Good News Chapel or Bad News Cult?
15 min read
A surprising part of the COVID pandemic is how God used it to expose the false leaders that we should not trust. During the pandemic, many church leaders revealed that they cared more about their own success than they did the congregants entrusted to their care.
There were a few pastors who made the news during the pandemic. Some orchestrated their own arrests to pretend to look like martyrs instead of the foolish leaders that they really are. Others pretend to "fight the good fight" by resisting government health measures and made a shipwreck of their congregants.
Good News Chapel leadership
The leaders of Good News Chapel, Steve Gesualdi and Jessica Gesualdi (Shuttlesworth), are an example of this. Located in the borough of Saint-Leonard in east-end Montreal, Quebec, Canada, this church made news headlines for how its leaders chose to handle the pandemic, and the consequences that ensued afterwards.
The Good News Chapel (GNC) leaders are focused on success by attempting to continually grow their individual church. Their evangelistic efforts may look sincere, but their hidden objective is to constantly increase the number of church attendees so that they can grow richer and feel more powerful.
The pandemic and church business
The COVID pandemic crippled the business model of many churches, with GNC being one of the most vocal about it. Once the pandemic hit, it was like Steve and Jessica Gesualdi both became medical doctors. They downplayed the COVID pandemic and insisted that their church would remain open, despite government mandates to remain closed. They declared that attending their church was "essential" and had to continue at all costs, despite the death tolls due to the pandemic. Their non-compliant behavior toward health mandates made news headlines for weeks.
False leaders like Steve and Jessica Gesualdi have missed the true biblical vision for the church of Jesus. The pandemic provided a much needed opportunity for "church" to become a more local and personal spiritual experience that begins in the home. Steve and Jessica Gesualdi could have encouraged and supported this, but instead, they needed to have their Sunday service. It was not because they were more spiritual than everyone else. On the contrary, they were more greedy than everyone else.
With the financial pressures of the pandemic mounting, they needed more donation money to come in. The best way to coerce people to donate money is to do it in-person. It doesn't work as well doing it remotely over a Zoom call or a YouTube livestream.
Since Steve and Jessica's salaries are tied to the church, they needed that donation money to get paid. Why couldn't Steve and Jessica Gesualdi get jobs like normal people do? Are they that much better than everyone else? Even the apostle Paul had a job that was in no way related to faith (Acts 18:1-4). He was a tentmaker by trade and made his money working hard with his hands so that he would not burden others by living off their donations.
The financial pressures of the pandemic even affected the wealthier churches, such as that of pastor John MacArthur. Once donation money started dwindling, John MacArthur also started resisting government health measures and kept his church open. He ended up putting his own sheep at risk of serious illness and death, only to secure more of their donation money for his own benefit, ego, and pride.
A person who is hired to watch the sheep will not care as much for the sheep as the Shepherd who owns them (John 10:11-13). For many pastors today, it's about the money. That's why they take the job. That's why they take the offer from the larger church, because it can pay them more. Right, Steve?
Slaughtering the sheep
The CTV News article goes on to say that a 61-year-old woman, named Diana, who attended Good News Chapel, died of COVID. The woman's cousin is a former follower of Good News Chapel and chose to speak out in an interview with CTV News.
In the article, Judy Fuoco said that she believes Diana got COVID at Good News Chapel, since there were unreported outbreaks within the church.
CTV News interviewed several people close to the church who were not currently attending, and they all had the same thing to say. They said that the church has a culture of vaccine hesitancy and resistance to COVID-19 measures, pushed by the church leadership.
It is such a tragedy. Diana and her husband were not trusting God or following God. They were instead manipulated to trust and follow Steve Gesualdi.
Preachers will be judged more severely on that day (James 3:1). The reason for this is because they are responsible for the ones who choose to follow them. If preachers mislead people, manipulate people, or abuse people, the blood of those people will be on the preacher's hands.
How dare Steve Gesualdi mix his own conspiracy theories and his own politics with the preaching of the Bible. In doing so, he has deceived many and has gotten Diana killed.
The judgment of God
The Bible urges us to obey our governing authorities, because though they are not perfect, their position has been instituted by God. Resisting government health mandates is resisting what God has appointed for our well-being. Those who resist will face God's judgment.
The COVID outbreak within the church was nothing other than God's judgment upon Steve and Jessica Gesualdi, as well as the entire Good News Chapel leadership. They thought they were so strong, and so right, telling people that they didn't need to follow health measures or get vaccinated.
The irony is that Steve and Jessica's very church became the center of a large COVID outbreak, thanks to their willful disobedience toward God and government. God resists and humbles the proud (James 4:6).
If a pastor can't serve as a good example, the judgment of God against that disobedient pastor will serve as a terrible warning.
The example of Jesus
Jesus obeyed and submitted to the government until death, and he opened not his mouth at them (Isaiah 53:7). Even when governments were handing him over to be condemned and killed, Jesus didn't protest. Now here we are today, unable to even follow health protocols provided by the government for our own good.
The New Testament church followed Jesus' example. They lived under governments that were much worse than those we have today. There was no such thing as democracy during their time. Yet, they never once complained or protested the governing authorities.
Why is it that pastors like Steve Gesualdi refuse to follow the example of Jesus and the apostles? It should really make us wonder if Steve understands the very Bible that he is preaching from.
The only time that the apostles of Jesus resisted the governing authorities was when they commanded the apostles not to speak of Jesus (Acts 4:19-20). However, our government never did such a thing during the COVID pandemic. Despite health-related lockdowns, we were still free to continue believing in Jesus and speaking about him.
The government was not threatening us to give up our faith. The problem is that pastors like Steve brainwashed people to equate faith with mandatory Sunday service attendance. That is an outright lie. It's nothing more than abusive control and manipulation to further the pastor's greed and selfish ambitions.
Steve Gesualdi plays the hero
Steve Gesualdi called the government health mandates, "ridiculous". Of course he did. The mandates were causing him to lose money.
Since when did Steve Gesualdi care so much about suicides, depression, and anxiety. We never heard of Steve or Good News Chapel doing anything about these mental illnesses that existed way before the COVID pandemic. Steve only mentions these mental health conditions now, when it's convenient for him. What is most disturbing is that Steve Gesualdi uses mental illness to push his own agenda.
Does Steve really expect us to believe that Good News Chapel is the answer to suicide, depression, and anxiety? Does Steve really expect us to believe that if his church is closed, there is no more help available for the depressed, the anxious, or the suicidal? That is what is truly "ridiculous".
The truth is that if Steve Gesualdi was really concerned with people's mental health, he could have checked in on them regularly, comfort them, encourage them, and visit them. Instead, throughout the pandemic, Steve Gesualdi was too busy spending all his time on Instagram, doing live feeds that were full of political and conspiracy theory nonsense.
What Steve Gesualdi really cares about is using the pulpit to get political and air his political frustrations. He wants to be a politician more than a pastor.
In the article by CTV News, Judy Fuoco said that she left Good News Chapel in 2019, when the sermons started getting too political. This started even before the COVID pandemic showed up. The pandemic only made Steve Gesualdi get even more political.
Steve Gesualdi used the societal atmosphere of government frustration over the pandemic as a marketing ploy. He saw this rising social frustration as something he could take advantage of. He played on the frustration of the people in order to lure them into his cult and join his anti-government movement.
Steve was doing the devil's work
True faith is not foolish. We can have faith in God, and yet still wear our seat belts and drive the speed limit. We can have faith in God, and yet still take vaccines. Just because God is in control, it doesn't mean we should live dangerously.
We are not supposed to put God to test by living recklessly just because we have "faith". If we truly have faith, we will listen to Jesus' words here and not test God.
Notice that in these Bible verses, it is the devil that is trying to tempt Jesus to live dangerously and throw himself down from the top of the temple.
Steve Gesualdi was doing the devil's work rather than God's work when he was manipulating people to live dangerously rather than to trust God enough to be "subject to the governing authorities" (Romans 13:1-2).
Steve has something to hide
The CTV News article says that Steve Gesualdi started deleting Instagram video posts when COVID started spreading within Good News Chapel. If Steve Gesualdi's opinions on the pandemic were correct, why would he delete the Instagram video posts? Did he having something to hide? Maybe Steve knew he was wrong all along.
Even after COVID started spreading within Good News Chapel, Steve Gesualdi kept insisting that the church continue meeting in person. He refused to consider closing the church, even temporarily. Steve could have prevented Diana's death and prevented many from falling ill from COVID, but he chose not to. Steve refused to give in, because he wanted to show that he was right. However, he was very wrong and the COVID outbreak in his own church exposed him.
Steve Gesualdi then appeals to God's hand of protection, saying that he's seen it in his church. Where was that hand of protection for those who got COVID and those that died? There can be no protection from God if there is disobedience. If you choose to disobey God's word (Romans 13:1-2), then you forfeit that protection.
As Diana was suffering in a local hospital, Steve Gesualdi showed no true concern for her, or repentance for his behavior. Instead, Steve Gesualdi was heard shouting from his pulpit, "There can be no order given that can ever shut down the church of Jesus Christ."
It's a true statement. However, who said that Good News Chapel is the church of Jesus Christ? The church of Jesus Christ is universal, consisting of everyone who believes in Jesus, all over the world. No church building is itself the church of Jesus Christ. The church of Jesus Christ consists of individuals, not buildings.
The problem with Steve's statement is that Good News Chapel is not the church of Jesus Christ. Good News Chapel is the cult of Steve Gesualdi, and it is full of his abusive and manipulative practices.
Steve Gesualdi falsely accused the media articles written about the COVID outbreak in his church as being "full of falsities". The only false one here is you, Steve Gesualdi. Your behavior has exposed you as a false shepherd, a false pastor, and a false leader.
Steve is motivated more by politics and a hatred of the government than he is by a love for God and for his neighbor.
Steve is an irresponsible leader
Steve Gesualdi's irresponsible leadership led to several COVID infections within the church, with some requiring hospitalization.
No masks were worn in church, and no social distancing was observed. All this was encouraged and promoted by Steve Gesualdi. He applauded this type of behavior from the pulpit. A good shepherd should not want to kill their own sheep.
Conclusion
The loss of life is a tragedy. The fact that many fell ill with COVID, with some being hospitalized, is also a tragedy. Another tragedy is that many of those who read the CTV News article will be completely turned off to God and faith because of Steve Gesualdi's spiritual abuse. Steve Gesualdi's actions attempted to make a complete mockery of God and faith. However, God will not be mocked (Galatians 6:7).
It is also tragic to see that many of those who attended Good News Chapel during these terrible events, continue to attend. Rather than heeding God's warning of judgment and escaping Steve Gesualdi's cult, they have turned a blind eye and continue to support him. Have they no spiritual discernment? Have they become so religious that they are now blind and resistant to what God is actually doing?
This was a weighty article, but a necessary one. May it train your sense of discernment so that you may walk away from bad leaders like Steve Gesualdi.