I taught in the Wells school district for two years. The Elders would walk through the campus, shouting fire and brimstone to young children. We had to fence and lockdown the campus.
We almost joined this cult a few years ago and we personally know families who have been devastated by this group. Thank y’all so much for your ministry, we’ve been so blessed and encouraged by all the different Apologia Church ministries. God bless.
One of the first visible signs of abuse is a child that doesn't cry when injured. It shows you that they are so used to being hurt without comfort that they aren't seeking it. Therefore they realize early if they cry there won't be any comfort forthcoming. Also, there is the school of hit them until they learn not to make a noise. If you cry I will hit you again. " I will give you something to cry about." A group of children that doesn't cry is heartbreaking.
Reminds me of a show I watched, where a woman when to adopt a baby from a nursery, and it was oddly quiet.. when the woman asked why, the nurse said "they stop crying when they realize nobody is coming to get them" which is heartbreaking
@@nomdeplume2213 you do realize not all Christians are in a cult right? Not all Christians get into the “religious” aspect of Christianity.. it’s a spiritual thing and it’s about trying to live right, be a good person, bare the fruits of righteousness, acknowledge our creator and thank him for all that he does for us. Some of us don’t even attend church because of the hypocrisy and judgement that seems to come from many of them. Many of these so called “christians” are not true believers. Catholicism, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses.. etc are what many nonbelievers like to use to base their judgement off of. Some Catholics are true believers but the Bible doesn’t line up with many of their practices.. such as praying to Mary... not to mention all of the Pagan traditions and holidays that they’ve taken over while claiming they do these things in the name of Jesus. But again, the Christian faith is very misunderstood by those who do not believe. I don’t judge those who decide they don’t have faith. I’m just saying don’t put all Christians into the same bucket.
@@southernladyish yep thats why I was hesitant on becoming a Christian. He was always in me I've felt it but I kept denying because its a hard path to walk with christ so I was more ashamed and doubted myself that I can't but that was the devil. I felt better when I was being sinful it felt good. But I knew it was wrong and now as I start knocking down the dominoes well that little butthole Satan keeps stacking them up and I have to keep knocking them down. We got this! Trust your gut!
@@southernladyish okay but all religions or faiths started as the very definition of a cult, some were just more successful like christianity. So, technically, yeah, you have beliefs that started from a cult 🤷♀️ I believe that's fairly important to acknowledge.
The woman from the wedding who he is talking about is my aunt. My family thanks you for everything you’ve done to try and help. We are still devastated.
I am curious if this is any anyway related to the Church in Arlington or the Church in Fort Worth? I am wondering if Wells could be a splitter of one of either the Arlington or Fort Worth church? Thank you in advance for any information you can share. I’m sorry to hear about your family member.
They are always the same, and they are always so sadly destructive. It hurts to see the banner of Jesus's name and reputation being perverted by such atrocious cults.
Absolutely...gives followers of Jesus Christ a bad wrap...that’s why I don’t call myself a Christian. Cults like this make the idea of Jesus repulsive to nonbelievers...the Devil is the king of deception, what better place to deceive than within the “church”....look at the Vatican! Father Amorth believes the Devil resides in the Vatican....his words!
I really appreciate how objective y'all are. Other channels just do a Google search but y'all actually interview people who have first hand experience. I really look forward to these videos. They are very informative and fascinating.
“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” Deuteronomy 18:22 KJV
The fruits of Christ are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. This is not a change of behavior that comes from a man sending you a text message telling you to treat people differently, it comes from God and it does change the heart.
Praise God for this coverage of The Church of Wells. I wrestled with deep doubt of my salvation for a long time and came across this church online almost one year ago. Their theology destroys any Biblically authorized assurance of salvation (based solely on the finished work of Christ) and feeds existing doubt, creates more doubt, & attempts to control others by constant fear. Through the grace of God, much prayer, & study of the scripture, I now have assurance of my salvation, and it rests entirely in Jesus Christ. Thank you guys for your work on exposing the dangers of this group
I suspect they are indeed a cult and sinful but some of what they preach is true and there is the danger. I submit that once saved always saved is from Calvin and not the Bible. Jesus said work out your salvation with fear and trembling for a reason. Hebrews 10:26-31 says: If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Revelation 3: 4 makes it clear your name can be written in the book of life, and then blotted out from the book of life for sin. In their case it was the sin of no more works. Its not what the churches teach these days.
@@paulbriggs3072 Can one who is born be unborn? Can one who has had the law written on his heart have it unwritten? The Hebrews passage is clearly referring to someone who entered the covenant community of believers and experienced all of the external blessings of the covenant, but was yet not supernaturally born again.
@@PaDutchRunner Well, the writer plainly says 'If WE deliberately keep on sinning...' He does not say if someone deliberately keeps on sinning.... ' We' includes the writer himself. Nor does he say there was no sacrifice applied for this person to begin with since they were never born again. But what does he say instead? "... no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire..." The NASB, King James and others say 'no sacrifice for sin remains'. This makes very clear the sacrifice has been applied but will no longer be applied. This goes perfectly in harmony with the clear warning to Sardis in Revelation 3:4 that your name can blotted out from the book of life. Clearly if your name is in the book of life, you are saved. Moreover, the passage makes clear that sin will cause Jesus to blot it out. So yes, you absolutely can lose your salvation. Not even the ungodly Catholics preached such a doctrine of demons as once saved-always saved before the ungodly John Calvin and his new wind of teaching reared his head. (By the way, Calvin's doctrines were much worse than people realize as this interesting article shows: www.reenactingtheway.com/blog/john-calvin-had-people-killed-and-bad-bible-interpretation-justified-it And this barely touches on just how much of a wolf beneath the sheep's clothing the man himself truly was.) I urge one and all to stop following denominations and church leaders, but to follow the explicit and plain meanings of scriptures, especially those that discomfort us and contradict prominent teachers.
@@paulbriggs3072 Why would the Scriptures describe justification as a supernatural new birth, specifically using the imagery using the imagery being born? Scripture is replete with this imagery. These passages, combined with Romans 7 (and many others) clearly convey the doctrine of perseverance. You are engaging in poor hermeneutics by taking an ambiguous passage, reading your desire interpretation into it, and then creating an entire doctrine around it which clearly contradicts other unambiguous passages. And further, you engage in ad hominem against John Calvin to further support your faulty interpretations. This is NOT the way to study Scripture, my man.
I live very close to Wells, TX. About 15 minutes. It’s amazing to me how this man’s faith hasn’t faltered living so close to such toxic religious followers and twisted beliefs. I’m pretty amazed. Very good story!
You’re right, but I’m assuming you haven’t been exposed to these people. I truly believe they are of the devil. They would drive many strong Christians to disbelief, I’ve seen it happen unfortunately. But good for him. He’s a great guy with strong faith
@@hanjo111 He is! It is so sad that people who claim to be Christian, are completely deceived. They are leading people straight to hell...😔 I did not even know they existed! I will be praying...🙏
Pray hard! These demons are alive and well in Texas unfortunately. False prophets. Super destructive to the community which is small and used to be close.
This man doesn’t even go to church. Y’all should really take time to know all of the circumstance. It’s like the jesus said I tell you the truth you don’t believe it if I tell you a lie that you will believe. Just sad this is how many are going to be deceived in the end ! Believing liars
I know! And the Bible red-flagged that for us specifically. And yet, these people do exactly what the Bible warned against from the beginning. Galatians 8. Just another proof of many that the Bible is trustworthy.
They always buy add space from shows like this, or Scientology shows. They prey on people that are leaving their cults. They hope to get to them while they are still messed up. Love bombing them, until they join the new "church".
I'm from Pollok, Texas (a small town right down the highway from Wells), and I know of a lot of families that have been wrecked by the Church of Wells. They are really bad.
Yeah I'm from Rusk . I used to tattoo in Pollock at gypsy blue a long time ago . But yeah these people are always in the news for something or another from child abuse allegations to kidnapping . There's always parents of kids that have joined pleasing their kids return.
Daniel, such a small world. My family is from Rusk. Both parents graduated from there and my grandpa owns Good Times Wood Products. I'm very familiar with this cult and others that haven't gotten as much attention. I was homeschooled growing up. I'm a huge advocate for homeschooling, but it's no surprise that you tend to know a lot more people caught up in cults in the homeschool community..
@@brandicheek2167 so johnny Williams is your grandpa??? Small world for sure . I used to go to parties at good times a long time ago that holly would throw
I got involved with a cult...it didn't start out that way. It started out the BEST CHURCH EVER... it actually was almost exactly like Apologia, teaching and appearance and everything. I didn't know it turned into a cult until it was too late. I was so blinded and thought everything was so Biblical when it was actually sooooooooo bad. It's nearly impossible to know you're in a cult while you're in one. People told me it was one but I didn't believe them. Once the Spirit revealed it... we struggled for a long time admitting it was a cult, then... ran so fast out of there. IF SOMEONE ELSE THINKS YOU ARE IN A CULT NEVER EVER DISMISS THEM. It got to the point where the pastor in Sugarland, TX said it was a "badge of honor" to be called a cult and started wearing a shirt that said "cult leader." He took pride in being called a cult and manipulated people into thinking it was persecution and no one else understood. I had so many meetings with the pastors of the One Association but they simply were to blinded. They'd literally make jokes from the pulpit about being a cult-- fully convinced they were not one. Pride is a dangerous sin. Apologia sounded like the church before it became a cult, The Wells sounds like where it was going. It's a tricky and kinda scary thought to know how QUICKLY a good solid strong church can slip into cult practices-- no matter how strong of a church you think you're in, you must always stay humble.
@@forveryoungdisciples6784 I’m not saying he will become one. He just sounds exactly like my former pastor who went off the deep end. Zeal and confidence is good. But the enemy can get ahold of people and turn that confidence into pride and things can go downhill fast.
The most disturbing thing is that if you go to their website and look at their beliefs, they are all solid, biblical and reformed. It just proves that even if you have biblical beliefs, you can still be lost.
They are very open about and often push the idea that a Christian can lose their salvation. They are not Reformed and do not claim to be. In fact they often speak against Reformed Theology and try to refute Calvinism.
@@spiritandtruth7421 they actually do pretend to be reformed on their site. Clearly they are not hearing their teaching. They are blown with every wind. Cult
I went to a Landmark Seminar once, and the first thing they tried to do was separate me from my boyfriend. I had a back injury from a car accident and I told them that I needed him to stay by me, but they wouldn't listen. But I ignored them and we stayed together. Within the first hour I realized we were in a cult (mini scientology). We demanded our money back but they refused, but I made a loud enough stink that they had no choice. Years later I ended up at Set Free Ministries, and they also would separate the husbands from the wives and make them live apart. Another cult. "That which God has joined together, let no man separate." First and only red flag someone needs is when they try and separate you from your spouse. You don't have to look any further. You're in a cult. I met a few guys as they were running away from the men's ranch.
...you seem to be drawn to cults...religious/spiritual truth takes introspection and an external supportive body of like minded people to flourish. I was born into the Catholic way of looking at life, this has changed for me over the years as now I keep my own counsel in my private world with God. And that, for me, is OK. Don't quite 'get' what you are looking for.
@@ritalamy5866 I went to Landmark because my sister raved about it but I saw it for what it was right away. I was living with chronic pain from an accident and thought I could learn some skills to help me manage pain better. I wasn't looking for a religious experience. As for Set Free Mininistries, I went there because they"specialized" in caring for the homeless and addicts, and that is what I wanted to do. It was a live in "discipleship" program, but it turned out to be a cult. Saw that my second day into the program. I am not drawn to cults. But I am glad I learned first hand what to stay away from.
@@yourcompassioncorner you have a good heart and your intentions were in the right place. You figured it out quickly is all that matters, I don’t think you’re at risk to join a cult. Hope you’re doing well ☺️
@@yourcompassioncorner im glad you saw all the flags! I deal with chronic pain along with other health issues and its disturbing how cults like what you've encountered zero in on people with vulnerabilities. My mom has been pulled into more than one cult usually of the the fundamentalist Christian variety and they always seem to make a huge deal out of her chronic pain and my physical disability as a way to emotionally manipulate her.
Most normal people would react in situations like this. Unfortunately groups like these use tactics like this to provoke and cause a legal dispute. Key example, Scientology
One of my closest friends escaped growing up in scientology, and I've followed several former LDS members on social media for years. I'd love to be able to move out near a church like this and help people escape someday.
@@jewels3596 2Ki 2:22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. 2Ki 2:23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 2Ki 2:24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
@@jewels3596 Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. Gal 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
@@HeatherBoo916 I agree. I called them each year for several years and asked if their judgement has fallen on me yet. I should have said that tried to put a curse on me
The poor innocent children. My heart is so shattered to think of how alone they must feel/ have felt. God of promise, god of grace and love protect their hearts. heal their souls. Guide us to the broken so that we might help them to find peace in you O Lord! Amen. 🙏🏻🙌😇
I spoke with some Church of Wells members (I believe one was the elder Ryan R.) when I attended Passion Conference in Houston in 2016. I didn’t have any background on them at the time. They were preaching and talking with people outside the conference sessions, mostly preaching about the need for repentance. They said a lot of true things and quoted a lot of Scripture (KJV, of course), but the impression I came away with was that they ultimately believe a doctrine one might call “justification by leaving everything behind to join The Church of Wells.” I can definitely see how someone who sincerely wants to follow Jesus and sees the emptiness of much of modern churchianity could fall into this group. The question they confronted me with was, “Have you ever literally left behind everything to follow Jesus, and if not, how do you know whether you’re really sincere in your devotion to him and are willing to do so?” I somewhat considered whether I should join them, but they also definitely weirded me out. I think an important thing that kept me from joining them was that I’d already heard preaching from the likes of Francis Chan, Paul Washer, and John Piper and was already following Jesus with repentance from sin, etc. Had they been the first ones to call me to a more biblical and “radical” life than what most of the visible church in America does, I might hypothetically live with them in Wells today.
Bro, that is something! I was at that Passion Conference in 2016 as well (I had been radically converted three years earlier), and saw them around. Jacob Gardner was almost constantly "open air preaching", but all I ever heard him say was "the holiness without which no one will see the Lord". By the end of the conference my curiosity was strong, and I sat down with one of the members for about two hours and talked about what they believe. You said it well; at face value, they seemed appealing in their zeal, apparent concern for repentance, self-examination, etc. But beneath that veneer of true godliness, I believed at that time that there was, just as you said, a failure to understand justification by faith and salvation through God's free grace in Christ. I was also tempted (and I use that word intentionally) to follow up with them more, especially because they provided such a clear contrast to some of the goofy, irreverent public speaking I had been hearing at the Passion Conference (i.e. Christine Cain). In hindsight and having done more research, it seems likely to me that particularly try to appeal to zealous young men who are discontent with popular, Big Eva evangelicalism, but not quite grounded enough to discern what is probably an insidious false gospel in Wells. And again, funny, but just as you hinted at, I thank God for preserving me and directing me away from this group, also in part due to the teaching of men like Paul Washer and John Piper. Finally, just a strange observation in keeping with this great podcast from Apologia; when I sat down with that member from the Church of Wells, the topic of his age came up. I asked how old he was, and he paused for awhile, and seemingly couldn't answer. He called his wife over and said "beloved, when is my birthday?" and they were eventually able to piece together an answer. I found that very unusual at the time. He must really have died to self, I thought. But in hindsight I think it was an example of just what Matt mentioned: CoW seeking to obliterate the unique, God-given identity and personality of their members, and remaking them in their own image, rather than in the image of God.
Great video! I have known of this group for years and am thankful to see a more mainstream ministry addressing them. I personally would love to see even more discussion with Matt, especially sorting through a systematic theology of what Church of Wells believes (as best as we can tell). I was at that Passion Conference in 2016 as well (I had been radically converted three years earlier), and saw them around. Jacob Gardner was almost constantly "open air preaching", but all I ever heard him say was "the holiness without which no one will see the Lord". By the end of the conference my curiosity was strong, and I sat down with one of the members for about two hours and talked about what they believe. At face value, they seemed appealing in their zeal, apparent concern for repentance, "humility", self-examination, etc. But beneath that veneer of true godliness, I believed at that time that there was, just as you said, a failure to understand justification by faith and salvation through God's free grace in Christ. I was also tempted (and I use that word intentionally) to follow up with them more, especially because they provided such a clear contrast to some of the goofy, irreverent public speaking I had been hearing at the Passion Conference (i.e. Christine Cain). In hindsight and having done more research, it seems likely to me that particularly try to appeal to zealous young men who are discontent with popular, Big Eva grade evangelicalism, but not quite grounded enough to discern what is probably an insidious false gospel in Wells. I thank God for preserving me and directing me away from this group, in part due to the teaching of men like Paul Washer and John Piper, and the fact that I knew by God's grace that salvation must be all of Him, or not at all. Finally, just a strange observation in keeping with this great podcast from Apologia; when I sat down with that member from the Church of Wells, the topic of his age came up. I asked how old he was, and he paused for awhile, and seemingly couldn't answer. He called his wife over and said "beloved, when is my birthday?" and they were eventually able to piece together an answer. He literally seemed unable to remember his birthday and age. I found that very unusual at the time. He must really have died to self, I thought. But in hindsight I think it was an example of just what Matt mentioned: CoW seeking to obliterate the unique, God-given identity and personality of their members, and remaking them in their own image, rather than in the image of God. Please join me in praying that the Lord of heaven and earth brings an end to this movement and prevents it further spread, both locally and around the world.
Very insightful comment, thank you. Your analysis of their “target demographic” of young men tired of mainstream Christian pop-culture seems spot-on. Also the birthday story was odd indeed. Wonder what exactly that was all about, and how genuine or contrived that whole thing was. Fascinating, thanks again for relaying your encounter with CoW and like you say, praise God for keeping you from CoW and keeping your heart tied to His saving Grace and the true Gospel!
This is dealing with narcissism. The fact that he thinks he has the right to oppress you and harass you with his brand of religion.I have delt with this narcissism recently.It is causing people so much grief .It is a man centered Gospel with no mercy.
A tricky thing with the Church of Wells is that they read their Bibles a ton and memorize a lot of scripture and are well prepared when it comes to discussing and debating the scriptures. The problem is that many people that are new to the faith or who are struggling with sin or the "false converts" that the church tries to recruit, and even just the average Christian that they talk with online, these people generally do not know their Bibles that well. And so many people fall for this group because they can't argue efficiently against the church of wells' error and talking points. The problem is that the church takes scripture and theology out of context. Or if you ask them if they believe in "Sinless Perfectionism" they will say no. But yet it doesn't seem to come across that way in other discussions regarding sin. They are also big on not being like the world, which is a good thing! But they seem to take these things to the extreme. They recently posted a video calling out Paul Washer and how he is probably not saved and they list how he is super worldly now because he watches The Lord of the Rings (among other examples). And what makes it even trickier is that the Church of Wells does preach and teach things that are good and true. So they mix in some truth and if you are not well versed in the scriptures you can easily get sucked in. From looking at some sermon videos online or their website you might not be able to spot a ton of heresy and false teaching. I think that if you are going to have them on your show to discuss, you really need to be prepared and know exactly what they believe on various things so that you are prepared. Because much of their false teaching you won't find out or see unless you have had some in depth discussion with them on it first to really get at what they believe and to see the proof texts that they all have memorized and will go to. I don't think you would fair well with an off the cuff debate with them. Get to know first how they define different "types" of sin and which ones are worthy of a person losing their salvation over. Willful sinning, sins of ignorance etc. Their whole focus seems to primarily be on how many Christians are actually false converts and not truly saved. They will point to a sin that a person struggles with or a sin that a Christian committed yesterday and then go to the verses that show how they are not saved. Or the love of the world they will point to a movie or wearing make-up or a brand name tee shirt or something like that and give Bible verses which seem to imply that they have not been saved because they are too much like the world. Or the verses on how we must love and seek after God with our WHOLE hearts first in order to be saved and then they will find an area that a person is not 100% wholeheartedly following God in and then conclude that they do not know Christ. It's also interesting that they never have any public discussions or debates with the Christians who have called them out who DO know their Bibles well. They have made a few response videos to Tony Miano and Matt Slick's questions for them I believe. But no back and forth dialogue because they probably know that they will get owned. Instead they seem to only "prey" on or interact with those who they know they will have the upper theological hand on.
Agreed. Spot on. I was at Thumpers (a local Christian Coffee house in Nacogdoches) and was privy to a discussion some of these 'Wells Churchmen' were having. They were super confident, knew Scriptures well BUT had their own unique SPIN that was just off. Being only a few miles from Wells we've sure heard all about them, infamously.
@@CatholicLogic7 He just published it, here. I read every word. These matters are nuanced. If you really believe your 'It Is Written' name - why do lengthy paragraphs & rational & nuanced discussion frustate you ?
I have been waiting for this! A high school friend is actually there and her parents are the ones that went down and tried to get her back a couple years ago.
@@queenEsther318 I think someone else there needs to be rescued. She escaped with her mom but went back “under the abusive leadership of Sean” she has a kid too. I wish I could do something to save them
@@queenEsther318 I asked two cops at my church and they said call the non emergency 911 line and report it, the TIPS phone number line and report it, and file a report to the FBI if you want to as well. There has been several FBI reports against them. The TIPS phone number is anonymous so they don’t have any info about you if you don’t feel comfortable telling them about you. Do you want me to give you the phone numbers?
@Rvangel D First of all, raising a child in a cult is psychological abuse, and on that alone CPS should be called on them. Second, he blatantly mentions them *carrying switches* and using them so often that the children don’t have the energy to respond. There’s your physical abuse.
@Evangelical Disciple did you watch the video at all? Children who are beaten to the point where when they are hit they do not make a sound out of submission. A literal baby died in their care due to lack of medical intervention. They’re wack jobs and those kids deserve better.
CDC can make only so many visits, I believe Texas is 24 until a harassment case can be brought against the county. It is extremely difficult to remove a child from a home based solely on hearsay. Did the interviewee file a CDC complaint? Does he have proof? Photos? Statements? It’s also very common especially in the south to be disciplined with a switch. Even the interviewee states he was raised with spankings. CDCs hands are tied unless a victim comes forward or they witness the abuse upon visitation, than an investigation can move to family court. Which in this case a child most likely will be placed in custody of another family member whom is probably going to be also a cult member of the Church of Wells.
I visited Wells to check it out, and there followers were all over this little East TX town. You can easily identify them by their clothing. I feel sorry for the locals that have to put up with their antics, nothing wrong with trying to live a good life, but this is NOT it. Condemning everyone that is not you is ridiculous and God will deal with these insane judgements.
@@gloomcookie Hmmmm... I don’t know. I can say that the clothing is very humble, mismatched and lots of long skirts. The look doesn’t match the person’s youthfulness if that makes sense.
Wow. You not only described this group really well, but also described the basic patterns of cults. I used to attend a church where this happened to me. Looking back, I was definitely a wounded soul, very fragile and vulnerable, easily sucked into extreme beliefs. I think I also had a lot of New Convert Pride, getting in deeper than I should have. I attended a Bible based church (won't name names). I don't think they were a cult, but they are definitely known for having spiritual abuse in their nondenominational denomination. They certainly never told me I wasn't saved for not being in their church, but they definitely painted "the world" in a negative light, and definitely made people feel like less of a Christian if they lived in "compromise" or " in the world." There was a lot implied in their preaching that made me feel like I needed to isolate, separate myself away from the world. I also felt like I was under a lot of spiritual stress, pressured to live on a spiritual high that wasn't realistic for me, and I definitely felt like I had to bend until I broke. Of course, I had a lot of stressors in my life at that time. I'd also been through a lot of trauma and abuse myself, and I internalized certain truths that they preached in ways that the pastors probably never intended. There were also some specific individuals in the church with whom I was close who really made it worse. I eventually realized that they weren't on the best terms with the rest of the church either, and would have been asked to leave if they hadn't already left first. But we were so close. They were super intense for Jesus, and definitely extremes in their views, moreso than the rest of the church. Once they invited Mormon Missionaries, whom had come around their neighborhood, over to their home to discuss doctrine. Honestly--I was more concerned for the Mormons than I was for my friends. Because I knew that those Mormon Missionaries were going to spend a whole evening-perhaps even night--being shouted at and argued with over Doctrine.
These people come to my college campus every semester and scream at people that they're going to hell. They get away with it because they'll take one class a semester so that they're entitled to free speech on campus. The police always has to stand there and watch the interactions, because it's always very tense and they have gotten in fistfights before. I genuinely have no idea why they were allowed back on campus.
I was in a similar cult started by Mark Vanderstoep and his wife Barbara. At Evangelistic Temple in Houston Texas. It started out as a innocent prayer group. But ended up focusing on Mark Vanderstoep as THAT PROPHET which Moses said would come after him. I got in,in 1976. Got out in 1986. 1988 was the lost year of my life. As I was in a mental hospital. In 1989 God restored me back to reality. But because of the cult. I lost my job with the Railroad as a Engineer.
It's CRAZY! I live only 10mins from the town and there are 2 towns close that most people work in or travel to for doctors and big box stores and things like that. I work in one of those towns and when they first came into town they would come into businesses and bring flyers and things like that and seemed really nice....then it all broke lose....and they started going to businesses and standing outside of the school in Wells and shouting and telling EVERYONE they were going to hell even the kids telling them that hell was going to rain down on them scared the crap out of these kids and pissing off an entire town they have calmed down sense they first came down here but we all keep a look out and keep our ears open for any crazyness.....
@@veganian2019 Believe me I know and as someone who lives here in this area it is very scary because it's like what was said they no longer tell you where they are from as in what church....and we as a community try to help those whom are not from from here because we have heard them speak and we know when they start talking even if they don't come out and say what church they are from we know so I know that myself and several others will come up and be like nope you REALLY don't want to take that path and try to educate those whom don't know because they have not watched it for years and heard how they preach and how they treat people.....now most of there recruiting is done outside the area because of those of us actively tring to stop it legal parameters because they are quick to make things up and call the law we all have to be very careful
"Hallelujah, the work is done! Hallelujah, the work has just begun! I am saved, am being saved, and shall be saved at last by his sovereign mercy. Amen." - Jake Gardner This quote from his testimony page on the Church of Wells website says it all brothers.
I went to bible college with quite a few of the families in this cult (prior to them joint this cult). Multiple people tried really hard to get me to go out there and it made me question my faith. Praise the Lord He kept me from this and reminded me of who I am in Him! The families have been devastated and it’s so controlled. So sad!
Keeping children from crying while spanking/switching them....that's forcing children to stuff feelings~ this is *so* destructive to a little child's psyche. 😢
So true They use a scripture from proverbs as an excuse to hit kids. Spare the rod means spare guidance you will spoil the child. Not an actual rod to hit with!
@@jamesstephens7963 what the hell? Are you stupid or just dumb? Events like DC is the making of supressing feelings and emotions, and then lashing out publicly and breaking laws. So please inform yourself before speaking on a tragedy.
If you've ever been in a situation like that where someone is trying to control you, things can get very ugly when they feel their control is slipping. These mfers are mentally disturbed on some level and definitely present a physiological and physical threat, especially if they lose control.
The biggest reason is that these leaders do not want their secrets exposed. They portray themselves as religious and therefore moral. In reality they are abusive in often several ways, ie physical, sexual and emotional. When people in that position feel that they are losing control or that their position is in jeopardy they often have no issue murdering people to ensure secrecy. Gruppo del Rosario is an apocalyptic group that murdered a member in the 1980s in Italy.
Love the podcast, coming from a atheist. You guys need and I say "NEED" TO look into "love has won"... They are a current up to date cult... Awesome thanks 👍😀
@@justinrobertson7892 The lady literally just died too and a handful of people got arrested. www.thedailybeast.com/corpse-found-in-colorado-cult-of-so-called-cult-love-has-won-led-by-amy-carlson
Yo... “The Endless.” The cult sounds like the group from this movie a bit-when he said they arrived for the weeding and it looked like the twilight zone, that’s just like this movie The Endless. One of my fav films. Very creepy thriller movie that I frequently recommend!
Would love to watch part 2, but the video on your website keeps freezing a few minutes in. Is there any way you could upload it on TH-cam? Or possibly fix the one on your website? Thank you!
The worst part of a cult is the children that get swept along with this. The video at the beginning really broke my heart. I'll definitely be praying for everyone in Wells
These look like the kind of dudes who would corner you at a party and drone on about getting the latest release of some obscure band on limited edition blue vinyl for an hour.
@@katehalas6492 just because I made an offhand comment on the appearance of the hosts doesn't mean that I missed the point.... Im just not discussing it in the comments.
Just follow Jesus. Man will let you down man will make you stumble but Jesus never will. Keep your eyes on the savior everyone. You’ll never be deceived by Jesus❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for this! A friend of mine recently joined a common purse community that is claimed to be a cult... it’s called Madison Place Community in Cincinnati (was called Gladstone community) if you or anyone has any insights.
I had a childhood friend that got saved when he was about 20 years old. He and my two best friends were hanging out at my apartment. We were talking about church and the bible. He got real quiet, then stood up and started yelling at us that we were blasphemers. According to him, we were completely lost to God and we would burn in hell. In all honesty, we had sex with our girlfriends outside of marriage. After all that, he announced that his girlfriend was pregnant but God had ordained their action outside of marriage. He was still righteous in God's eyes but we were going to burn for our sin no matter what we did. He said even if we asked for God's forgiveness that we were damned to hell. After all that me and my two best friends had biblical rebuttal for him, that just made him even more mad.
Matt seems like a nice guy and I know I’m being judgmental, but I have a feeling he is a fundamentalist too. There’s a very fine line between them and a cult. Interestingly, both Matt and the leaders of the Church of Wells use the same “evidence” to know they’re right in the wedding story.
What did you mean by this wedding situation evidence remark? Also, where are you coming from with your post? I mean in terms of your "fundamentalist" comment. What are you attempting to say about Matt's beliefs and what is your overall point where you are drawing a certain division between him and yourself?
Do you guys take recommendations for speaking out about different cults? I’m really hoping to get some information out about a cult in Columbus, OH. Very different from this specific church but one that I believe is very harmful.
Wow. I just stumbled onto your channel and the first couple of videos I see are on the Church of Wells. I Lived in Wells back in the early 80s and had no idea about this cult. It"s sad but fascinating to hear about it.
This reminds me a lot of The Twelve Tribes movement, which is in different countries now. I met them in the south of Brazil back in 2003 when I did a sociology/anthropology research. Similarities are incredible!
I stayed with that group in their guest house in Savannah Georgia, while I was hitchhiking, completely crazy theology, but to their credit I didn't witness any abusive behavior (and I was paying very close attention to everything).
@@felixguerrero6062 very interesting. They did not have this crazy aggressive attitude down there as well. But they had a weird dynamic on how women expressed themselves. The other thing there is that everyone had their names changed to a Hebrew one after conversion.
@@leo_olive Yes, this is what I saw as well. It reminded me of the dynamics one sees within Amish communities mixed with a Judaizing theology. I suspect that the women are discouraged from interacting with men from outside the community (much like ultra orthodox Judaism). I think the best way to reach these folks is to try to patiently reason with them from Scripture (specifically Galatians) that Gentiles do not need to become Jews (or pretend to be Jews) as that undermines the very core of the Gospel. However, because of the extremely communal nature of these sects where everyone is intermarried and extremely close knit, it makes it very difficult for people to leave even if they want to (same with fundamentalist Mormonism).
I remember back when I was in college at SFA, they somehow got school approval to stand in the courtyard and yell at students passing by. We were told we were all going to burn in hell lol they eventually had to set up police officers for protection until their permit ended
I went to NLU in Monroe, LA and we had some dude like that on my campus back in the mid 90s. He asked a group of sorority girls how many times they had used a wire coat hanger to abort a pregnancy. Just disgusting.
Preaching Hell publicly doesn't make a cult nor does it indicate a problem with the preachers beliefs. Why would people call the police or city council about somebody Preaching about Hell? Is Texas really that beta already? Keep in mind there were no specifics here in the post about the man not letting you leave peacefully....just that he was Preaching hell.....I'm confused.
I lived for several years in a small city that had a cultish type group nearby. We saw that they were very active in getting the most staunch and prominent members to get jobs in local politics, law enforcement, teachers, and real estate. Is there any of that kind of behavior with the church of wells?
Bob and Judy Pardon of the New England Institute of Religious Research are strong foundational Christians and are both professionals, experts and counselors within various cults and helping ex cult members.
@@michaelblanco6665 I guess I would rather know they tried and were refused than to take the word of Matt Myers. He isn’t a bad witness but he obviously has a chip on his shoulder - he’s not objective. I agree that the Church of Wells pastors are unlikely to agree to an interview, but they might. Asking and being told “No” says a lot more than simply presuming their answer.
@Grace and Truth for The Church of Wells Did Cultish give them a personal invitation? You're making very heavy accusations against them. Would the invitation have to be such that you were present with them? Would then interview them by skype/Zoom? If it were me (which it isn't) I would ignore an "open" invitation also. It's just an open door for more muckraking. What I'd like to see is evidence... photos of the supposed "locked closets" or of parents wielding switches while holding their children in church. People have said they've joined and then left because of "crazy thing" they do - but where is the proof? I've watched a couple of their videos of church services with the intent of seeing "switches" - haven't seen any. Even a young man who left the Hutterites several years ago was able to show photos and film of what was going on in the colonies... why can't this happen with people who leave CoW? From the first time I learned about the CoW on 20/20 about 5-6 years ago, I thought something was fishy... not about them, but about the aggressive nature so many people have taken against them. As I've said in comments before, it's hard to take you objectively because you have too much of a chip on your shoulder. I get it: they yelled at your kids - not a good thing. But has your response been to invite them to your home to get to know you? Has your response been one of taking cookies or clothing to some of them? "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap burning coals of fire on his head" (Romans 12:20). The way to treat your neighbor isn't to go on TH-cam and attack them. I have no affiliation with CoW and their style and church life is foreign to me. At the same time, in your case of being the professing "right" Christian, I would hope for a different approach.
@Grace and Truth for The Church of Wells see, this is what I mean. I don’t have things figured out - I ask honest questions and have issues with Cultish’s one-sides approach, and the response is sarcasm. Why did you do that?
@Grace and Truth for The Church of Wells in the videos of yours I’ve seen (plus the Cultish ones) I have only seen what appears to be antagonism... especially buying a house right next to them. There is a different way. To my mind, leave them alone. Agitation doesn’t do any good - they prove it themselves: who on earth thinks it was a good idea for them to go interrupt a service at Lakewood? Who thinks verbally assaulting a Catholic priest is an effective witness? In the same way, I just think being antagonistic with them isn’t the right way.
My sister is in very similar cult for more than 9 years, she did not contact with me or my parents since she get in there! She is not allowed. Also, she do listen of all the audios of leaders. That's so sad that the cults are allowed to exist and nobody of authorities could do something about that. I cannot imagine how she will come back one day but I believe God will get her out of there. I am willing to help somehow but can't think of where to start and what to do except prayers of course.
@@susiebilk9905 Yea...it is. For me the worst is to watch how sad is my parents. I believe and pray to Lord Jesus Christ that He help her to open her eyes and run away
Romans 12: 17-21 "Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" -- Remember, blessings is the reward of forgiveness! - brother Levi in Sweden
We can use our flesh/mind to discern the difference between right and wrong but, we need the Holy Spirit to help us discern the difference between right and almost right.
Want more content from Cultish? Sign up for Apologia All Access for that, and more! Click the link for more info.
ean.link/bahnsenu
Reminds me of ISIS just a different religion. He thinks he’s God’s personal Messiah!!!
I taught in the Wells school district for two years. The Elders would walk through the campus, shouting fire and brimstone to young children. We had to fence and lockdown the campus.
Glad you protected the children
😭 I’m glad you protected the children. America is too easily crazy about religion.
@@llc1976 Well religion that doesn't rely on the Bible in that the teacher may quote one or two lines of scripture and the rest is the teacher.
+Flash
Only if the children's parents are with them should a street preacher approach and only to speak to the adult/adults.
My aunt was the school nurse in wells for many years, small world
I'm watching something on cults and I get an ad for the Mormons.
Same 😂
Lol wild
That means mormons are watching
Lol
Seriously every denomination qualifies as a cult technically. Just follow JESUS! Can’t go wrong.
We almost joined this cult a few years ago and we personally know families who have been devastated by this group. Thank y’all so much for your ministry, we’ve been so blessed and encouraged by all the different Apologia Church ministries. God bless.
proof or youre lying
@@imdilyn whoa what the what, why you trippin?
Praise Jesus Christ, thankful you were not sucked into that deception!!
iamPsalm - troll
They're probably members
One of the first visible signs of abuse is a child that doesn't cry when injured. It shows you that they are so used to being hurt without comfort that they aren't seeking it. Therefore they realize early if they cry there won't be any comfort forthcoming. Also, there is the school of hit them until they learn not to make a noise. If you cry I will hit you again. " I will give you something to cry about." A group of children that doesn't cry is heartbreaking.
My son has never been a crier even when he gets hurt and he isn’t abused. I don’t think your point is valid, all people are different.
I do see the point but it isn’t true for all children who do not cry
Reminds me of a show I watched, where a woman when to adopt a baby from a nursery, and it was oddly quiet.. when the woman asked why, the nurse said "they stop crying when they realize nobody is coming to get them" which is heartbreaking
And where is cps on this case SMH
What expertise/training is it that you have that qualifies you to make this statement so absolutely?
This guy is a legend!! To stand up in a wedding and try to save this woman 😭🙌
Fun fact. No one in a cult thinks they are in one. That realization occurs after leaving.
If only all Christians could come to that realization lol
@@nomdeplume2213 People of all religions need to come to this realization.
@@nomdeplume2213 you do realize not all Christians are in a cult right? Not all Christians get into the “religious” aspect of Christianity.. it’s a spiritual thing and it’s about trying to live right, be a good person, bare the fruits of righteousness, acknowledge our creator and thank him for all that he does for us. Some of us don’t even attend church because of the hypocrisy and judgement that seems to come from many of them. Many of these so called “christians” are not true believers. Catholicism, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses.. etc are what many nonbelievers like to use to base their judgement off of. Some Catholics are true believers but the Bible doesn’t line up with many of their practices.. such as praying to Mary... not to mention all of the Pagan traditions and holidays that they’ve taken over while claiming they do these things in the name of Jesus. But again, the Christian faith is very misunderstood by those who do not believe. I don’t judge those who decide they don’t have faith. I’m just saying don’t put all Christians into the same bucket.
@@southernladyish yep thats why I was hesitant on becoming a Christian. He was always in me I've felt it but I kept denying because its a hard path to walk with christ so I was more ashamed and doubted myself that I can't but that was the devil. I felt better when I was being sinful it felt good. But I knew it was wrong and now as I start knocking down the dominoes well that little butthole Satan keeps stacking them up and I have to keep knocking them down. We got this! Trust your gut!
@@southernladyish okay but all religions or faiths started as the very definition of a cult, some were just more successful like christianity. So, technically, yeah, you have beliefs that started from a cult 🤷♀️ I believe that's fairly important to acknowledge.
Even the devil knows scripture. Doesn’t prove you are a man of God using the bible in a argument.
Perfect description of the cult of wells
And Satan is the father of lies.
Sadly satan knows the Bible better than most who call themselves Christians
Cults are factions of Satan. The enemy is at a pinnacle of their attack.
@@c50ge The Holy Spirit in me grieves over this truth
Yes im not even sure what some people are trying to say. Of course im suspicious just in general...
The woman from the wedding who he is talking about is my aunt. My family thanks you for everything you’ve done to try and help. We are still devastated.
I am curious if this is any anyway related to the Church in Arlington or the Church in Fort Worth? I am wondering if Wells could be a splitter of one of either the Arlington or Fort Worth church?
Thank you in advance for any information you can share. I’m sorry to hear about your family member.
@@alat2009They are not, they started as a group at Baylor University and became more extreme over time
Evil people who pose as supreme godliness. Militant religious groups. Just like ISIS.
Madness!!!!
@@alat2009according to their website they began in Arlington and moved to Wells in 2012
They are always the same, and they are always so sadly destructive. It hurts to see the banner of Jesus's name and reputation being perverted by such atrocious cults.
Hi, Jesus doesn't grieve for His name being misrepresented, Jesus grieves for their deception and not knowing the real GOOD NEWS.
Its been happening for ages. It's why people are as Christ-friendly.
Absolutely...gives followers of Jesus Christ a bad wrap...that’s why I don’t call myself a Christian. Cults like this make the idea of Jesus repulsive to nonbelievers...the Devil is the king of deception, what better place to deceive than within the “church”....look at the Vatican! Father Amorth believes the Devil resides in the Vatican....his words!
@@Theohybrid Came to say the same thing. Even Paul had to deal with groups like the gnostics.
I really appreciate how objective y'all are. Other channels just do a Google search but y'all actually interview people who have first hand experience. I really look forward to these videos. They are very informative and fascinating.
“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”
Deuteronomy 18:22 KJV
The fruits of Christ are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. This is not a change of behavior that comes from a man sending you a text message telling you to treat people differently, it comes from God and it does change the heart.
Praise God for this coverage of The Church of Wells. I wrestled with deep doubt of my salvation for a long time and came across this church online almost one year ago. Their theology destroys any Biblically authorized assurance of salvation (based solely on the finished work of Christ) and feeds existing doubt, creates more doubt, & attempts to control others by constant fear. Through the grace of God, much prayer, & study of the scripture, I now have assurance of my salvation, and it rests entirely in Jesus Christ. Thank you guys for your work on exposing the dangers of this group
Amen!
I suspect they are indeed a cult and sinful but some of what they preach is true and there is the danger. I submit that once saved always saved is from Calvin and not the Bible. Jesus said work out your salvation with fear and trembling for a reason. Hebrews 10:26-31 says: If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Revelation 3: 4 makes it clear your name can be written in the book of life, and then blotted out from the book of life for sin. In their case it was the sin of no more works. Its not what the churches teach these days.
@@paulbriggs3072 Can one who is born be unborn? Can one who has had the law written on his heart have it unwritten? The Hebrews passage is clearly referring to someone who entered the covenant community of believers and experienced all of the external blessings of the covenant, but was yet not supernaturally born again.
@@PaDutchRunner Well, the writer plainly says 'If WE deliberately keep on sinning...' He does not say if someone deliberately keeps on sinning.... ' We' includes the writer himself. Nor does he say there was no sacrifice applied for this person to begin with since they were never born again. But what does he say instead? "... no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire..." The NASB, King James and others say 'no sacrifice for sin remains'. This makes very clear the sacrifice has been applied but will no longer be applied. This goes perfectly in harmony with the clear warning to Sardis in Revelation 3:4 that your name can blotted out from the book of life. Clearly if your name is in the book of life, you are saved. Moreover, the passage makes clear that sin will cause Jesus to blot it out. So yes, you absolutely can lose your salvation. Not even the ungodly Catholics preached such a doctrine of demons as once saved-always saved before the ungodly John Calvin and his new wind of teaching reared his head. (By the way, Calvin's doctrines were much worse than people realize as this interesting article shows: www.reenactingtheway.com/blog/john-calvin-had-people-killed-and-bad-bible-interpretation-justified-it And this barely touches on just how much of a wolf beneath the sheep's clothing the man himself truly was.) I urge one and all to stop following denominations and church leaders, but to follow the explicit and plain meanings of scriptures, especially those that discomfort us and contradict prominent teachers.
@@paulbriggs3072 Why would the Scriptures describe justification as a supernatural new birth, specifically using the imagery using the imagery being born? Scripture is replete with this imagery. These passages, combined with Romans 7 (and many others) clearly convey the doctrine of perseverance. You are engaging in poor hermeneutics by taking an ambiguous passage, reading your desire interpretation into it, and then creating an entire doctrine around it which clearly contradicts other unambiguous passages. And further, you engage in ad hominem against John Calvin to further support your faulty interpretations. This is NOT the way to study Scripture, my man.
I live very close to Wells, TX. About 15 minutes. It’s amazing to me how this man’s faith hasn’t faltered living so close to such toxic religious followers and twisted beliefs. I’m pretty amazed. Very good story!
Because those whom have a true relationship with Jesus, have the HS and therefore discernment!
You’re right, but I’m assuming you haven’t been exposed to these people. I truly believe they are of the devil. They would drive many strong Christians to disbelief, I’ve seen it happen unfortunately. But good for him. He’s a great guy with strong faith
@@hanjo111 He is! It is so sad that people who claim to be Christian, are completely deceived. They are leading people straight to hell...😔 I did not even know they existed! I will be praying...🙏
Pray hard! These demons are alive and well in Texas unfortunately. False prophets. Super destructive to the community which is small and used to be close.
This man doesn’t even go to church. Y’all should really take time to know all of the circumstance. It’s like the jesus said I tell you the truth you don’t believe it if I tell you a lie that you will believe. Just sad this is how many are going to be deceived in the end ! Believing liars
I wish I had this guy and his wife as a friend. Road traveling, kids and all to help a friend in trouble. God is good!
Ug
I go
There should be a note on the Zillow listing: "Neighbors say this community is heretical and personally intrusive!!!".
Wouldn’t that be helpful!
Seriously, dude thought he got a steal at 38k. The seller might have felt like a bandit at closing lol
laughed out loud literally! thats horrible to laugh at but i can just imagine the truth in that for both parties involved in that sale.
😂😂😂 HILARIOUS! Truth 😂😂😂
Dude looked like Tom Cruze
"Bigger barnes Richard. God is gonna judge you! 🤨"
Richard: "Shut the mouth" 😑
😂😂😂😂
"How can you be so vulgar??!". Lol. "Shut up" is a swear word to some.
Well that's God's job, not yours
The 58 dislikes are all Church of Wells members
I wish we could see the likes and dislikes lol
You might be joking but it’s actually probably true. They are so ridiculous
Hah good one
Could be, could be those who think all organized religion is cultish and all the irony.....
@@krissybee9905 ha ha most are... Lolol.
Extra-biblical revelation. Always a good sign.
Yes like the seventh day Adventist church
@@catherine9808 One of many!
I know! And the Bible red-flagged that for us specifically. And yet, these people do exactly what the Bible warned against from the beginning. Galatians 8. Just another proof of many that the Bible is trustworthy.
@@catherine9808
Also the evangelical and charismatic pentecostal.
This post is a sign
The inter webs is a sign
That intro is fucking epic. Some random dude preaching with a baby.. then guy says, “please get off my property” hahah
😂
"It's clear language, shut the mouth." Haha
I started hollering when he said that 🤣😭🤣
Ha
“Hush now with that foul language. Bridle your tongue sir!”
ˡᵒˡ
Such a great response haha
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Love that the ad at the beginning of this video was for the LDS church
They always buy add space from shows like this, or Scientology shows. They prey on people that are leaving their cults. They hope to get to them while they are still messed up. Love bombing them, until they join the new "church".
Mine was for a bank but I get a lot of islamic ads when I watch David Wood's videos. Lol
Mine was for walkers crisps
I think it's another David koresh
Mine was for weed lol
I'm from Pollok, Texas (a small town right down the highway from Wells), and I know of a lot of families that have been wrecked by the Church of Wells. They are really bad.
Sup Pollokian.
Greetings from Zavalla😃👍
Yeah I'm from Rusk . I used to tattoo in Pollock at gypsy blue a long time ago . But yeah these people are always in the news for something or another from child abuse allegations to kidnapping . There's always parents of kids that have joined pleasing their kids return.
Daniel, such a small world. My family is from Rusk. Both parents graduated from there and my grandpa owns Good Times Wood Products. I'm very familiar with this cult and others that haven't gotten as much attention. I was homeschooled growing up. I'm a huge advocate for homeschooling, but it's no surprise that you tend to know a lot more people caught up in cults in the homeschool community..
@@brandicheek2167 so johnny Williams is your grandpa??? Small world for sure . I used to go to parties at good times a long time ago that holly would throw
Yes, Sue and Johnny are my grandparents.
I got involved with a cult...it didn't start out that way. It started out the BEST CHURCH EVER... it actually was almost exactly like Apologia, teaching and appearance and everything. I didn't know it turned into a cult until it was too late. I was so blinded and thought everything was so Biblical when it was actually sooooooooo bad. It's nearly impossible to know you're in a cult while you're in one. People told me it was one but I didn't believe them. Once the Spirit revealed it... we struggled for a long time admitting it was a cult, then... ran so fast out of there.
IF SOMEONE ELSE THINKS YOU ARE IN A CULT NEVER EVER DISMISS THEM. It got to the point where the pastor in Sugarland, TX said it was a "badge of honor" to be called a cult and started wearing a shirt that said "cult leader." He took pride in being called a cult and manipulated people into thinking it was persecution and no one else understood. I had so many meetings with the pastors of the One Association but they simply were to blinded. They'd literally make jokes from the pulpit about being a cult-- fully convinced they were not one. Pride is a dangerous sin.
Apologia sounded like the church before it became a cult, The Wells sounds like where it was going. It's a tricky and kinda scary thought to know how QUICKLY a good solid strong church can slip into cult practices-- no matter how strong of a church you think you're in, you must always stay humble.
What appears to be a strong church does not be turn into a cult it was already a cult with the trappings of a solid Church.
Can you explain what you mean by Apologia turning into a cult?
@@forveryoungdisciples6784 I’m not saying he will become one. He just sounds exactly like my former pastor who went off the deep end. Zeal and confidence is good. But the enemy can get ahold of people and turn that confidence into pride and things can go downhill fast.
Ok gotcha. I was just wondering “wait did I miss something and Apologia is a cult now?!” lol
The most disturbing thing is that if you go to their website and look at their beliefs, they are all solid, biblical and reformed. It just proves that even if you have biblical beliefs, you can still be lost.
They are very open about and often push the idea that a Christian can lose their salvation. They are not Reformed and do not claim to be. In fact they often speak against Reformed Theology and try to refute Calvinism.
@@spiritandtruth7421 I’m talking about their website. Not what they say with their mouths.
@@spiritandtruth7421 they actually do pretend to be reformed on their site. Clearly they are not hearing their teaching. They are blown with every wind. Cult
@@TheSacredlizzy Specifically what on their website is an example of them trying to look Reformed?
@@justinmayy Specifically what on their website is a Reformed belief or doctrine that they hold to that is exclusive to Reformed theology?
I went to a Landmark Seminar once, and the first thing they tried to do was separate me from my boyfriend. I had a back injury from a car accident and I told them that I needed him to stay by me, but they wouldn't listen. But I ignored them and we stayed together. Within the first hour I realized we were in a cult (mini scientology). We demanded our money back but they refused, but I made a loud enough stink that they had no choice. Years later I ended up at Set Free Ministries, and they also would separate the husbands from the wives and make them live apart. Another cult. "That which God has joined together, let no man separate." First and only red flag someone needs is when they try and separate you from your spouse. You don't have to look any further. You're in a cult. I met a few guys as they were running away from the men's ranch.
...you seem to be drawn to cults...religious/spiritual truth takes introspection and an external supportive body of like minded people to flourish. I was born into the Catholic way of looking at life, this has changed for me over the years as now I keep my own counsel in my private world with God. And that, for me, is OK. Don't quite 'get' what you are looking for.
@@ritalamy5866 I went to Landmark because my sister raved about it but I saw it for what it was right away. I was living with chronic pain from an accident and thought I could learn some skills to help me manage pain better. I wasn't looking for a religious experience. As for Set Free Mininistries, I went there because they"specialized" in caring for the homeless and addicts, and that is what I wanted to do. It was a live in "discipleship" program, but it turned out to be a cult. Saw that my second day into the program. I am not drawn to cults. But I am glad I learned first hand what to stay away from.
@@yourcompassioncorner you have a good heart and your intentions were in the right place. You figured it out quickly is all that matters, I don’t think you’re at risk to join a cult. Hope you’re doing well ☺️
@@beautifulmermaid718 Thank you for that. A word of encouragement is always most welcome.
@@yourcompassioncorner im glad you saw all the flags! I deal with chronic pain along with other health issues and its disturbing how cults like what you've encountered zero in on people with vulnerabilities. My mom has been pulled into more than one cult usually of the the fundamentalist Christian variety and they always seem to make a huge deal out of her chronic pain and my physical disability as a way to emotionally manipulate her.
Ya, I wouldnt have had the patience of that gentleman at the start. Bless his heart
Me neither!!!
Most normal people would react in situations like this. Unfortunately groups like these use tactics like this to provoke and cause a legal dispute. Key example, Scientology
One of my closest friends escaped growing up in scientology, and I've followed several former LDS members on social media for years.
I'd love to be able to move out near a church like this and help people escape someday.
You still can :)
I live in East Texas. I am so thankful that the Lord lead you to buy property in Wells and serve in this manner!
They put a curse on me over seven years ago. They told me judgment would fall on me very soon! They are definitely false prophets!!
What the??? Christians don't put curses on anyone! These people are CRAZY!!!!
@@jewels3596 2Ki 2:22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.
2Ki 2:23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
2Ki 2:24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
@@jewels3596 Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
No such thing as a curse let that thought go so it can't control you anymore
@@HeatherBoo916 I agree. I called them each year for several years and asked if their judgement has fallen on me yet. I should have said that tried to put a curse on me
Know the scripture and walk in His way, narrow is the path to light. Keep up the good work brother.
Straight is the gate and narrow is the path to righteousness
The poor innocent children. My heart is so shattered to think of how alone they must feel/ have felt. God of promise, god of grace and love protect their hearts. heal their souls. Guide us to the broken so that we might help them to find peace in you O Lord! Amen. 🙏🏻🙌😇
What was THAT about? It saddens me 2c young children being in the middle of this shaming...
The Lord said Be Aware of Wolves in Sheep’s clothing
I spoke with some Church of Wells members (I believe one was the elder Ryan R.) when I attended Passion Conference in Houston in 2016. I didn’t have any background on them at the time. They were preaching and talking with people outside the conference sessions, mostly preaching about the need for repentance. They said a lot of true things and quoted a lot of Scripture (KJV, of course), but the impression I came away with was that they ultimately believe a doctrine one might call “justification by leaving everything behind to join The Church of Wells.” I can definitely see how someone who sincerely wants to follow Jesus and sees the emptiness of much of modern churchianity could fall into this group. The question they confronted me with was, “Have you ever literally left behind everything to follow Jesus, and if not, how do you know whether you’re really sincere in your devotion to him and are willing to do so?” I somewhat considered whether I should join them, but they also definitely weirded me out. I think an important thing that kept me from joining them was that I’d already heard preaching from the likes of Francis Chan, Paul Washer, and John Piper and was already following Jesus with repentance from sin, etc. Had they been the first ones to call me to a more biblical and “radical” life than what most of the visible church in America does, I might hypothetically live with them in Wells today.
@Grace and Truth for The Church of Wells haha! Yes, indeed. May God bless you and your family and work his grace powerfully in and through y’all.
Bro, that is something! I was at that Passion Conference in 2016 as well (I had been radically converted three years earlier), and saw them around. Jacob Gardner was almost constantly "open air preaching", but all I ever heard him say was "the holiness without which no one will see the Lord". By the end of the conference my curiosity was strong, and I sat down with one of the members for about two hours and talked about what they believe. You said it well; at face value, they seemed appealing in their zeal, apparent concern for repentance, self-examination, etc. But beneath that veneer of true godliness, I believed at that time that there was, just as you said, a failure to understand justification by faith and salvation through God's free grace in Christ. I was also tempted (and I use that word intentionally) to follow up with them more, especially because they provided such a clear contrast to some of the goofy, irreverent public speaking I had been hearing at the Passion Conference (i.e. Christine Cain). In hindsight and having done more research, it seems likely to me that particularly try to appeal to zealous young men who are discontent with popular, Big Eva evangelicalism, but not quite grounded enough to discern what is probably an insidious false gospel in Wells.
And again, funny, but just as you hinted at, I thank God for preserving me and directing me away from this group, also in part due to the teaching of men like Paul Washer and John Piper.
Finally, just a strange observation in keeping with this great podcast from Apologia; when I sat down with that member from the Church of Wells, the topic of his age came up. I asked how old he was, and he paused for awhile, and seemingly couldn't answer. He called his wife over and said "beloved, when is my birthday?" and they were eventually able to piece together an answer. I found that very unusual at the time. He must really have died to self, I thought. But in hindsight I think it was an example of just what Matt mentioned: CoW seeking to obliterate the unique, God-given identity and personality of their members, and remaking them in their own image, rather than in the image of God.
Great video! I have known of this group for years and am thankful to see a more mainstream ministry addressing them. I personally would love to see even more discussion with Matt, especially sorting through a systematic theology of what Church of Wells believes (as best as we can tell).
I was at that Passion Conference in 2016 as well (I had been radically converted three years earlier), and saw them around. Jacob Gardner was almost constantly "open air preaching", but all I ever heard him say was "the holiness without which no one will see the Lord". By the end of the conference my curiosity was strong, and I sat down with one of the members for about two hours and talked about what they believe. At face value, they seemed appealing in their zeal, apparent concern for repentance, "humility", self-examination, etc. But beneath that veneer of true godliness, I believed at that time that there was, just as you said, a failure to understand justification by faith and salvation through God's free grace in Christ. I was also tempted (and I use that word intentionally) to follow up with them more, especially because they provided such a clear contrast to some of the goofy, irreverent public speaking I had been hearing at the Passion Conference (i.e. Christine Cain). In hindsight and having done more research, it seems likely to me that particularly try to appeal to zealous young men who are discontent with popular, Big Eva grade evangelicalism, but not quite grounded enough to discern what is probably an insidious false gospel in Wells.
I thank God for preserving me and directing me away from this group, in part due to the teaching of men like Paul Washer and John Piper, and the fact that I knew by God's grace that salvation must be all of Him, or not at all.
Finally, just a strange observation in keeping with this great podcast from Apologia; when I sat down with that member from the Church of Wells, the topic of his age came up. I asked how old he was, and he paused for awhile, and seemingly couldn't answer. He called his wife over and said "beloved, when is my birthday?" and they were eventually able to piece together an answer. He literally seemed unable to remember his birthday and age. I found that very unusual at the time. He must really have died to self, I thought. But in hindsight I think it was an example of just what Matt mentioned: CoW seeking to obliterate the unique, God-given identity and personality of their members, and remaking them in their own image, rather than in the image of God.
Please join me in praying that the Lord of heaven and earth brings an end to this movement and prevents it further spread, both locally and around the world.
Very insightful comment, thank you. Your analysis of their “target demographic” of young men tired of mainstream Christian pop-culture seems spot-on. Also the birthday story was odd indeed. Wonder what exactly that was all about, and how genuine or contrived that whole thing was. Fascinating, thanks again for relaying your encounter with CoW and like you say, praise God for keeping you from CoW and keeping your heart tied to His saving Grace and the true Gospel!
This is dealing with narcissism. The fact that he thinks he has the right to oppress you and harass you with his brand of religion.I have delt with this narcissism recently.It is causing people so much grief .It is a man centered Gospel with no mercy.
Very informative. Would be interesting to hear personal experiences of the former members, especially women.
A tricky thing with the Church of Wells is that they read their Bibles a ton and memorize a lot of scripture and are well prepared when it comes to discussing and debating the scriptures. The problem is that many people that are new to the faith or who are struggling with sin or the "false converts" that the church tries to recruit, and even just the average Christian that they talk with online, these people generally do not know their Bibles that well. And so many people fall for this group because they can't argue efficiently against the church of wells' error and talking points. The problem is that the church takes scripture and theology out of context. Or if you ask them if they believe in "Sinless Perfectionism" they will say no. But yet it doesn't seem to come across that way in other discussions regarding sin. They are also big on not being like the world, which is a good thing! But they seem to take these things to the extreme. They recently posted a video calling out Paul Washer and how he is probably not saved and they list how he is super worldly now because he watches The Lord of the Rings (among other examples). And what makes it even trickier is that the Church of Wells does preach and teach things that are good and true. So they mix in some truth and if you are not well versed in the scriptures you can easily get sucked in. From looking at some sermon videos online or their website you might not be able to spot a ton of heresy and false teaching. I think that if you are going to have them on your show to discuss, you really need to be prepared and know exactly what they believe on various things so that you are prepared. Because much of their false teaching you won't find out or see unless you have had some in depth discussion with them on it first to really get at what they believe and to see the proof texts that they all have memorized and will go to. I don't think you would fair well with an off the cuff debate with them. Get to know first how they define different "types" of sin and which ones are worthy of a person losing their salvation over. Willful sinning, sins of ignorance etc.
Their whole focus seems to primarily be on how many Christians are actually false converts and not truly saved. They will point to a sin that a person struggles with or a sin that a Christian committed yesterday and then go to the verses that show how they are not saved. Or the love of the world they will point to a movie or wearing make-up or a brand name tee shirt or something like that and give Bible verses which seem to imply that they have not been saved because they are too much like the world. Or the verses on how we must love and seek after God with our WHOLE hearts first in order to be saved and then they will find an area that a person is not 100% wholeheartedly following God in and then conclude that they do not know Christ.
It's also interesting that they never have any public discussions or debates with the Christians who have called them out who DO know their Bibles well. They have made a few response videos to Tony Miano and Matt Slick's questions for them I believe. But no back and forth dialogue because they probably know that they will get owned. Instead they seem to only "prey" on or interact with those who they know they will have the upper theological hand on.
Agreed. Spot on.
I was at Thumpers (a local Christian Coffee house in Nacogdoches) and was privy to a discussion some of these 'Wells Churchmen' were having.
They were super confident, knew Scriptures well BUT had their own unique SPIN that was just off.
Being only a few miles from Wells we've sure heard all about them, infamously.
Dude if you want to write a book, write it, or type it in Paper.
then publish it
@@CatholicLogic7
He just published it, here.
I read every word.
These matters are nuanced.
If you really believe your 'It Is Written' name - why do lengthy paragraphs & rational & nuanced discussion frustate you ?
Is the Church of Wells synergist?
Because those errors you mention are common to hardcore synergists.
@@allisvanity...9161
Monergism, Baby !
I know people who are currently a part of this cult. I am very eager to watch this and be more informed. Thank you for your work/ministry.
I have been waiting for this! A high school friend is actually there and her parents are the ones that went down and tried to get her back a couple years ago.
Is she staying voluntarily or does she need to be rescued? I live less than 3 hrs from there.
Oh no 💔
@@queenEsther318 I think someone else there needs to be rescued. She escaped with her mom but went back “under the abusive leadership of Sean” she has a kid too. I wish I could do something to save them
@@mellesamson9951 do you know how I can help them?
@@queenEsther318 I asked two cops at my church and they said call the non emergency 911 line and report it, the TIPS phone number line and report it, and file a report to the FBI if you want to as well. There has been several FBI reports against them. The TIPS phone number is anonymous so they don’t have any info about you if you don’t feel comfortable telling them about you. Do you want me to give you the phone numbers?
The way Matt speaks reminds me SO much of Rhett from Good Mythical Morning. Their speech patterns are so similar.
Child protective services need to be contacted in relation to this place.
@Rvangel D First of all, raising a child in a cult is psychological abuse, and on that alone CPS should be called on them. Second, he blatantly mentions them *carrying switches* and using them so often that the children don’t have the energy to respond. There’s your physical abuse.
@Evangelical Disciple did you watch the video at all? Children who are beaten to the point where when they are hit they do not make a sound out of submission. A literal baby died in their care due to lack of medical intervention. They’re wack jobs and those kids deserve better.
They have been, multiple times, they do nothing.... sad
@Evangelical Disciple - You sound like the guy in the start of the video. I'm surprised you didn't start your message with "Shame on you...".
CDC can make only so many visits, I believe Texas is 24 until a harassment case can be brought against the county. It is extremely difficult to remove a child from a home based solely on hearsay. Did the interviewee file a CDC complaint? Does he have proof? Photos? Statements? It’s also very common especially in the south to be disciplined with a switch. Even the interviewee states he was raised with spankings. CDCs hands are tied unless a victim comes forward or they witness the abuse upon visitation, than an investigation can move to family court. Which in this case a child most likely will be placed in custody of another family member whom is probably going to be also a cult member of the Church of Wells.
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." - the Lord
I visited Wells to check it out, and there followers were all over this little East TX town. You can easily identify them by their clothing. I feel sorry for the locals that have to put up with their antics, nothing wrong with trying to live a good life, but this is NOT it. Condemning everyone that is not you is ridiculous and God will deal with these insane judgements.
How does their clothing differ from the Myers family? I noticed the Myers women wear long skirts.
@@gloomcookie Hmmmm... I don’t know. I can say that the clothing is very humble, mismatched and lots of long skirts. The look doesn’t match the person’s youthfulness if that makes sense.
Wow. You not only described this group really well, but also described the basic patterns of cults. I used to attend a church where this happened to me. Looking back, I was definitely a wounded soul, very fragile and vulnerable, easily sucked into extreme beliefs. I think I also had a lot of New Convert Pride, getting in deeper than I should have. I attended a Bible based church (won't name names). I don't think they were a cult, but they are definitely known for having spiritual abuse in their nondenominational denomination. They certainly never told me I wasn't saved for not being in their church, but they definitely painted "the world" in a negative light, and definitely made people feel like less of a Christian if they lived in "compromise" or " in the world." There was a lot implied in their preaching that made me feel like I needed to isolate, separate myself away from the world. I also felt like I was under a lot of spiritual stress, pressured to live on a spiritual high that wasn't realistic for me, and I definitely felt like I had to bend until I broke. Of course, I had a lot of stressors in my life at that time. I'd also been through a lot of trauma and abuse myself, and I internalized certain truths that they preached in ways that the pastors probably never intended.
There were also some specific individuals in the church with whom I was close who really made it worse. I eventually realized that they weren't on the best terms with the rest of the church either, and would have been asked to leave if they hadn't already left first. But we were so close. They were super intense for Jesus, and definitely extremes in their views, moreso than the rest of the church. Once they invited Mormon Missionaries, whom had come around their neighborhood, over to their home to discuss doctrine. Honestly--I was more concerned for the Mormons than I was for my friends. Because I knew that those Mormon Missionaries were going to spend a whole evening-perhaps even night--being shouted at and argued with over Doctrine.
May God have mercy on all those trapped in that God awful place.
I really enjoy this conversation you all had. Great podcast and can’t wait till the next one ! I’m a first time listener!
These people come to my college campus every semester and scream at people that they're going to hell. They get away with it because they'll take one class a semester so that they're entitled to free speech on campus. The police always has to stand there and watch the interactions, because it's always very tense and they have gotten in fistfights before. I genuinely have no idea why they were allowed back on campus.
Wait! I remember this when I went to SFA! I never knew it was these people though! They were always across from thee music department!
@@Depechemoboe When I went they'd always be in front of the student center holding a Walmart bag full of mini bibles.
This lowkey sounds like sister Cindy from TikTok
People have preached hell since forever. There's nothing indicating a problem there. That's not what makes them a cult.
I was in a similar cult started by Mark Vanderstoep and his wife Barbara. At Evangelistic Temple in Houston Texas. It started out as a innocent prayer group. But ended up focusing on Mark Vanderstoep as THAT PROPHET which Moses said would come after him.
I got in,in 1976. Got out in 1986. 1988 was the lost year of my life. As I was in a mental hospital. In 1989 God restored me back to reality. But because of the cult. I lost my job with the Railroad as a Engineer.
I'm sorry you went through that experience. Hopefully you are stronger now with the the Lord after going through that fire.
@@-Enrico I am. In fact I wrote a manuscript on cults in Charismatic churches. That start out as innocent prayer and Bible study home groups.
I hadn’t heard of this cult so thank you for this episode.
It's CRAZY! I live only 10mins from the town and there are 2 towns close that most people work in or travel to for doctors and big box stores and things like that. I work in one of those towns and when they first came into town they would come into businesses and bring flyers and things like that and seemed really nice....then it all broke lose....and they started going to businesses and standing outside of the school in Wells and shouting and telling EVERYONE they were going to hell even the kids telling them that hell was going to rain down on them scared the crap out of these kids and pissing off an entire town they have calmed down sense they first came down here but we all keep a look out and keep our ears open for any crazyness.....
@@asheykent2695 They’re doing a lot of damage to Christianity and providing fuel for atheists and anti Christians alike!
@@veganian2019 Believe me I know and as someone who lives here in this area it is very scary because it's like what was said they no longer tell you where they are from as in what church....and we as a community try to help those whom are not from from here because we have heard them speak and we know when they start talking even if they don't come out and say what church they are from we know so I know that myself and several others will come up and be like nope you REALLY don't want to take that path and try to educate those whom don't know because they have not watched it for years and heard how they preach and how they treat people.....now most of there recruiting is done outside the area because of those of us actively tring to stop it legal parameters because they are quick to make things up and call the law we all have to be very careful
"Hallelujah, the work is done! Hallelujah, the work has just begun! I am saved, am being saved, and shall be saved at last by his sovereign mercy. Amen." - Jake Gardner
This quote from his testimony page on the Church of Wells website says it all brothers.
I went to bible college with quite a few of the families in this cult (prior to them joint this cult). Multiple people tried really hard to get me to go out there and it made me question my faith. Praise the Lord He kept me from this and reminded me of who I am in Him! The families have been devastated and it’s so controlled. So sad!
A friend of mine tried to join but wasn’t “pure enough”. Craziness.
They must ignore the part of the bible where Jesus hangs with Mary Magdalene, a prostitute....
Keeping children from crying while spanking/switching them....that's forcing children to stuff feelings~ this is *so* destructive to a little child's psyche. 😢
Mind control.. it splits the personality and opens the opportunity to insert a new personality into the child.
So true
They use a scripture from proverbs as an excuse to hit kids. Spare the rod means spare guidance you will spoil the child. Not an actual rod to hit with!
invoking fear demons into the child
Everybody has to stuff feelings, I bet those suffering from the car jackings in DC wish those kids would have stuffed their feelings.
@@jamesstephens7963 what the hell? Are you stupid or just dumb? Events like DC is the making of supressing feelings and emotions, and then lashing out publicly and breaking laws. So please inform yourself before speaking on a tragedy.
Respect boundaries. Jesus Christ (God the Son) never forced Himself on anyone like this...
My biggest question is what consequences are there for an attempted escape? Why is it so urgent when people try to leave?
Good question! I am more than willing to drive my suburban over and pick people up to get them away from there.
If you've ever been in a situation like that where someone is trying to control you, things can get very ugly when they feel their control is slipping. These mfers are mentally disturbed on some level and definitely present a physiological and physical threat, especially if they lose control.
The biggest reason is that these leaders do not want their secrets exposed. They portray themselves as religious and therefore moral. In reality they are abusive in often several ways, ie physical, sexual and emotional. When people in that position feel that they are losing control or that their position is in jeopardy they often have no issue murdering people to ensure secrecy. Gruppo del Rosario is an apocalyptic group that murdered a member in the 1980s in Italy.
This is another one that I get right into because I want to be equipped.
Thank you for this followship
This guy straight up accused him of "shedding Jesus Christs' blood" and ppl are in the comments slinging mud at Cultish, shame on you😔
Sounds just like Joseph Smith and the mormons I grew up in. Soo scary. Thanks for spreading truth and exposing darkness.
You grew up with Joseph Smith?
@@tintinismybelgian Just his looney doctrines being taught to me from birth. I've read a lot of his writings.
Nothing like thinking you're a special boy, and only you can interpret holy scripture!
Love the podcast, coming from a atheist. You guys need and I say "NEED" TO look into "love has won"... They are a current up to date cult... Awesome thanks 👍😀
Is that the cult with female leader who is out of her mind?
@@jstinstinny8909 yes... They call her "mother".. it's on Dr Phil
@@justinrobertson7892 The lady literally just died too and a handful of people got arrested. www.thedailybeast.com/corpse-found-in-colorado-cult-of-so-called-cult-love-has-won-led-by-amy-carlson
@@oystersoup3434 thanks for the info you rock!
Yo... “The Endless.” The cult sounds like the group from this movie a bit-when he said they arrived for the weeding and it looked like the twilight zone, that’s just like this movie The Endless. One of my fav films. Very creepy thriller movie that I frequently recommend!
Great movie! So creepy!
Spectacular film.
You have to keep exposing these groups @Cultish! Keep persevering
"Always winter, and never Christmas"
Would love to watch part 2, but the video on your website keeps freezing a few minutes in. Is there any way you could upload it on TH-cam? Or possibly fix the one on your website? Thank you!
I barely made it through the beginning, I've never wanted to punch someone so badly
Jesus Christ is LORD and GOD 🙏😇
@soul faith Amen Aleluya Glory to God our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ Amen
Amen!
The worst part of a cult is the children that get swept along with this. The video at the beginning really broke my heart. I'll definitely be praying for everyone in Wells
Fascinating episode. Looking forward to part 2!
Matt is an amazing guy! I have watched almost every single one of his videos.
Love the title of the book in the frame: “Escape”
I'm not hipster enough to listen to this show.
😆
These look like the kind of dudes who would corner you at a party and drone on about getting the latest release of some obscure band on limited edition blue vinyl for an hour.
Way to miss the point guys...
@@katehalas6492 just because I made an offhand comment on the appearance of the hosts doesn't mean that I missed the point.... Im just not discussing it in the comments.
@@terriblehaute5100 why cause flannels and beards? Looks like a normal wardrobe, excuse my ignorance.
Just follow Jesus. Man will let you down man will make you stumble but Jesus never will. Keep your eyes on the savior everyone. You’ll never be deceived by Jesus❤️❤️❤️
God is eternal, he does bot change. He is the same in the past, present, and future.
Had to pray against some darkness after watching this video for a few minutes 😳
Thanks for this! A friend of mine recently joined a common purse community that is claimed to be a cult... it’s called Madison Place Community in Cincinnati (was called Gladstone community) if you or anyone has any insights.
I want to see you guys look at Shofar Mountain. Always appreciate your take on these topics!
If anyone trespasses on my property and refuses to leave after 3 warnings, I'm getting out my shotgun
this being in Texas you would think this cult would be more afraid of people exercising their constitutional rights!
"I hope you like Jesus, cuz your about to meet Him!"
I have some attack ducks I would like to lend to the guy at the beginning of the video.
Ha ha! Donkeys and ostrich are also good.
Or geese.
I had a childhood friend that got saved when he was about 20 years old. He and my two best friends were hanging out at my apartment. We were talking about church and the bible. He got real quiet, then stood up and started yelling at us that we were blasphemers. According to him, we were completely lost to God and we would burn in hell. In all honesty, we had sex with our girlfriends outside of marriage. After all that, he announced that his girlfriend was pregnant but God had ordained their action outside of marriage. He was still righteous in God's eyes but we were going to burn for our sin no matter what we did. He said even if we asked for God's forgiveness that we were damned to hell. After all that me and my two best friends had biblical rebuttal for him, that just made him even more mad.
Matt seems like a nice guy and I know I’m being judgmental, but I have a feeling he is a fundamentalist too. There’s a very fine line between them and a cult. Interestingly, both Matt and the leaders of the Church of Wells use the same “evidence” to know they’re right in the wedding story.
What did you mean by this wedding situation evidence remark?
Also, where are you coming from with your post? I mean in terms of your "fundamentalist" comment.
What are you attempting to say about Matt's beliefs and what is your overall point where you are drawing a certain division between him and yourself?
Such a beautiful way to talk abouts truly what Christs sacrifice meant.I have never heard that perspective... Life altering ❤....thank you sincerely
Do you guys take recommendations for speaking out about different cults? I’m really hoping to get some information out about a cult in Columbus, OH. Very different from this specific church but one that I believe is very harmful.
There’s a cult in Columbus?! That’s near me! What’s it called?
I am in Cbus as well...please tell so I can avoid it!!
Wow. I just stumbled onto your channel and the first couple of videos I see are on the Church of Wells. I Lived in Wells back in the early 80s and had no idea about this cult. It"s sad but fascinating to hear about it.
Looking forward to part 2!
Glad to be here
This reminds me a lot of The Twelve Tribes movement, which is in different countries now. I met them in the south of Brazil back in 2003 when I did a sociology/anthropology research. Similarities are incredible!
I stayed with that group in their guest house in Savannah Georgia, while I was hitchhiking, completely crazy theology, but to their credit I didn't witness any abusive behavior (and I was paying very close attention to everything).
@@felixguerrero6062 very interesting. They did not have this crazy aggressive attitude down there as well. But they had a weird dynamic on how women expressed themselves. The other thing there is that everyone had their names changed to a Hebrew one after conversion.
@@leo_olive
Yes, this is what I saw as well. It reminded me of the dynamics one sees within Amish communities mixed with a Judaizing theology. I suspect that the women are discouraged from interacting with men from outside the community (much like ultra orthodox Judaism).
I think the best way to reach these folks is to try to patiently reason with them from Scripture (specifically Galatians) that Gentiles do not need to become Jews (or pretend to be Jews) as that undermines the very core of the Gospel. However, because of the extremely communal nature of these sects where everyone is intermarried and extremely close knit, it makes it very difficult for people to leave even if they want to (same with fundamentalist Mormonism).
At least you can get a decent sandwich there
Did Matt's TH-cam channel get taken down? I can't find it anymore.
I remember back when I was in college at SFA, they somehow got school approval to stand in the courtyard and yell at students passing by. We were told we were all going to burn in hell lol they eventually had to set up police officers for protection until their permit ended
I went to NLU in Monroe, LA and we had some dude like that on my campus back in the mid 90s. He asked a group of sorority girls how many times they had used a wire coat hanger to abort a pregnancy. Just disgusting.
Preaching Hell publicly doesn't make a cult nor does it indicate a problem with the preachers beliefs. Why would people call the police or city council about somebody Preaching about Hell? Is Texas really that beta already? Keep in mind there were no specifics here in the post about the man not letting you leave peacefully....just that he was Preaching hell.....I'm confused.
I had the pleasure of speaking to Matt on the phone. Very good guy.
It was like the first impression was completely different from reality...
I lived for several years in a small city that had a cultish type group nearby. We saw that they were very active in getting the most staunch and prominent members to get jobs in local politics, law enforcement, teachers, and real estate. Is there any of that kind of behavior with the church of wells?
Bob and Judy Pardon of the New England Institute of Religious Research are strong foundational Christians and are both professionals, experts and counselors within various cults and helping ex cult members.
Great job on this cult. Very informative. God bless you for your worj
Did you try to interview people of the Church of Wells?
I don’t think they would want to engage in meaningful conversation
@@michaelblanco6665 I guess I would rather know they tried and were refused than to take the word of Matt Myers. He isn’t a bad witness but he obviously has a chip on his shoulder - he’s not objective. I agree that the Church of Wells pastors are unlikely to agree to an interview, but they might. Asking and being told “No” says a lot more than simply presuming their answer.
@Grace and Truth for The Church of Wells Did Cultish give them a personal invitation? You're making very heavy accusations against them. Would the invitation have to be such that you were present with them? Would then interview them by skype/Zoom? If it were me (which it isn't) I would ignore an "open" invitation also. It's just an open door for more muckraking.
What I'd like to see is evidence... photos of the supposed "locked closets" or of parents wielding switches while holding their children in church. People have said they've joined and then left because of "crazy thing" they do - but where is the proof? I've watched a couple of their videos of church services with the intent of seeing "switches" - haven't seen any. Even a young man who left the Hutterites several years ago was able to show photos and film of what was going on in the colonies... why can't this happen with people who leave CoW?
From the first time I learned about the CoW on 20/20 about 5-6 years ago, I thought something was fishy... not about them, but about the aggressive nature so many people have taken against them.
As I've said in comments before, it's hard to take you objectively because you have too much of a chip on your shoulder. I get it: they yelled at your kids - not a good thing. But has your response been to invite them to your home to get to know you? Has your response been one of taking cookies or clothing to some of them? "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap burning coals of fire on his head" (Romans 12:20). The way to treat your neighbor isn't to go on TH-cam and attack them.
I have no affiliation with CoW and their style and church life is foreign to me. At the same time, in your case of being the professing "right" Christian, I would hope for a different approach.
@Grace and Truth for The Church of Wells see, this is what I mean. I don’t have things figured out - I ask honest questions and have issues with Cultish’s one-sides approach, and the response is sarcasm. Why did you do that?
@Grace and Truth for The Church of Wells in the videos of yours I’ve seen (plus the Cultish ones) I have only seen what appears to be antagonism... especially buying a house right next to them. There is a different way. To my mind, leave them alone. Agitation doesn’t do any good - they prove it themselves: who on earth thinks it was a good idea for them to go interrupt a service at Lakewood? Who thinks verbally assaulting a Catholic priest is an effective witness?
In the same way, I just think being antagonistic with them isn’t the right way.
My sister is in very similar cult for more than 9 years, she did not contact with me or my parents since she get in there! She is not allowed. Also, she do listen of all the audios of leaders. That's so sad that the cults are allowed to exist and nobody of authorities could do something about that. I cannot imagine how she will come back one day but I believe God will get her out of there. I am willing to help somehow but can't think of where to start and what to do except prayers of course.
Very sad, really very sad
@@susiebilk9905 Yea...it is. For me the worst is to watch how sad is my parents. I believe and pray to Lord Jesus Christ that He help her to open her eyes and run away
We are legion, for we are many- Mark : 5
Romans 12: 17-21 "Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" -- Remember, blessings is the reward of forgiveness! - brother Levi in Sweden
We can use our flesh/mind to discern the difference between right and wrong but, we need the Holy Spirit to help us discern the difference between right and almost right.
Bingo! So good.