Word of Faith Fellowship

Word of Faith Fellowship is a Pentecostal congregation in Spindale, North Carolina. According to the Associated Press, the church is run as a totalitarian cult, with leader Jane Whaley dictating every aspect of members' lives. Whaley also believes that non-compliant behavior is the result of possession by demons, who can only be exorcised by literally beating them out of congregants. As such, severe beatings are reportedly commonplace, but members are forbidden to seek outside medical attention. The church also runs a school, one wing of which was allegedly used to imprison noncompliant men and boys for up to a year.[1]

History

Word of Faith Fellowship began in 1979 in a former steakhouse with Jane Whaley and her husband Sam Whaley. She was a math teacher and he sold used cars. Jane Whaley, the daughter of a plumber and a homemaker who had two brothers in rural North Carolina, led the group as it grew from a few people to 750, and added almost 2000 followers in related churches in Brazil, Ghana, Scotland, Sweden and other countries.[2][3][4] The Whaleys' daughter Brooke Covington is a minister in the church.[5]

In Brazil, missionary John Martin started Ministerio Verbo Vivo (Live Word) near Belo Horizonte in 1987 after serving as pastor of a Baptist church. Former members said in 2017 that the Whaleys and others from Spindale visited Martin's church after Martin met Sam Whaley in 1986. Eventually, Word of Faith Fellowhip had more influence. The church moved to São Joaquim de Bicas in 2005 and many members moved to Betim.[6]

Solange Granieri and Juarez De Souza Oliveira met the Whaleys in São Paulo, and in 1988 they opened Ministerio Evangelico Comunidade Rhema (Rhema Community Evangelical Ministry) in Franco da Rocha.[6]

Jane Whaley began visiting the Brazilian churches frequently and encouraged members to go on a pilgrimage to the Spindale church. Those who did, she said, would receive many advantages such as a college education.[7]

Style of worship

A 2012 Charlotte Observer article described worship at Word of Faith as "ecstatic .... Sometimes members hop. Sometimes they speak in tongues. The music and prayer booms through the sanctuary." Jane Whaley said, "'God has freed us' to be loud."[4]

Rules

According to former members, Whaley expected rules she said were revealed by God to be followed. Members may not celebrate birthdays or holidays (including Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter), watch television or movies, read newspapers, or eat in restaurants that play music or serve alcohol. Both men and women must swim with shirts on, and men may not grow beards. Members must get permission to attend college and, once there, have their majors chosen by Whaley and must attend with other members who watch each others' behavior. Once they graduate, they must work for the church or a business run by other members.[8]

Abuse allegations

In 1995, Jane and Sam Whaley denied allegations made by several former members on the TV program Inside Edition. One former student said he had been beaten multiple times by church members to remove a "destructive spirit". Other former members described sitting in a "prayer chair" as former members walked around them shouting prayers.[9]

The church was investigated by the SBI in the 1990s for child abuse. after more than forty former members told the Forest City Daily Courier and other news outlets what they believed had happened there. No charges resulted. In 2000, a woman testifying in a child custody case said her one-year-old son was subjected to "blasting", or standing in a circle and loudly praying, sometimes for hours, in order to drive out demons. She also said her son was beaten enough to cause bruises. Jane Whaley, asked about discipline at her church, said God wanted children to be beaten if that was necessary.[10]

Jane Whaley was convicted of misdemeanor assault in 2004 as a result of an incident two years earlier where former member Lacy Wien described "blasting" by a group of members, followed by the assault by Whaley. Wien was suing the church for $2.5 million in a separate case.[11] After five years of appeals, the conviction was overturned.[4]

Another former member, Michael Lowry, claimed to have been beaten and held prisoner in 2011 to drive out gay demons.[12] Lowry testified before a grand jury but in 2013 he rejoined the church, recanting his allegations. Lowry later left the church again and has said he stands by his earlier statements.[5] However, one gay couple who attended the church after hearing what happened to Lowry said, "They didn't judge us; they didn't ostracize us. It was truly a wonderful experience."[4]

An Associated Press investigation included interviews with 43 former members, who told stories of physical abuse resulting in injuries which were not treated, families being separated, and males being held prisoner in a former storage building for as long as a year. Former members described being afraid to leave the church or even oppose Whaley for fear of public reprimand or worse. Children at the church's school were beaten for minor offenses, former members said, even by the other children. The investigation also included numerous documents, and recordings of Whaley made without her knowledge. Whaley denied abuse took place and defended certain practices as being protected by the First Amendment. She refused to be interviewed for the AP investigation, instead accusing former members of lying.[1]

Matthew Fenner case

In 2017, Matthew Fenner testified that, after he and his family joined the church in 2010, he witnessed members being shouted at for hours to remove demons. In January 2013, Fenner, along with almost twenty others,[2] were allegedly beaten for two hours "to break me free of the homosexual 'demons'", he said in a police affidavit. .[13] He said he escaped to the home of his grandparents, who reported the incident to law enforcement. Fenner tried and failed to get law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, to pursue the case. Because Fenner persevered, five church members were indicted in December 2014 and charged with kidnapping and assault.[2]

In May 2017, Brooke Covington, with whom Fenner lived before his escape, became the first Word of Faith member to go on trial. Because the jury foreman shared documents that were not supposed to be made public, Superior Court Judge Gary Gavenus declared a mistrial and a new trial was scheduled for September 11, 2017.[2]

Brazil

The Associated Press found that the churches in Brazil also have the same practices as the Spindale church. Former members claimed that a move by Verbo Vivo and its members was intended to keep them away from the rest of the world. The church and the area where members lived were both surrounded by high fences. In 2009, two of the pastors quit, accusing the church of "brainwashing". A committee of the Minas Gerais state legislature held hearings. John Martin described practices as "guidelines and not prohibitions". Both churches lost many members. For the Associated Press investigation in 2017, over three dozen former members were interviewed and many reported being afraid of what the church would do if they spoke out. Some needed therapy. While the changes in Brazil happened slowly, they were drastic. Blasting and assault were among the practices. Some young people were taken to the United States and required to work at the church or companies owned by members. Some young people were told not to contact their families. One of the rules in Brazil was the banning of soccer. The school at Verbo Vivo, whose teachings included the Bible, eventually was limited to mostly the Bible. Former students reported being isolated and shouted at for bad behavior.[6]

Three former members said in 2014 to a U.S. Attorney that Brazilians brought to the United States were not paid for their work, while Americans working with them were paid, and that they were beaten if they disobeyed. One former member who left the church in 2016 also said his passport and money were taken away. Rules included not speaking Portuguese.[7]

Pastors of the Rhema church told Folha de S.Paulo that the claims were "many lies and distorted facts."[14]

References

  1. 1 2 Weiss, Mitch (February 27, 2017). "Ex-congregants reveal years of ungodly abuse". Associated Press. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Weiss, Mitch; Mohr, Holbrook (June 26, 2017). "AP: Authorities delayed investigating gay 'demons' case". Associated Press. Retrieved June 26, 2017 – via News & Record.
  3. ↑ Weiss, Mitch (February 27, 2017). "Fiery NC Church Leader Could Be Mistaken for Successful CEO". Associated Press. Retrieved July 3, 2017 – via U.S. News & World Report.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gordon, Michael (November 19, 2012). "Word of Faith Fellowship sees 'persecution' for a godly walk; critics see an abusive church". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Schmidt, Samantha (June 2, 2017). "Gay man says church members beat, choked him for hours to expel ‘homosexual demons’". Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Prengaman, Peter; Weiss, Mitch; Mohr, Holbrook (July 25, 2017). "AP: Brazilians detail abuses by US church, shattered lives". Associated Press – via ABC News.
  7. 1 2 Weiss, Mitch; Mohr, Holbrook; Prengaman, Peter (July 24, 2017). "Brazilians funneled as slaves by Spindale church, ex-members say". Associated Press – via WSPA-TV.
  8. ↑ Weiss, Mitch (February 27, 2017). "Sect rules include no TV, movies or reading newspapers". Associated Press. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Convicted child molester at Word of Faith agrees to worship at another church". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. March 8, 1995. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  10. ↑ Lewis, James (August 9, 2000). "Word of faith fellowship discipline unveiled". The Daily Courier. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  11. ↑ Maultsby, Baker (March 4, 2004). "Controversial church leader convicted of assault". Gaston Gazette. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  12. ↑ Curry, Colleen (October 22, 2012). "N.C. Man Says Church Kept Him Imprisoned for Being Gay". ABC News. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Church members charged with beating gay man". Associated Press. December 15, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2017 – via CBS News.
  14. ↑ "Brazil church rejects Word of Faith abuse claims detailed in AP stories". Associated Press. July 27, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2017 – via WSPA-TV.
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