Mistaken Identity Results in Threats to AG Church

When the news broke about the horrific beating death of one teen and the severe beating of another teen by members of the Word of Life Christian Church in New Hartford, New York, earlier this month, people were stunned and angered by the brutality.

However, an Assemblies of God (AG) church in Baldwinsville, New York, located about 60 miles west of New Hartford, has been unjustly and mistakenly accused by individuals and even some in the media as being affiliated with the church in New Hartford. The Assemblies of God church in Baldwinsville has a similar name, Word of Life, but is an AG church and has no affiliation whatsoever with the independent Word of Life Christian Church in New Hartford.

Pastor Randy Czyz of Word of Life Assembly of God in Baldwinsville says the church has received hate mail and death threats toward him and other church members. And recently it was discovered that the confusion has been communicated around the world as reports have surfaced that some in the Russian media have mistakenly associated the AG/Pentecostal church with the church in New Hartford.

"The Word of Life Christian Church in New Hartford, New York, where this senseless tragedy occurred, is not and has never been affiliated with the Assemblies of God," states AG General Superintendent George O. Wood. "It is unfortunate that so many were quick to direct their anger and threats towards an Assemblies of God church staff and congregation who have done so much good for their community."

Dan Van Veen

Dan Van Veen is news editor of AG News. Prior to transitioning to AG News in 2001, Van Veen served as managing editor of AG U.S. Missions American Horizon magazine for five years. He attends Central Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri, where he and his wife, Lori, teach preschool Sunday School and 4- and 5-year-old Rainbows boys and girls on Wednesdays.