John Cooper remembers one of the Word of Faith Fellowship ministers commanding him to beat his wife.
John Cooper: She told me to do it and I’m like, ‘No. I will not do that.’ So somebody else jumped in there and did it.
Javier Leiva: And you watched it?
John Cooper: Well yeah.
John Cooper describes his family’s attempt to leave the church.
Javier Leiva: At that point in your life did you realize they wanted to leave?
John Cooper: I didn’t know what had happened. All I knew is that some of these ministers were always coming over the house. I knew something big was going on behind the scenes. They were coming over. They were sleeping with us. One of them actually slept in my room a couple of nights.
Then it finally happened.
John Cooper: So I was already wanting to leave again for a long time but that was what pushed my timeline because I knew, I knew I had to take that opportunity.
We’ll also listen to secret recordings of pastor Jane Whaley trying to lure him back.
Jane: <screaming> “Stop it! You wouldn’t be sitting down today if some force wasn’t used at you. That’s the devil himself speaking out of you.”
This is part two of “The Prophet.” Start with part one. Trust me, it’ll make a lot more sense this way. Today, we’re going to talk about John Cooper’s multiple attempts to escape what some describe as a cult.
If you Google The Word of Faith Fellowship, it’s become synonymous with horrifying rituals, physical abuse, and forced isolation. If what John is telling me so far is true, why would anyone want to raise their kids in this kind of environment? I asked John and he said when his family moved to Spindale, NC, things weren’t always so bad.