In this investigative exposé of a Korean church branded as a ‘cult’, award-winning journalist Harry Robinson goes toe-to-toe with the World Mission Society Church of God; a religion that believes an elderly woman living in South Korea is God on Earth. It’s a documentary that hurdles the elusiveness of the group, avoiding fetishising the ‘cult’ and, instead, seeks out and gives voices to the countless survivors who were indoctrinated into the church – all whilst the WMSCOG watch from the shadows.

A HARRY ROBINSON Documentary Cinematographer – MADELINE JAMES Cinematographer – ADAM DICKINSON Executive Producer – CHRIS CHOHAN Music sourced with permission from Megatrax With thanks to the JOURNALISM DEPARTMENT at the UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD

The New Journal at Yale University recently published a piece on the World Mission Society Church of God’s activities on their campus. Read the full article here.

This statement above is an excerpt of a World Mission Society Church of God sermon given by the Chairwoman in October of 2012. In addition to her role as Chairwoman of the International WeLoveU Foundation, Zhang Gil Jah is also known as “god the mother” in the World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG). Her followers believe that she is god in the flesh, and that salvation from eternal hellfire can only be obtained through her and the WMSCOG’s numerous other requirements. The World Mission Society Church of God is considered to be a doomsday cult by many former members and families that have lost contact with loved ones after they joined the group. In recent years, the controversial religious group has become very active in their communities all around the world through the WeLoveU Foundation, a front organization created to deceptively recruit members of the public into the church. Serious consideration should be given to the information provided below before becoming affiliated with, or providing financial support to the WeLoveU Foundation.

What is the WeLoveU Foundation?

The International WeLoveU Foundation is purported to be a global charity who’s charitable works include disaster relief, blood drives and environmental clean up projects. The Foundation’s official website states that the charity “aims to make the world a better place where everybody is respected and where sustainable peace is achieved.” The charity also displays the Presidential Volunteer Service Awards it received in 2019 and 2020.

Who is behind the WeLoveU Foundation?

The World Mission Society Church of God is not referenced on the International WeLoveU Foundation’s website, though there are numerous connections between the two organizations. According to the WeLoveU Foundation’s website, Zhang Gil Jah, the same woman the WMSCOG believes is “god the mother,” is the Chairwoman of the organization. A statement from the Chairwoman states in part:

This statement is in stark contrast to the aforementioned statement made by Zhang Gil Jah in her sermon. The statement by Zhang Gil Jah on the WeLoveU Foundation’s website projects a message about love, happiness and overall concern for public wellbeing. The statement the Chairwoman makes in her role as “god the mother” in her sermon demonstrates her actual intention, to experience joy while watching non-World Mission Society Church of God members being burned to death. This contradiction brings the true motives behind the WeLoveU Foundation’s charitable works into question.

What is the connection between the WeLoveU Foundation & the WMSCOG leadership?

In the United States, the WeLoveU Foundation is currently headquartered in New Windsor, New York (previously in Oradell, New Jersey). In a publicly available tax record filed by the WeLoveU Foundation in 2021, the following board members are listed on page 7 (see complete filing below):

All of the board members for the WeLoveU Foundation hold leadership positions within the World Mission Society Church of God. Daniel Lee, aka Dong Il Lee, is also referred to as the president of WeLoveU in this video.

John Casas and John Power, both Elders in the WMSCOG, are seen in the same video. Victor Lozada, another WMSCOG elder, is also listed as an officer for the WeLoveU Foundation on the Arkansas Secretary of State website. Other members of the WMSCOG leadership previously mentioned are also listed as officers (see the highlighted areas).

The same names, Daniel Lee, John Casas and Iven Rodriguez, are listed on the WeLoveU Foundation’s certificate of incorporation in the state of New Jersey (highlighted on page 2 below).

According to their website, the International WeLoveU Foundation hosted an event called Save the World Global Forum in 2018. Zhang Gil Jah can be seen in a photo with General Pastor Joo Cheol Kim and U.S. East Coast Pastor Dong Il Lee. Joo Cheol Kim is identified as the Vice Chairman of the foundation. Note that there is no mention of the fact that these three individuals are the top leaders of the World Mission Society Church of God in South Korea and the United States.

Public documents from a Town Hall meeting in New Windsor, New York, reveal that the WeLoveU Foundation offered to purchase the property at 18 Snake Hill Rd for $580,000. The buyer agent listed on behalf of the WeLoveU Foundation is Saira Ahmed, WMSCOG member (see highlighted portions below, the entire agenda and related documents are available here).

Note that the World Mission Society Church of God has a large compound nearby in New Windsor, New York as well. While the WeLoveU Foundation and the World Mission Society Church of God in New Jersey are incorporated separately for tax purposes, they cannot be considered completely unrelated.

Does the WeLoveU Foundation disclose any association with the WMSCOG?

An archive of the WeLoveU Foundation’s website for their Denver location shows that there was a clear connection to the WMSCOG. In what is presumably an effort to erase any evidence of a relationship between the two organizations, these images have since been removed.

In a memo for a WeLoveU event titled Mother’s Love Feeds the Hungry, organized by WMSCOG Missionary Rebecca Gardner (aka Parker) and fellow member Saira Ahmed, it is clearly communicated to the local churches that during this event there is to be no mention of any affiliation with the WMSCOG. Interestingly, mentioning the Chairwoman Zhang Gil Jah seemed to be encouraged. The members who were assigned to deliver the food were tasked with “tak[ing] clear pictures of senior citizens (who have signed the waiver) with WeLoveU members.” While delivering food to the elderly in itself is a noble cause, it appears that the event was a public relations stunt designed for WeLoveU propaganda (see the highlighted portions on page 2).

Similarly, in another memo that was circulated among church leaders regarding a walkathon in 2018, it was again made clear that WMSCOG members were not to mention any affiliation with the religious group while at the WeLoveU event. Members were also reminded that they were to call each other by name, not title, and to be aware that there would be cameras and other people watching. In other words, pretend to be normal (see highlighted portions on page 3).

What is the purpose of the WeLoveU Foundation events according to the WMSCOG?

The walkathon memo above, instructs leaders to “help them [WMSCOG members] understand that this is a different kind of preaching event.” In the WMSCOG, “preaching” is another word for recruiting new members into the church.

The same message was communicated in a memo for a WeLoveU blood drive. This memo specifically instructed WMSCOG leadership not to read the memo to WMSCOG members. The memo clearly states in all caps that this kind of event only exists for preaching (or recruiting) purposes. So here we have at least two WeLoveU events that were organized for the purpose of recruiting new members into the WMSCOG.

Members were also instructed to give a “minimum suggested freewill offering” of $20 to the admin person in the church, not the WeLoveU Foundation. In the “What NOT to do!” section of the memo, it states “Please do not mention anything about the Church of God. The International WeLoveU Foundation and the Church of God are separate entities,” followed by another reminder to act normal in front of media and guests (see highlighted portions throughout the memo).

While is indisputable that World Mission Society Church of God and the WeLoveU Foundation are separate entities legally, functionally the WeLoveU Foundation is just a front group that was created to deceptively recruit more members into the WMSCOG. WMSCOG members are taught that recruiting new members is the way to salvation, therefore, from the WMSCOG’s perspective the ends justify the means.

What should you consider before supporting the WeLoveU Foundation?

• The WeLoveU Foundation is an alter ego of the World Mission Society Church of God.
• Supporting the WeLoveU Foundation means supporting the World Mission Society Church of God’s recruitment efforts and public relations campaigns as demonstrated by the memos discussed above.
• The World Mission Society Church of God is considered a cult by many former members.
• The World Mission Society Church of God has unduly influenced members to sign non-disclosure agreements in order to prevent them from speaking out about the church.
• The World Mission Society Church of God sues former members and critics for speaking out against the group’s alleged abuses.
• The World Mission Society Church of God has been accused of encouraging members to have abortions as alleged in this lawsuit filed by a former member in a New Jersey Federal Court.
• The World Mission Society Church of God has been accused of arranging marriages, separating families, encouraging divorce if one spouse refuses to become a member or if after being a member he or she decides to leave the church, encouraging students to drop out of school and demanding massive amounts of time and money from its members.

Are front groups unique to the WMSCOG?

The World Mission Society Church of God is by no means considered a pioneer in the realm of deceptive recruitment. Front groups have long been an integral part of destructive cults. Scientology has been known to use front groups to recruit members into their cult since before the WMSCOG even existed. The Unification Church (aka the Moonies) has quite an exhaustive list of known front groups.

A message for current WMSCOG members

If you are a current World Mission Society Member who is working tirelessly for salvation because “father is coming soon,” note that the WeLoveU Foundation claims to be determined “to have a clean world not only for this generation but especially for future generations” on page 14 of the 2018 tax filing below. Ask yourself what future generations they are referring to while the WMSCOG continues to brainwash you into believing that the end of the world is near. Ask yourself what difference it makes whether the world is clean or not if it is all going to burn as Zhang Gil Jah claims in her sermon. How much more time, energy, money and other resources are you willing to give to a such a deceptive and toxic organization like the World Mission Society Church of God?

WeLoveU Foundation 990 Filing for 2021

According to the filing:

• The WeLoveU Foundation has received over $2 million dollars in donations and membership fees over the last 5 years (page 14).
• Big Shine Worldwide, a global technology company owned by WMSCOG Pastor Daniel Lee, donated $50,000 to the WeLoveU Foundation (page 22).
• Paul Cha, WMSCOG elder and WeLoveU Foundation Treasurer (page 7), is listed as the Sales Manager for Big Shine Worldwide here.
• The WeLoveU Foundation donated backpacks to students in NJ, IL and CA (page 2), the same states that the World Mission Society Church of God and Big Shine Worldwide are incorporated in.

Additional 990 filings are available at www.guidestar.org.

WeLoveU Foundation 990 Filing for 2018

Veracidad News posted to Facebook November 2, 2018.

ATV News Peru reports on the World Mission Society Church of God. ATV News visited Zhang Gil Jah in South Korea and reported that there were 200 students there visiting from the United States and Europe, thousands visiting per year.

The ATV News segment is obviously a very one-sided report on the WMSCOG. Why didn’t the news station interview any former members to get their side of the story? How much revenue do these trips to the “holy land” generate for the South Korean airlines per year?

According to GoodTV, the World Mission Society Church of God filed an injunction with the court in order to stop a segment about the reported abuses suffered by victims of the WMSCOG from airing on May 1, 2020. Good TV insisted on airing the segment called Cult Sirens and filed a motion to dismiss the WMSCOG’s motion for an injunction on the basis that it would violate the freedom of the press and the public’s right to know. It appears that the WMSCOG has established a long running reputation for going to great lengths to silence any criticism of the group.

Aired on July 27, 2017

Hapimo, an advocacy group for victims of the World Mission Society Church of God, files a lawsuit against WMSCOG leaders Zahng Gil Jah (Jang Gil Ja) and Joo Cheol Kim. The lawsuit alleges that the WMSCOG leadership has acquired 90 church buildings worth approximately $570 Million USD between 2012 and 2017. Why would the WMSCOG claim that the world would end in 2012, and then go on to use the members’ donations to acquire so much real estate?

On February 7, 2014, Hapimo (a group of WMSCOG victims) held a rally to warn citizens of Imae-Dong about the dangers of the World Mission Society Church of God. The WMSCOG began protesting Hapimo’s activities and it was reported that 100 police officers were dispatched to the event. The WMSCOG contended that they were in fact the victims of Hapimo, holding a blue banner that said “Urgent press conference revealing the reality of Hapimo, a religious hatred organization. 2014. 2. 7. Meeting of Hapimo’s Victims.” The WMSCOG has not taken well to protests in the past. The WMSCOG responded to protestors by filing a lawsuit against numerous former members in California. The WMSCOG did not prevail in that case, or any other case against critics for that matter, and their actions only prove the group’s severe persecution complex.

A man who attended the rally tells his story here. Below is a video of part of the protest.

Korean Man Says That The World Mission Society Church Of God Damaged His Family. Uploaded to YouTube by Bareun Media on April 13, 2017.

GOODTV NEWS S. Korea Reports The World Mission Society Church Of God Similar To Shincheonji Cult