Controversial Wayne Jolley Ministries Appears to Be Moving from Williamson County to Dickson County

By Holly Meyer
The Tennessee
March 24, 2017

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/religion/2017/03/24/controversial-williamson-county-ministry-buys-land-dickson-county/99532090/

A sign on land in Burns, Tenn. announces that a controversial Williamson County ministry appears to be moving to Dickson County. A sign on a property in Burns, Tenn. reads "Future Home of: The Gathering International." Construction equipment is also on site.

A controversial Williamson County ministry that has been scrutinized as a cult appears to be moving to Dickson County.

Wayne Jolley Ministries, Inc. purchased about 3 acres of undeveloped land on Highway 96 in the city of Burns, according to property records from the Dickson County Register of Deeds. The ministry paid $85,000 for the property east of the city of Dickson.

The sale happened in late 2016, just over a year after a Christianity Today report revealed serious concerns with how the late Wayne Jolley treated the members of The Gathering International, a small church group connected to his ministry. Former members told the magazine that Jolley's ministry took their money, ruined families and covered up accusations of physical and sexual abuse.

A sign on the land says "Future Home of: The Gathering International."

The property is just south of Highway 47 and accessed by a gravel road off of Highway 96, one of Dickson County’s most-traveled roads. Construction equipment is on site and land clearing work has already begun with leveled trees and brush laying on both sides of the gravel road. The ministry does not have have any permits on file for the property, according to the city of Burns.

The deed for the Dickson County property was filed with the county register office on Dec. 30, 2016 and and it is signed by Linda Jolley, the wife of the late Wayne Jolley who died a year ago this month. Linda Jolley is listed as the vice president of the ministry on a 2015 tax filing.

The ministry did not immediately provide a comment to The Tennessean when reached by phone on Friday.

>Related: Controversial Williamson County pastor has died

If Wayne Jolley Ministries moves to the Dickson County property, it won't be its first address change. Internal Revenue Service and Tennessee Secretary of State records show that the ministry has used addresses in three cities — Chattanooga, Franklin and Ringgold, Ga., — in the past three decades.

"He had extensive history of moving around,” said Debbie Morrison, who had attended several of Wayne Jolley’s revivals in the Chattanooga area.

Morrison, who lives in Sparta, Tenn., is the executive director of the nonprofit Serenity Pointe. She said she stopped attending the late evangelist's revivals after an uncomfortable lunch meeting with Wayne Jolley prompted Morrison to seek out more information about the ministry. Morrison encourages everyone to do their homework.

"Be very leery. Check it out thoroughly," Morrison said. "Their past speaks for their future and you should check out their past because you want no part of their future."

Trouble for the ministry continued even after Jolley's death.

In early May 2016, the Secretary of State's Division of Charitable Solicitations, Fantasy Sports and Gaming fined the ministry $5,000 for "unfair, false, misleading or deceptive acts and practices affecting the conduct of solicitations for contributions."

Related: State fines Williamson County ministry $5,000, revokes church status

The complaint that prompted the state's investigation into the ministry accused Wayne Jolley Ministries of misusing charitable donations, including for a radio ministry with grossly overstated reach. It also drew attention to substantial renovations to a Williamson County residence owned by the late pastor. The Gathering International congregation met in the home.

The state also stripped the ministry of its church status due to a tax issue. Since the ministry files a Form 990 with the IRS, Wayne Jolley Ministries no longer qualifies for the "bona fide religious institution" exemption and needs to register with the state under the Tennessee Charitable Solicitations Act.

The ministry disputed both matters in late May and requested hearings. As of early this week, there are no new updates in the case, according to the Secretary of State's office.

Chris Gadd contributed to this report.

Reach Holly Meyer at hmeyer@tennessean.com or 615-259-8241 and on Twitter @HollyAMeyer.