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

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

In 2012, Zahng Gil Jah calls former Deaconess Diane Sims to ask her to return to the World Mission Society Church of God. The “mother god” desperately begs Diane to go to Korea. Tom asks Zahng Gil Jah for help with his marriage which he feels is failing because of the WMSCOG. It appears that “god” has no idea who Tom or his wife are, despite both having been members of the WMSCOG.

South Korean reporters televised an investigative report on the World Mission Society Church of God in 1999. The video provides documentary proof that the World Mission Society Church of God believed and taught members that the world would end in 1999. It also proves that the WMSCOG has a long history of:

• destroying families
• instilling fear in members with fear-mongering videos
• convincing members to give large amounts of money, even if it means selling their homes and taking out loans
• claiming that a nuclear explosion will destroy the earth
• claiming that only Zion (WMSCOG churches) will be saved
• convincing members that they will get a call from the General Assembly (Headquarters in South Korea) when the end comes

The reporters go into the WMSCOG undercover, after being denied entry. The reporters even visit Zahng Gil Jah’s apartment (before she moved into the “Jerusalem Temple”) where the person inside refuses to open the door. The reporters speak to one of Zahng Gil Jah’s family members who claims that when Zhang Gil Jah was just a member of the WMSCOG, she proclaimed that the world would end soon. The family member says that Zahng Gil Jah ultimately divorced her husband after she began attending the WMSCOG. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

The World Mission Society Church of God claims not to preach about disasters in order to influence its members to stay. Victor Lozada, current World Mission Society Church of God Missionary, published an article on June 2, 2016, addressing this issue on his blog “The True WMSCOG.” Mr. Lozada claimed that a news station in Mongolia aired a false report about the local WMSCOG. According to Mr. Lozada, the report claimed that the WMSCOG in Mongolia:

In previous articles, we have examined the WMSCOG’s obvious fear mongering tactics in their pamphlets about the Passover. Former members have spoken out in YouTube videos about being taught that the world would end in 2012. A news station in South Korea broadcasted an investigative report on the WMSCOG’s claim that the world would end in 1999. The World Mission Society Church of God has even shown this video about disasters to members in their congregation.

But what does Zahng Gil Jah say about disasters and the end of the world? Below is an 8 page sermon from Zahng Gil Jah, dated October 27, 2012. Here are some highlights:

• Like this, if we know that a disaster is coming, it is very important both physically and spiritually to warn people to evacuate. From now on, there will be more earthquakes, and people who survived in the last one might die in the next one.
• All the arrogant and every evildoer will be set on fire like stubble. The war that can burn them without leaving even a root or a branch is the nuclear war, the WWIII. The Bible records that there is definitely an appointed day when these things will happen.
• The only medicine that can heal us so that we can survive even in the nuclear war is the Passover bread and wine of the new covenant that Jesus promised us with His flesh and blood. Since God’s flesh and blood remain in us through the Passover bread and wine, the disasters can pass over us. Now the whole world is coming to our Church, being surprised by this news of salvation.
• How joyful will it be since only our members will live while all the other people die in the last days?
• No matter how much Gold tells them that what they are keeping is wrong, people do not listen to Him and they do not give their ear to His teachings. So as a result, they will receive a plague.
• In the Bible, the wind means “war.” Then when will the wind be released? It is when all the children of God are found. If all the children of God receive the seal today, that day will come today, and if they all receive the seal tomorrow, it will come tomorrow, if they all receive the seal next month, that day will come next month.
• If a nuclear war breaks out between Iran and Israel, North Korea will seize that opportunity and shoot what they have prepared. That day will come on an unexpected day. Since God told us to be ready, we must be ready. It is better to be ready in advance.
• We must flee to Zion before the disaster comes. Once the disaster comes, people will not be able to flee to Zion even if they want to. And just because we are safe from disasters, we must not sit back and do nothing, but we must lead other people as well so that they will also escape disasters. Then we will receive an award.

Zahng Gil Jah’s statements speak for themselves and her sermon makes it clear that the World Mission Society Church of God does in fact preach about disasters in a way that would promote fear in its members. In this sermon alone, the word disaster or disasters is found 36 times.

Let us fact check the “mother god”.

From now on, there will be more earthquakes, and people who survived in the last one might die in the next one.

“According to the Words of the Prophecies,” by Zahng Gil Jah, page 2

According to the USGS Worldwide Earthquake Statistics below, the total number of earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 were 2,383 and 2,481 respectively. After that, the total number of earthquakes have decreased NOT increased, and have remained below 1900 thus far. The total number of fatalities in 2010 and 2011 were 226,050 and 21,942 respectively. Subsequently, the total number of fatalities has dramatically decreased, remaining below 10,000. The data does not support Zahng Gil Jah’s assertions.

They killed up to 70 million children of God to change God’s commandments to the commands of men-from the Sabbath to the Sunday service and from the Passover to Christmas. It is 70 million officially, so they must have killed even more people unofficially. Babylon did this. Parents bear a grudge even if someone kills only one of their children. But Babylon killed 70 million children of God. That is why it says that their sins are piled up to heaven.

“According to the Words of the Prophecies,” by Zahng Gil Jah, page 7

The World Mission Society Church of God commonly refers to the Catholic Church as “Babylon.” Zahng Gil Jah is referring to the deaths that resulted from past actions of Catholic Church, such as the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades. The estimated executions in Spain during the Inquisition is about 32,000, the area most affected. The death toll from the Crusades is estimated to be from 1.7 million to as high as 9 million and included people of other faiths such as Muslims, Cathars and Jews. The available data simply does not support Zahng Gil Jah’s claim that 70 million “children of god” died as a result of the Catholic Church’s actions.

Where did we obtain this document?

This sermon was attached to an email from Daniel Lee, a.k.a. Dong Il Lee, pastor of the Ridgewood, New Jersey location to leaders of various WMSCOG locations.

Additional documents will be posted within the limits set forth by the Court in the following orders:

• NJ Court Decision Regarding The World Mission Society Church of God’s Documents
• NJ Court Grants The World Mission Society Church Of God Only Partial Injunctive Relief