legitimate church, which demands payments of: a 10% first tithe, excess second tithe, an extreme third tithe from donors in addition to first tithe, special offerings, a tithe of the second tithe, and firstfruits should to be asked to account for how every penny of third tithe was actually spent. Donors are being placed in the highly uncomfortable position of not knowing if it is actually being used for the specifically intended charitable purpose of helping widows, orphans, and the destitute as promised, or for less than honorable reasons.

Link: RCG Canadian Financial Data, 2000-2005