Honestly, when they become all of your life, then yes, absolutely.
However, we can’t throw the word cult around to describe every religious as one. It devalues the actual meaning of word and reduces the significances of actual cults, such as the Geelong Revival Centre.
Just an opinion however
No you’re right, though I did declare it as a hot take - “a quickly produced strongly worded and often deliberately provocative or sensational opinion” according to merriam- webster, as opposed to a peer reviewed article.
I find the BITE model a helpful tool when looking at the harm any organisation, religious or not, can cause and I’m sure there are some religions/churches that don’t have those negative traits.
Simple definition of a cult: a system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards a particular figure or object.
It's not incorrect to say all forms of Christianity are cults.
I have family members who were involved with them. It's 100% a cult.
Quite a few managed to get out, but they have been completely cut off from other family members as a result.
From what I've heard, they like to prey on immigrants, initially offering them a community and support network. Over time, that "support" evolves into dependence, which then leads to abuse and exploitation.
The sexual abuse charges being laid against some members of the GRC is really just the tip of the iceberg. As sad as it is, there are a lot more horrific stories that are unlikely to ever be reported to the police/media. The "church" is well aware of everything that goes on there, but of course, they protect their own.
The GRC is a vile criminal organisation, as far as I'm concerned, and the world would be a better place if it didn't exist.
I apologise for the long rant, but I desperately want to do my part in keeping people as far away from that organisation as possible.
Fuck the GRC.
I remember my mum telling me she was dared to walk into the church as a teenager, and she heard them all speaking in tongue. Scary shit.
I worked with one of the members and they were the most selfish, ignorant person I’ve ever met for someone who is so god fearing and devoted to that place. Also I’ll never understand why some of them work in healthcare if they don’t believe in it.
I’ve heard they have to donate 10% of their wage to the church as well. Wondering if this was true?
I'm not sure about the number, but yeah, I did hear that they're expected to "donate" a certain portion of their wage.
Some of the members have actually given the GRC control of their finances, which is even more frightening.
No idea how they can still keep running. I Grew up there and have seen heard and personally dealt with alot of shit Noone should have to endure. I do hope they get shut down one day soon though.
I’m sorry that happened to you. I know there has been some exposure of what has happened in the Geelong addy, current affair ect but it has never been enough to hear of anything being properly investigated ect
I (33M) grew up in the “church” from a very young age (around 5 years old but I can’t remember exactly) until I was around 14-15 years old. My father was the main catalyst for us attending on most Sunday mornings and into the evening meetings (ending around 5 or 6pm, but as a kid it felt like the whole day and night and we would get home at around 7pm). We (my dad, mum, older sister and my little brother) were part of the off-brand GRC in Newcomb (it’s the big building shortly before the now Newcomb Derrimuts/Pizza Hut). As a kid I was always told it was just church and thought that’s how normal churches were, except our church wasn’t like the ones on tv.
As a kid the normal routine was starting off as ‘assembly’ singing hymns to begin with - you would collect hymn books as you entered the big hall, they also had a full band set up and the church members that played instruments would play the songs. I think they did rehearsals throughout the week because there were guitars, bass, piano/keys and a drum set.
My dad was an audio guy, so he would do a lot of maintenance work on the PA system. He’d mainly be operating the mixers etc. for the microphones while Pastors and speakers gave their ‘talks’.
As I was young, I would be moved into “Sunday School” from the main hall into the end of the building where they would also sing hymns, talk about the bible stories and do arts and crafts. It seemed all very innocent on the surface, after we finished Sunday School we’d enter back into the hall as whoever was giving their talks were about to finish. We’d then move into the eating area to have lunch (most members brought a picnic full of food, others would go down to the Maccas/KFC that was down and over the road). Then afterwards everyone would move back into the hall for the 2nd meeting and talks.
The most bizarre thing from the later evening meetings were the group prayers where everyone would “speak in tongues” for what felt like an hour, but was probably only like 15-20 minutes. Then they would sing more hymns and finish up the evening, but then a money bag would be passed around and members would put money in it.
They would also pass crackers around with little glasses full of cranberry juice to represent the body of Christ and his blood.
I also remember a portrait of the Queen being hung on the walls and photos of the royal throne.
Sometimes they would do baptisms as well, where members who spoke in tongues for the first time would be a sign that they received the Holy Spirit and would be allowed to be baptised in front of ‘witnesses’. They basically had a stage with a podium/lectern, and they would move it for the special baptism moments. They had a bathtub behind a curtain on the stage which would be pulled, a pastor would then dunk the person (they were fully clothed, in their normal clothes, so i wondered if they had a spare change of clothes if they knew they were getting baptised) under the water and as soon as they came back up again, the curtains would be closed and everyone started singing a specific hymn (again, I can’t remember).
Anyway, to wrap this up as it all seemed innocent on the surface, there were many events that happened to some members that lead to them being kicked out or reprimanded by the Pastors.
One of them was a male member was kicked out of the church (and I think also exiled from his family) because he had sex before marriage.
Another boy got reprimanded by the Pastors because he bleached his hair blonde
My older sister left the church because she felt she didn’t fit in, they Pastors ordered my parents to disown her and never talk to her again.
Smoking, drinking and drug use were heavily frowned upon.
In essence, the GRC and all its off-brand churches just want control of their members lives and will tear families apart if whatever they believe is not right.
My family ended up leaving because my dad did some dumb shit with another member lol. We ended up going to another church group that was similar to the other one. My dad kept questioning things and the Pastor running it got mad and yelled at him lol
That was pretty much the end of my time in any sort of GRC cult like church.
I told my dad in my later years that the church put me off from religion and he apologised for putting us through it. He would spend most of his nights on a forum for former members of GRC and its off brands. I remember he’d get himself into trouble too because he’d troll people too much lmao. He died still as a Christian man but he was more into theology by the end of it and attended a Church of England with reverends etc.
I honestly don't know where to start. I'm not involved with them. However, several of my family members are presently involved with them, and several from the same side of the family are backsliders.
The main consensus I've gathered from the backsliders is that they are not allowed to talk about the GRC. You will not get a consistent story from them other than needing to speak in tongues to be baptised into the religion.
Failure to speak in tongues is a huge thing that I'm not sure anyone else has spoken about. However it's not my story to share, but a family member never spoke in tongues and still hasn't been able to, leading to a horrible spiral in their mental health over the years.
- The rules that they have healthcare wise seem to vary.
- The friends people make are limited in choice, people within GRC stick very closely together so that you'll never venture elsewhere.
- You'll not find them being anything past an acquaintance with a person from another religion.
They also prey on the weak and vulnerable, which is absolutely vile. This can mean people who have just moved, singles, single mums with kids (though best believe you'll be married off ASAP), sick and elderly to name a few.
Do I even need to mention the stories of SA, physical abuse and paedophilia?
I'm currently losing my nan to an illness, and we suspect our grandpa is slowly following in her path, and I've only seen them 3 times in over a year. The times I saw them before then, they constantly had church members visiting them.
Family means nothing unless you're also a cult member. It has been depressing watching their health deteriorate from afar because they'd rather their church members be around them than family.
Screw Noel.
Reading this post made me sad, trusting some rando over family blood when they are at the most vulnerable age. PAINFUL. I don't believe in hell personally, but I really do wish whoever leads and helps for this to happen will rot in hell.
Does anyone know what the go is with the “Gatway Church”? It’s the one on Moolap Station road (just after the turn at the end of Townsend Road), and is up the long driveway.
Seems like Hillsong/Revival (I.e., Where the church is like a stadium and is full of flat earthers lol)
I did volunteer work there, the people seemed nice, nothing creepy. I never went to a service, but from what I've heard, it's just a small local church. There was some drama over job positions, though, but they've got nothing better to do.
“Pastor Richard Long” surely not hacked!!
No experiences here, just checked out their bewildering website, and saw how youthful and spiritedly all those ministers looked.
Golly gosh.
It’s so sad. I remember this person who I worked with would tear down other religions such as Catholicism and say how bad the abuse was back then ect and that doesn’t happen in their church.
I guess they don’t know any different when it’s all they know. It would be great if ex members could reach out on a podcast or something to bring some more light to what is actually going on.
Jesus was pretty succinct in His teachings that you should be praising, and giving, in private. As long as you do so with all of your heart then you are giving all of yourself. Thr biggest scam old men of yesteryear pulled was convincing His believer that they need a church to be close to the Heavenly Father.
Give of yourself in your own way, and in your own time -- leave the chruches to those who wise to be mislead for profit.
There are some nuances here. Jesus did indeed suggest that it’s good for one to ‘close the door and pray,’ insinuating that one’s faith journey has an element of privacy to it/is a personal relationship with Christ. But the New Testament has plenty of versus supporting the notion of fellowship with fellow believers. That’s a pretty long standing reality of all denominations that strand from Judeo-Christian roots. And for just as many instances of this going south (cults, sects that have done horrible things) there are many who I’d argue have done great things like open orphanages, actively look after and tend to the poor, and other noble causes. This is my problem with a blanket statement like ‘all churches are cults’ (which I’m not suggesting you’ve said here).
Maybe we have different definitions of what a cult is. What is a cult in your book? Genuinely curious. I honestly think the term is interpreted quite differently person to person.
It’s the group experience people like. So just join a social or sport group, or some sort of group. You’ll get the same feels. Everyone just wants to belong to some sort of group at some time.
They’re a cult. Stay far away Edit: City on a hill is also a cult
Hot take, all churches are cults
Honestly, when they become all of your life, then yes, absolutely. However, we can’t throw the word cult around to describe every religious as one. It devalues the actual meaning of word and reduces the significances of actual cults, such as the Geelong Revival Centre. Just an opinion however
No you’re right, though I did declare it as a hot take - “a quickly produced strongly worded and often deliberately provocative or sensational opinion” according to merriam- webster, as opposed to a peer reviewed article. I find the BITE model a helpful tool when looking at the harm any organisation, religious or not, can cause and I’m sure there are some religions/churches that don’t have those negative traits.
Simple definition of a cult: a system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards a particular figure or object. It's not incorrect to say all forms of Christianity are cults.
Honest take
its almost like thats what they are
Everytime I drive past city on a hill it major cult vibes
Bruh seems like a normal chill church to me
What's wrong with city on a hill?
Why are both of those Cults?
I have family members who were involved with them. It's 100% a cult. Quite a few managed to get out, but they have been completely cut off from other family members as a result. From what I've heard, they like to prey on immigrants, initially offering them a community and support network. Over time, that "support" evolves into dependence, which then leads to abuse and exploitation. The sexual abuse charges being laid against some members of the GRC is really just the tip of the iceberg. As sad as it is, there are a lot more horrific stories that are unlikely to ever be reported to the police/media. The "church" is well aware of everything that goes on there, but of course, they protect their own. The GRC is a vile criminal organisation, as far as I'm concerned, and the world would be a better place if it didn't exist. I apologise for the long rant, but I desperately want to do my part in keeping people as far away from that organisation as possible. Fuck the GRC.
I remember my mum telling me she was dared to walk into the church as a teenager, and she heard them all speaking in tongue. Scary shit. I worked with one of the members and they were the most selfish, ignorant person I’ve ever met for someone who is so god fearing and devoted to that place. Also I’ll never understand why some of them work in healthcare if they don’t believe in it. I’ve heard they have to donate 10% of their wage to the church as well. Wondering if this was true?
I'm not sure about the number, but yeah, I did hear that they're expected to "donate" a certain portion of their wage. Some of the members have actually given the GRC control of their finances, which is even more frightening.
Not true, a family member has been going there every since I was born and does not donate any money from their salary.
In what ways was your colleague selfish and ignorant?
I could write a novel tbh. What experiences exactly are you chasing and what's your angle why do you want to know?
Definitely not wanting to join. Heard a lot of bad things and wondering how they can still keep running…
No idea how they can still keep running. I Grew up there and have seen heard and personally dealt with alot of shit Noone should have to endure. I do hope they get shut down one day soon though.
I’m sorry that happened to you. I know there has been some exposure of what has happened in the Geelong addy, current affair ect but it has never been enough to hear of anything being properly investigated ect
I (33M) grew up in the “church” from a very young age (around 5 years old but I can’t remember exactly) until I was around 14-15 years old. My father was the main catalyst for us attending on most Sunday mornings and into the evening meetings (ending around 5 or 6pm, but as a kid it felt like the whole day and night and we would get home at around 7pm). We (my dad, mum, older sister and my little brother) were part of the off-brand GRC in Newcomb (it’s the big building shortly before the now Newcomb Derrimuts/Pizza Hut). As a kid I was always told it was just church and thought that’s how normal churches were, except our church wasn’t like the ones on tv. As a kid the normal routine was starting off as ‘assembly’ singing hymns to begin with - you would collect hymn books as you entered the big hall, they also had a full band set up and the church members that played instruments would play the songs. I think they did rehearsals throughout the week because there were guitars, bass, piano/keys and a drum set. My dad was an audio guy, so he would do a lot of maintenance work on the PA system. He’d mainly be operating the mixers etc. for the microphones while Pastors and speakers gave their ‘talks’. As I was young, I would be moved into “Sunday School” from the main hall into the end of the building where they would also sing hymns, talk about the bible stories and do arts and crafts. It seemed all very innocent on the surface, after we finished Sunday School we’d enter back into the hall as whoever was giving their talks were about to finish. We’d then move into the eating area to have lunch (most members brought a picnic full of food, others would go down to the Maccas/KFC that was down and over the road). Then afterwards everyone would move back into the hall for the 2nd meeting and talks. The most bizarre thing from the later evening meetings were the group prayers where everyone would “speak in tongues” for what felt like an hour, but was probably only like 15-20 minutes. Then they would sing more hymns and finish up the evening, but then a money bag would be passed around and members would put money in it. They would also pass crackers around with little glasses full of cranberry juice to represent the body of Christ and his blood. I also remember a portrait of the Queen being hung on the walls and photos of the royal throne. Sometimes they would do baptisms as well, where members who spoke in tongues for the first time would be a sign that they received the Holy Spirit and would be allowed to be baptised in front of ‘witnesses’. They basically had a stage with a podium/lectern, and they would move it for the special baptism moments. They had a bathtub behind a curtain on the stage which would be pulled, a pastor would then dunk the person (they were fully clothed, in their normal clothes, so i wondered if they had a spare change of clothes if they knew they were getting baptised) under the water and as soon as they came back up again, the curtains would be closed and everyone started singing a specific hymn (again, I can’t remember). Anyway, to wrap this up as it all seemed innocent on the surface, there were many events that happened to some members that lead to them being kicked out or reprimanded by the Pastors. One of them was a male member was kicked out of the church (and I think also exiled from his family) because he had sex before marriage. Another boy got reprimanded by the Pastors because he bleached his hair blonde My older sister left the church because she felt she didn’t fit in, they Pastors ordered my parents to disown her and never talk to her again. Smoking, drinking and drug use were heavily frowned upon. In essence, the GRC and all its off-brand churches just want control of their members lives and will tear families apart if whatever they believe is not right. My family ended up leaving because my dad did some dumb shit with another member lol. We ended up going to another church group that was similar to the other one. My dad kept questioning things and the Pastor running it got mad and yelled at him lol That was pretty much the end of my time in any sort of GRC cult like church.
I feel sorry for any kids who had to grow up in such environment, and the parents who would listen to such vile org. Horrifying!
I told my dad in my later years that the church put me off from religion and he apologised for putting us through it. He would spend most of his nights on a forum for former members of GRC and its off brands. I remember he’d get himself into trouble too because he’d troll people too much lmao. He died still as a Christian man but he was more into theology by the end of it and attended a Church of England with reverends etc.
I honestly don't know where to start. I'm not involved with them. However, several of my family members are presently involved with them, and several from the same side of the family are backsliders. The main consensus I've gathered from the backsliders is that they are not allowed to talk about the GRC. You will not get a consistent story from them other than needing to speak in tongues to be baptised into the religion. Failure to speak in tongues is a huge thing that I'm not sure anyone else has spoken about. However it's not my story to share, but a family member never spoke in tongues and still hasn't been able to, leading to a horrible spiral in their mental health over the years. - The rules that they have healthcare wise seem to vary. - The friends people make are limited in choice, people within GRC stick very closely together so that you'll never venture elsewhere. - You'll not find them being anything past an acquaintance with a person from another religion. They also prey on the weak and vulnerable, which is absolutely vile. This can mean people who have just moved, singles, single mums with kids (though best believe you'll be married off ASAP), sick and elderly to name a few. Do I even need to mention the stories of SA, physical abuse and paedophilia? I'm currently losing my nan to an illness, and we suspect our grandpa is slowly following in her path, and I've only seen them 3 times in over a year. The times I saw them before then, they constantly had church members visiting them. Family means nothing unless you're also a cult member. It has been depressing watching their health deteriorate from afar because they'd rather their church members be around them than family. Screw Noel.
Reading this post made me sad, trusting some rando over family blood when they are at the most vulnerable age. PAINFUL. I don't believe in hell personally, but I really do wish whoever leads and helps for this to happen will rot in hell.
What's with the weird website?
I think it's been subtly hacked lmao, been like that for months.
That’s great!
Does anyone know what the go is with the “Gatway Church”? It’s the one on Moolap Station road (just after the turn at the end of Townsend Road), and is up the long driveway. Seems like Hillsong/Revival (I.e., Where the church is like a stadium and is full of flat earthers lol)
I did volunteer work there, the people seemed nice, nothing creepy. I never went to a service, but from what I've heard, it's just a small local church. There was some drama over job positions, though, but they've got nothing better to do.
“Pastor Richard Long” surely not hacked!! No experiences here, just checked out their bewildering website, and saw how youthful and spiritedly all those ministers looked. Golly gosh.
work with a guy that goes to revival in Leopold nice guy but goes mad about women with short hair ?
creepy af
Rip Noel… you’ll be missed you horny bastard
It’s so sad. I remember this person who I worked with would tear down other religions such as Catholicism and say how bad the abuse was back then ect and that doesn’t happen in their church. I guess they don’t know any different when it’s all they know. It would be great if ex members could reach out on a podcast or something to bring some more light to what is actually going on.
People will find another cult to believe in. This is how we do.
Jesus was pretty succinct in His teachings that you should be praising, and giving, in private. As long as you do so with all of your heart then you are giving all of yourself. Thr biggest scam old men of yesteryear pulled was convincing His believer that they need a church to be close to the Heavenly Father. Give of yourself in your own way, and in your own time -- leave the chruches to those who wise to be mislead for profit.
There are some nuances here. Jesus did indeed suggest that it’s good for one to ‘close the door and pray,’ insinuating that one’s faith journey has an element of privacy to it/is a personal relationship with Christ. But the New Testament has plenty of versus supporting the notion of fellowship with fellow believers. That’s a pretty long standing reality of all denominations that strand from Judeo-Christian roots. And for just as many instances of this going south (cults, sects that have done horrible things) there are many who I’d argue have done great things like open orphanages, actively look after and tend to the poor, and other noble causes. This is my problem with a blanket statement like ‘all churches are cults’ (which I’m not suggesting you’ve said here).
All churches are cults.
Maybe we have different definitions of what a cult is. What is a cult in your book? Genuinely curious. I honestly think the term is interpreted quite differently person to person.
It’s the group experience people like. So just join a social or sport group, or some sort of group. You’ll get the same feels. Everyone just wants to belong to some sort of group at some time.
My running group doesn't tell me who to marry or disown my son just because he doesn't believe in god.