Season 3: The Prophet – Word of Faith Fellowship Revisited
I’m back with a whole new season of Pretend Radio. But this time it’s going to be a little different. Instead of telling you a different story each episode, I decided to do a serialize season where I tell you a single story, one episode at a time. So what is it about? It’s about the first episode I aired on this show—the Word of Faith Fellowship church.
Back in season one, I met up with a man who says he escaped the cult. His name is John Cooper. I contacted him and asked, “Hey, do you want to meet up? I’m thinking about starting a podcast and would like to tell your story.”
So, we just met up at a park in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. At this point, I didn’t know what this podcast was all about. All I knew was that he was part of a religious sect. And what he told me that day in that park blew my mind. But in the end, I feel like I didn’t do that story justice. It was one guy’s story. I needed to go out to the other side of the state, where the Word of Faith Fellowship is located, and do a little more digging. So, I got in my car and drove west. After spending the entire day in Spindale, North Carolina, I thought to myself, there is no way I keep everything I just learned in one episode.
If season one was about John cooper, season 3 is all about the town of Spindale.
The episode you’re about to listen to is my first 3 episodes rolled into one. And I’m going to stitch them together by playing some ads for some non-profits organizations. And at the end of the episode, there’s a preview of the new season.
Now many of you have already heard this story, but trust me, even I had to go back and listen to these episodes. Once the season starts, I’m not going to spend a lot setting things up. We’re just going to get right to it.
If you’re new to Pretend Radio, well this is a great place to start.
Let me tell you, it’s pretty crazy. I got deeper into this story than any other journalist. The BBC has tried and failed. The Associated Press tried and they couldn’t get in. Even A&E is producing a documentary on the Word of Faith Fellowship, and they didn’t get the access I got. If you want to learn more about this episode, read my Pretend Radio Medium blog. Each week, I’ll take you behind the scenes and tell you the stories that didn’t make it into the episode.
So enjoy this flashback episode and revisit The Prophet from season one. And get ready for the season because it’s coming out very soon.
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