Cory McClellan, a 13-year World Mission Society Church of God former member shares about her abusive and traumatic experiences inside the church and why she left.

Cory McClellan, a 13-year World Mission Society Church of God former member shares about her abusive and traumatic experiences inside the church and why she left.

Jordan, Michele, Kelsey and Peter Skolnik, Esq. (Michele Colón’s attorney) discuss the World Mission Society Church Of God cult group and answer questions live.

Michele Colón tells her side of the story of her legal battles with the World Mission Society Church Of God.

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

World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG) claims that Zhang Gil Jah, the woman in South Korea whom they claim to be “god the mother”, is the prophetic fulfillment of the heifer in the Book of Numbers. This topic was first discussed on this site in an article here. After reviewing the WMSCOG’s arguments on this topic again, this time in a book titled “God the Father and God the Mother” written by general pastor Joo Cheol Kim, additional rebuttals surfaced. (See relevant pages below). One important thing to keep in mind while reading this article is that when the WMSCOG claims that Zhang Gil Jah is “god”, there is no room for error in her actions, nor in the actions committed on her behalf by the leadership.

What is a Heifer according to the dictionary?

The word heifer is defined as a young cow over one year old that has not produced a calf. Once a heifer produces a calf, she automatically becomes a cow. It has long been established that Zhang Gil Jah had two children with her ex-husband. Therefore, Zhang Gil Jah cannot represent the heifer in the book of Numbers.

Why is this important?

In the above referenced book, Joo Cheol Kim uses phrases that are obviously intended to inspire guilt and fear in WMSCOG members. On page 157, he writes regarding Sabbath and Third Day (Tuesday) worship:

“Through such regulations, Mother has purified our souls by sacrificing Herself, so that we may not be cut off from the community of God.”

This is actually a very loaded statement.

First, it asserts that Saturday and Tuesday worship at the WMSCOG is a “regulation” from God. This creates a false sense of duty when the member is made to understand that they must attend Saturday and Tuesday services because God allegedly commands them to do so.

Second, the statement alleges that Zhang Gil Jah is sacrificing herself, as the heifer was sacrificed in Numbers, in order to purify members’ souls. This statement is obviously meant to induce feelings of guilt and indebtedness to Zhang Gil Jah for her supposed sacrifice.

Third, the above referenced statement by Joo Cheol Kim implies that if a member does not attend Saturday and Tuesday worship services, he or she may be “cut off from the community of God.” This statement sends a clear message that if the member does not follow the rules or “regulations” set forth, he or she will be “cut off” or kicked out of the WMSCOG. Since WMSCOG members are indoctrinated to believe that World Mission is the only church by which one can receive salvation, this cleverly crafted message is designed to induce fear of the only alternative fate, which is to burn in hell for all of eternity.

(Read more about how cults use loaded language, fear and guilt as thought control tactics here.)

On page 158, the guilt trips and fear mongering continue:

“The Israelites were cleansed through the sacrifice of a heifer. This shows that God’s children are purified through the sacrifice of Mother on the third and seventh days.”

As previously stated, Zhang Gil Jah cannot represent the heifer in Numbers because she would be, simply by definition, a cow. Zhang Gil Jah is also not without defect because she erroneously claimed, or alternatively allowed Joo Cheol Kim to erroneously claim, that she represented the heifer in the first place. Therefore, the belief that the members are somehow “cleansed” by their attendance during Tuesday and Saturday worship at the WMSCOG is based on a false premise and does not hold up to scrutiny.

Following repetitious statements, on page 159:

“How can we imagine and describe in words our Mother’s pain, sacrifice and love?”

Any reasonable person who is not subject to the undue influence of the WMSCOG, would agree that it is highly improbable that Zhang Gil Jah’s blatant lies cause her pain and suffering. This statement is clearly designed to influence members to feel guilty and indebted to Zhang Gil Jah. The veiled “you owe me or else” sentiment in the above passages written by Joo Cheol Kim seems pathologically narcissistic. Love is not self-seeking (1 Corinthians 13:5).

The Bible also tells us that there is no fear in love, fear has to do with punishment (1 John 4:18). Remember the threat of being “cut off from the community of God” as a punishment for not keeping Tuesday and Saturday worship? (page 157). Love keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5). World Mission Society Church of God keeps records of everything that you do or fail to do for the group. But that is a topic for another day.

Love must be sincere (Romans 12:9). Love cannot be sincere if it is based on a lie. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:6). If you are a member, carefully consider the information in this article so that you may free yourself from the life of slavery you live as a member of the World Mission Society Church of God.    

Recently, a World Mission Society Church of God member named “ajumma” accused this site of persecuting the organization in a response to a recent article that outlines the WMSCOG’s previous failed doomsday predictions.  It is uncertain how presenting the facts documented in a court case is persecution, but it is not the first time accusations such as these have been made in response to any criticism of the WMSCOG’s doctrine, history or current practices.  But the most interesting claim ajumma made in the comment was the following:

“you are just trying to prosecute us, that fits prophecy, therefore wmscog is true church in the bible.”

ajumma

If the WMSCOG considers mere criticism to be persecution, then the WMSCOG persecutes all Catholic and Protestant churches.  Anyone who has been a member or visited the WMSCOG on more than one occasion would probably agree that the WMSCOG makes it a point to criticize other churches during worship services and various Bible studies.  Second in command to the “heavenly mother god”, WMSCOG Chief Pastor Joo Cheol Kim writes:

In the above statement, the only “Christian” church that escapes persecution by Mr. Kim is the Seventh Day Adventist church.  Thus, by ajumma’s “logic”, the WMSCOG fulfills “prophecy” by persecuting other churches, making any one of them the true church in the Bible.

Is Persecution Evidence of Truth?

Other controversial religious groups have asserted that since they are persecuted, or more accurately criticized, they must be “the truth”.

In one of the numerous WMSCOG blogs that have saturated the Internet, an article titled “The Church of God World Mission Society Proven True Through Persecution“, makes this exact claim.

“The world’s view of the Church of God World Mission Society actually assures me that I am in the right place…Like it says in 2 Timothy 3:12.” 

proclaimahnsahnghong.com

It seems that the WMSCOG is following after the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses’ example.  In fact, any controversial religious group can assert that any negative criticism about them is “evidence of the truth”.  In that case, all we would need to do to find the true church is research which church is persecuted the most and join that one.  Is it likely that the criticism that the WMSCOG perceives as persecution is evidence of their truth?  Or could it be that they are criticized for other reasons?

Valid Criticism

Although a portion of this website is dedicated to exposing the numerous errors in the WMSCOG’s Biblical interpretation, there are other prevailing issues that are brought to light.

• The WMSCOG deceptively recruits.  New recruits are largely unaware of what the organization really believes and what will be expected of them when they decide to join.
• The WMSCOG has denied their documented failed doomsday predictions.
• WMSCOG doomsday predictions invoke a sense of urgency, and have the potential to influence members to leave their families or end their relationships with friends outside of the group.  There is documented evidence of people leaving their families and spouses because of the WMSCOG’s influence here, here, and here.  A WMSCOG member named “nick” denied that the WMSCOG causes separation, all before attempting to justify their actions with a few select Bible verses in the forum here.  Chief Pastor Joo Cheol Kim even writes that family and love are temptations by the devil.
• The WMSCOG has been less than forth coming regarding the history of their organization.  The facts were documented in a court case here.
• There have been inconsistencies with regard to the WMSCOG’s tax forms.
• There seems to be great focus on members’ ability to support the organization financially through tithes and other offerings.  See former member accounts here and here.

As former members and the concerned families of current members continue to come forward, it becomes clear to us that the WMSCOG has, and continues to cause division and strife among families.  Yet it seems that they have the unrealistic expectation that no one is going to take issue with this.  They fail to realize that the criticism, or “persecution” as they call it, is a direct result of their actions, and in the opinion of many, well deserved.

I recently came across an article written by a former Jehovah’s Witness where the author describes how the Watchtower Society uses a tactic known as the siege mentality to bond members closer together, demand extreme loyalty and devotion from its followers, and create an almost invincible barrier to opposition.  As I read the article, I could not ignore the similarities between what the author described in his experience with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the almost identical siege mentality that I observed when I was a member of the World Mission Society Church of God.  When I was a member of the WMSCOG, there seemed to a lot of “us vs them” speak.  Now, in any church or group, there will undoubtedly be some speech that could qualify as “us vs them”.  This is not the type of speech I am referring to.  The distinction I want to draw is that in the WMSCOG, there seemed to be such an overwhelming focus on the “them” in “us vs. them” or “outside evil forces”, to the point that everyone outside the group was basically considered to be misled by Satan.  This view seemed to be so dominant that I personally felt like I should avoid those outside of the organization, or “worldly people.”

I even remember the focus on the movie 300.  After certain WMSCOG events, the pastor would instruct the crowd of members to chant like the soldiers did in the movie before taking group pictures to send to the “heavenly mother,” Zahng Gil Jah.  The pastor would even have the “brothers” and “sisters” compete against one another to see which group could chant the loudest.

Let us examine the parts of the siege mentality, also known as the “us vs. them” mentality, discussed by thought reform experts Robert J. Lifton, Margaret Singer, Steve Hassan and others.  I thought it would be interesting to list just a couple of quotes directly from WMSCOG literature that demonstrate the siege mentality.

The Common Enemy

Imagine a city under siege.  The enemy surrounds the city, determined to attack.  The inhabitants of the city join together in order to fight the enemy that unites them.  It is clear when reading WMSCOG material, that the common enemy is Satan.  Again, on the surface this might seem normal for a church, but the distinction is the intensity of the focus on the devil.  For example, the time spent focusing on the devil in WMSCOG Chief Pastor Joo Cheol Kim’s book entitled My Sheep Listen To My Voice is astounding.  On page 43 of My Sheep Listen To My Voice, Joo Cheol Kim specifically mentions Satan five times and refers to Satan as “he” an additional seven times.  That is a total of twelve times on one page.  Think about that for a second.  You might be saying to yourself “well, that is probably a chapter on the devil”.  However, the book pretty much continues in this fashion for about 200 pages–across multiple chapters.  By the end, all you can think about is how Satan is trying to get you.  If you do not believe me, try reading the book for yourself (though not recommended because of what it has to say).  According to Margaret Singer, pointing to Satan as the surrounding enemy is not uncommon in controversial religious groups.  She writes:

(For more direct quotes from Joo Cheol Kim regarding family members being “temptations” of Satan, click here.)

Let us read some quotes by Joo Cheol Kim:

That is not to say that the devil does not exist, or that churches should not talk about him at some point.  But, if you start believing everything in the above statements by Joo Cheol Kim, that you might actually begin to feel a sense of paranoia.  Look at how he writes that “Satan has deceived all people around the world“, and how those who worship on Sunday have been deceived by Satan.  The focus on the devil is disproportionate to the focus on other topics, and everyone who is outside the group seems to be lumped into the category of having been duped by the devil.  This is quite a sweeping generalization.

Members are often told that Satan was constantly working to take them away from “the truth”.  Concerning paranoia, expert Steven Hassan writes:

We Are Right; They Are Wrong

The WMSCOG believes that they are the only true church and that no other path, outside of being a member of their organization, leads to salvation.  They claim that every other religion is wrong and that everyone outside of the WMSCOG is being used by Satan to destroy members’ faith.  There is no in-between.  Margaret Singer describes a similar phenomenon:

Here are some of Joo Cheol Kim’s statements that demonstrate the us vs them mentality, in his book My Sheep Listen To My Voice:

The arrogance in the above passages can not be ignored.  Robert J. Lifton summarizes this phenomenon well when he writes:

Only Those That Are With Us Will Be Saved

Members are taught to believe that only members of their church would be protected from disasters and enter the kingdom of heaven.  In other words, the only way to be saved was to follow the WMSCOG’s rigid list of requirements (extensive Bible study, recruitment, tithes, labor which they call “blessings”, etc).  The only alternative is hell.  This may sound extreme, but when everything outside of the church is considered “of Satan”, that really leaves the member with no where to turn.  This is the impression given by some of Chief Pastor Joo Cheol Kim in his book My Sheep Listen To My Voice:

Conclusion

When I was a member of the WMSCOG, if approached with the above information, I would probably have chosen to defend the organization over admitting that there was even the slightest chance of error in their doctrine.  To do the latter would have created a significant amount of turmoil (or cognitive dissonance).  To do so would be to risk one’s salvation.  Though it may be difficult for current WMSCOG members to accept, it is evident through their own literature, that the WMSCOG encourages a siege mentality within its membership (everything outside the church is Satan, everything inside is safe, and everything outside is constantly trying to get those inside the group out).  Once outside of the group’s influence, the benefits of the siege mentality are clearly seen:  members bond together against the common enemy (Satan/everyone outside of the WMSCOG) and followers become more devoted because the group is seen as the protector against evil.

In previous articles, we examined experts Robert J. Lifton and Steven Hassan’s destructive mind control group models, and found characteristics of both models present in our experience at the World Mission Society Church of God. In a book titled, “Twisted Scriptures“ by Mary Alice Chrnalogar (former member of an abusive discipleship group) describes abusive churches often using “Anti-Intellect“ teachings to disorient members.  Chrnalogar states:

What Does Joo Cheol Kim Say?

Joo Cheol Kim, WMSCOG’s general pastor, makes it clear in his book titled “My Sheep Listen to My Voice” (1990) that using your own mind apparently has pitfalls:

The above statements have the potential not only to manipulate members into relinquishing common sense and critical thinking, but also serve the purpose of distinguishing WMSCOG members from those that do not accept the WMSCOG doctrine by labeling outsiders as slanderers, “self-centered”, opinionated, false, blinded and given a “spirit of stupor” by Satan.  Acceptance and belief of the above statements by members designates the WMSCOG as the ultimate authority over interpretation of the Bible.

Do Other Controversial Groups Make the Same Claim?

Jehovah’s Witnesses consider themselves to be the “infallible interpreters of the Bible” (Watchtower 1930 vol. 2, p.8) and even have their own Bible interpretation called the New World Translation.  Do they similarly advise their members not to “use their own thoughts” when reading the Bible?

Jehovah’s Witnesses:

“First, since “oneness” is to be observed, a mature Christian must be in unity and full harmony with fellow believers as far as faith and knowledge are concerned. He does not advocate or insist on personal opinions or harbor private ideas when it comes to Bible understanding.“ Watchtower 2001 Aug 1 p.14

“From time to time, there have arisen from among the ranks of Jehovah’s people those, who, like the original Satan, have adopted an independent, faultfinding attitude…They say that it is sufficient to read the Bible exclusively, either alone or in small groups at home. But, strangely, through such ‘Bible reading,’ they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by Christendom’s clergy were teaching …” Watchtower 1981 Aug 15 p.29

The Jehovah’s Witnesses label those that dismiss their doctrine as apostates, opinionated, having private ideas, independent, and faultfinding.  It seems that a member of the Jehovah’s Witness doctrine, may also feel compelled to reject their own thoughts and leave it up to the organization to interpret the Scriptures for them.  Is this any different from what Joo Cheol Kim teaches with his statements?

Trinity Foundation:

The Trinity Foundation, lead by Ole Anthony, is another controversial religious group.  Ole Anthony has made statements similar to those made by the Joo Cheol Kim and the Watchtower Society.

“The biggest lie of modern Christianity is the idea of spiritual growth. Any effort on our part to become more like Christ is utter sin – for it is self-effort and God abhors the self. Trying to be a good Christian (reading your Bible, praying more, etc.) by your own self-efforts is pure vanity.”

“I don’t care about your silly schools of thought derived by man. I’m about real truth.”

Ole Anthony labels the thoughts of outsiders of his organization as vain, sinful, silly lies.

Conclusion

According to Lifton’s thought reform model, when a destructive mind control group is successful in convincing members that their own thoughts are bad, evil, or sinful, members are left with no other option but to depend on the group to make all of the decisions for them.  This includes Scriptural interpretation and guidance.  Members may then be vulnerable and easily mislead.  Members can become like putty in the leader’s hands.

If you are a WMSCOG member reading this article, ask yourself why the WMSCOG would need to employ tactics that other cults groups use, to convince you of the truth?

*The photo above is licensed under the Creative Commons license, available here.

This story comes to us from one of our friends whose son has been involved with the World Mission Society Church of God for over three years.  His drastic and sudden personality shift is not unlike the many other stories we hear about.  Our heart goes out to this mother who is persevering in her effort to win her son back.  Here she is now in her own words:

My son has been in the World Mission Society Chuch of God since July 2008.  My husband and I did not find out until October 2008.  He hid it from us all that time.

We were away for a week at the time, and had left him in charge of the house.  Being extremely responsible at the age of 20 we trusted him.  He was meant to come away with us but had to remain to complete a short course at university.  By the time we got back, he had already apparently been baptised within 2-3 days of knowing them in our home.  The WMSCOG apparently came knocking on the door offering their literature which consisted of small leaflets about “God the Mother” and the “second coming”.  As we were away for a week I had my parents pop in to check on him. My dad said he found 4 glasses, one of them had lipstick on it.  He joked with my son about the lipstick, as though he’d been entertaining.  My son admitted to nothing.

He obviously listened to what they had to say.  Within 3 days after meeting the WMSCOG recruiters, he dropped his class at university to study daily with these people.

When we got back, we noticed he became extremely interested in the Bible and started showing us different verses.  He was jumping all over the Bible.  We’re Christians but not over the top religious and were not very knowledgeable about the Bible at the time.  Our son wanted to read the Bible every night with us however, we’d just end up arguing about it.  All we were doing was fighting over the Bible.  He was trying very hard to convert us without our knowledge and to believe these weird doctrines.  We argued that these were very strange interpretations of the Bible. We tried hard to explain to him that he was confused and his interpretations were a bit “off track” (He had attended a Christian school, so he already had  prior knowledge of the Bible – he even studied religion as a subject).

As we read the Bible together, I noticed he would reveal things very slowly.  He’d come to a certain “prophecy”, and then say I’ll reveal the rest tomorrow. I’d want to continue, but he would tell me I was not ready to hear the “truth” yet.

During one of our readings of the Bible he explained that “Jesus had already come back in secret”.  By this point I was getting very upset, as he was revealing this slowly and suspiciously.  I thought he was going to tell me he was Jesus Christ!  After a couple of days he finally revealed what he said was Jesus’ second coming, however he did not mention anything Korean or Ahnsahnghong or “mother”.  I was in shock.  At this point we told him he needs help -Spiritual and psychological.

Over the next few months, my son kept telling us he was extremely busy on Saturdays, helping out a friend with work.  This of course was extended to Tuesday nights.  The excuse was the same.  He had to help his friend with his business. My son also had a part time job, so when the feast days would come up, he would tell us he had to open the grocery store he was working in on his own at 5am.  He simply lied to us the whole time.

By around September 2008, our son told us he was going to go to Korea for a holiday to study with a friend from University.  He told us he was a very good friend who had invited him to go to Korea with him.  He kept telling us it was a great opportunity to visit the country and may not be able to again.  This just didn’t sound right to us but we couldn’t really say why.  But he said he really wanted to go.  Our response of course was that we were concerned because we didn’t even know this mysterious friend.  We tried hard to talk him out of it, but he reassured us it was a holiday to study and explore a new country.

About three days before he was meant to go, we found out he was really going to Korea to meet “god.” We confronted him with this and asked him what he was involved in.  He told us the truth that he was involved in the WMSCOG and that it was not a cult to him.

We spoke to our local priest who came and spoke to him the following evening.  Our priest tried to point out that the Bible interpretations he was presenting were totally off-beam when compared to normal Christian interpretations.  The priest also tried to point out the craziness of going to Korea.  He told him to hold off a while as 3 months of attending this church was not enough time to be placing so much trust in them and to be leaving the country.  My son agreed and swore he would cancel his ticket the next day.

The next morning our son was a totally different person and was acting very suspiciously.  I actually managed to ring the travel agent myself and cancelled the ticket.  But of course, the travel agent notified the pastor who alerted my son about the cancellation.  When my son found out he was absolutely furious with me.  My son had never sworn at me his whole life, but that day he called me every bad thing you can imagine.  He showed me the cancelled ticket and said he was not going and that the members were angry with him, as I placed him in an uncomfortable situation.  I don’t think any of that was true though.  He went on to tell me that in his fit of anger he threw his passport away.  I realized then, that he was still lying and planning to leave somehow.  He had given his luggage and passport to the WMSCOG.  In the following days leading up to the trip he continued acting very suspiciously.

This just was a total shock to us.  I did have the perfect child.  He was very close to us and we had a great relationship.  What was happening was like a death in the family.  He sold all of his possessions including iPods, cameras and a watch to fund his trip to Korea.  I go into his bedroom now and there’s nothing, just the bed he sleeps on.  He has kept the computer we bought him as he needs this for his study.  Although, I did have to stop him from selling it in the beginning.

He eventually went to Korea.  He pretended to go to work early in the morning on the day of departure.  He called us that evening from the airport and said he would be back in two weeks.  I was devastated.  I needed a lot of medical attention to get me through those two weeks.  When he got back he told us that he’d met “god” and this was “his church” and he was “never going to leave it”.

The day after he returned from Korea, he wanted his father and I to attend his “church”. I didn’t want to go at all but my husband thought we should give it a try so we can see what he is involved in.  On arrival at the church, which was just a house, everyone was welcoming and saying “god bless you” to us.  They made me wear a veil on my head.  I was in disbelief during the service as there was a lot of singing and NO worship of Jesus.  They prayed and sang to “christ Ahnsahnghong” and “mother god” who they call “mother jerusalem”.  The men sat on one side of the room and the women were seated behind them.  The women all wore veils on their heads.  I was expected to wear one.  The pastor was very forceful during his address to the congregation.  He choose bible passages and interpreted them with his own spin.  Everyone was friendly as long as you didn’t begin to question anything.  The members read from their own Korean/English Bibles.  They have “song books”.  The fellow who had converted my son sat with us during the service and guided us through the singing.  He kept encouraging us to join in but that was the last thing we could do.  They expected my husband to sit at the front with the men and they wanted me in the back with all the women.  But I refused to separate from him.

My son works part-time but he never has any money.  I’m not sure if they have access to his bank account.  From what I understand there’s a 10 per cent tithing on earnings plus many other offerings.  There are also the offerings during all services attended on Saturdays.

I know my son marks the roll of attendance at every service to see who has turned up.  If a member is absent, they will phone or physically go to that person’s home and ask why they didn’t come to church.  He goes “preaching” from 8 am to 10 pm on most days.  He has spent all of his time recruiting during semester breaks from college.  Most of the time it’s as if he’s not there, like we’ve lost him as a person.  He reads the Bible and WMSCOG literature all the time.  The change in his personality is astounding.

There was an occasion where I had to take my son for a medical appointment, as he needed medical attention.  They must have advised him not to go.  They kept him busy the whole day.  I had a lot of difficulty contacting him because he turned off his mobile phone.  I went to the “church” to find him.  I was approached by the pastor’s wife who told me “he was a man” and I had no right to take him to the doctor.  I told her how upset I was as he needed to see a doctor.  I continued to tell her how upset I was that he was part of this “church”.  The pastor’s wife then told me to get off of the property or she would call the police.  She turned very nasty towards me.  Other members came outside and urged me to leave also.  When I told my son about how abusive the pastor’s wife was towards me, he defended her and told me I should never have gone to find him to go to the doctor.  He told me I was on private property and the pastor’s wife had every right to tell me to leave or call the police.

About a year ago I had a local newspaper reporter approach me for my story.  I told him my story which he wanted to publish.  However the week before it was to be published, the local paper had written a small article about the church, which included a small quote about my son selling everything to go to Korea.  Apparently members from the church went charging into the office telling them how wrong they were.  They had to print another article written by one of their pastors. In this article they claimed what I said was not true.  I was furious!  The reporter told me they were quite abusive and they called the police.  Because of their intimidation, the reporter was too afraid to publish my full story.  You can imagine my disbelief.

Friends have tried to keep in touch with my son but he has distanced himself from them.  He had tried hard to convert all his friends but they didn’t want to know about it.  So he cut off all ties with them.  One friend (his closest) had supported him through the whole ordeal but he has now given up hope as my son has cut ties with him also.  Our son is still trying to get us into the church and tells us that we will one day become members.  He says this because “mother” told him he shouldn’t worry because we would all eventually enter his “church”.  He tells me one day we will see the “truth”.

As a family there are many things we can’t do together anymore.  We have not had a Christmas or Easter together for the past three years because he doesn’t believe in those holidays anymore.  On Christmas day my son will leave around 6 am and not return home until after midnight.  He has told me that Christmas makes him “sick” and we are all wrong to celebrate it.  He will not set foot in our church (or any other church for that matter) because he says they are the “wrong churches”.  He refuses to attend and has missed out on many family functions such as weddings, christenings etc.  My biggest fear is a funeral.  Both my husband and I have elderly parents, so the realization that he will not attend these is heartbreaking for us.

Our son has gone through periods of fasting when he does not eat or drink for up to 7 days.  He says he does this because it will make his prayers more meaningful.  He also tells us that we’re all wrong and he’s the only one in the right church and he’s trying very hard to save us.  We have found some ex-members who have written emails to us about their experiences but when we show him these he just dismisses them.  I’ve given him so much information and have encouraged him to do some other bible studies and branch out and look at other things.  I constantly print information from different sites to give to him.  He always just dismisses the information.  He tells me he has no time to read it and that it’s wrong anyway.  If I show him testimonies from ex-members, his response is that they fell out of the truth and didn’t fully understand.

Our son has been to Korea twice.  He had not notified us of the second trip either.  Instead, he just called from the airport letting us know that he was leaving.  He does still live with us but it is very difficult.  We live with a total stranger.  However, I live with the hope that he will “wake” up from this nightmare and come back to us.  The fact that he believes the things that the WMSCOG claims makes me ill.  His whole person has changed to someone we really don’t know and can’t trust anymore.  The people in this group can appear to be very loving but they can be very harmful at the same time.  This honestly has devastated and ruined my family.

A heartbreaking story of family strife caused by a son’s involvement in the World Mission Society Church of God.  Please comment below to let our friend know you support her.  Is your story similar?  Feel free to contact us and share your experience.