It has its roots in a charismatic prayer meeting in Silver Spring, Maryland, then Washington, DC, called Take and Give (TAG), which grew into Covenant Life Church, the former flagship of Sovereign Grace.

In 1982, shortly after planting a church in Cleveland, Mahaney, Tomczak and Detweiler formed People of Destiny International as an umbrella organization for their various ministries.

[13] In "The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Modern Christian Thought" published in 1995,[14] Alister McGrath associated PDI with the Shepherding Movement and described it as having "informal links with Bryn Jones", the UK house church leader.

The theological focus gradually shifted during the mid-1990s and it was later suggested that the increasing New Calvinism of PDI was a major factor in Larry Tomczak's departure from the movement.

"[21] Other notable charismatic figures, such as Lou Engle, founder of The Call prayer concerts, and Ché Ahn, pastor of Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, California, also ceased to be formally associated with PDI during this period.

[22] As of 2008 the group identified itself as "a family of churches passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ... with a strong doctrinal basis that is evangelical, Reformed, and continuationist.

On July 6, 2011, Mahaney announced that he would be taking a leave of absence as a team reviewed charges brought against him of "pride, unentreatability, deceit, sinful judgment, and hypocrisy."

[29] Later in 2012, the movement's former flagship, Covenant Life Church, departed from SGM, a decision supported by an overwhelming 93%[30] of voting members.

[31] Additionally, the Sovereign Grace churches in Indiana and Altoona, PA, Sarasota and Daytona Beach, FL and Charlottesville, VA cut ties with the movement during this period.

Daytona Beach's pastor Jesse Jarvis noted a "leadership culture characterized by excessive authority and insufficient accountability" as rationale for the church's departure.

He believed that "the isolation of Covenant Life, and of a small cluster of churches of which it was a part, may have fed leadership mistakes, including the decision of pastors—himself among them—to handle a child sexual abuse case internally instead of going to police.

Steve Witt's father had been influential in Larry Tomczaks salvation and transfer from Cleveland to DC area.

They stay one year and returned to DC leaving behind a team to monitor and build North Coast Church.

[42] Sovereign Grace Music is directed by worship leader Bob Kauflin, former member of Christian band Glad, and is known for lyrics that are founded in biblical doctrine.

[46] In late 2012, a lawsuit in Montgomery County, Maryland was brought against Sovereign Grace Ministries, making accusations of a conspiracy to cover-up child sex abuse.

[47] Larry Tomczak, a co-founder of SGM, who left the organization in the late 1990s, was alleged to have abused and assaulted a child in the form of administering corporal punishment over a period of twenty-five years.

During the hearing, Judge Burrell referred to an affidavit filed by Brent Detwiler supporting the claims of the plaintiffs as "vague and irrelevant".

The court also found that the "Covenant Life School" sued by the plaintiffs did not exist during the time frame of the alleged abuse.

[55][full citation needed] As reported in Time magazine (February 2016), Susan Burke, the lawyer for the victims, plans to file another lawsuit in Virginia, involving the two individuals from that jurisdiction.

On March 8, 2016, two individuals testified before the Maryland State Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee regarding the Sovereign Grace Ministries lawsuit.

[57] Charlotte Ennis, a member of the church, testified that the lawsuit was, "an egregious, and even bizarre, $50 million class action suit alleging child sexual abuse and cover up that was undoubtedly false."

According to Ennis, the lawsuit originally asked for $50 million in damages, but as the deposition and discovery process went on, "the plaintiffs tried hard to settle out of court for a much lower sum".

(Ennis testified that in addition to her personal involvement with the Palmer situation she had a professional background as a Research Manager for a news organization).

Ennis went on to testify that an "extensive and undoubtedly expensive" investigation was conducted by the Montgomery County Police Department but no charges were ever filed.

A subsequent examination of the case, conducted by an independent investigator, found that the allegations of child sex abuse detailed in the lawsuit "likely never happened at all" (except for the two which had been promptly reported and prosecuted several decades earlier).At the same Senate hearing another individual, Terry Mayo, also testified.

In the initial months, the accused were labeled child sex offenders and the story of the abuse, truth be damned, was aggressively promoted in news, radio and social media.

An internet lynch mob can go on forever, but the law should protect innocent people from legal charges they can’t defend, like those from the distant past.

The current statute gives survivors sufficient time for litigation, and a lifetime to bring charges to criminal court.

Ennis said, during her Senate Committee testimony, that she was in favor of extending the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, but that the proposed 2016 bill, SB 69, did not have "enough teeth" to prevent lawsuits based on false accusations against individuals or organizations.

[59] A story in Washingtonian Magazine, by Tiffany Stanley, dated February 14, 2016, highlights three families who were plaintiffs in the lawsuit and their involvement with Sovereign Grace Ministries.