Inside the Word of Faith Christian School in Spindale, North Carolina, children allegedly attacked other children during class — and teachers were reportedly told not to stop it. Former teacher Rebeca Melo described to the AP how students would accuse a classmate of having demons, surround them, throw them to the floor, and beat them. John Cooper, who worked as a teacher’s aide in Jane Whaley’s own classroom, said Whaley encouraged the violence and warned students to keep it from their parents. The secrecy is the tell. If the leadership believed the practice was righteous, there would be no reason to hide it. But the school violence was only one dimension. The Word of Faith Fellowship allegedly separated children from their biological parents and placed them with church ministers for years — up to a decade of zero contact, according to former members. The stated justification was that the parents had demons. Former members said the real purpose was to engineer loyalty in the children and trap the parents. When parents left and fought for custody, the church reportedly deployed legal and financial resources against them. A judge found clear evidence of child abuse through isolation, punishment, and blasting at the fellowship. The church sued the state’s child protective services and won, shutting down investigations. Tony Brueski continues a five-part investigation into a church that allegedly turned children into both victims and weapons.

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The Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina called it blasting — an ear-piercing practice in which congregants surrounded a single member and screamed inches from their face, allegedly to drive out demons. According to the Associated Press, these sessions lasted for hours. And former members said the practice escalated from screaming into physical violence that left people with cuts, sprains, and reportedly cracked ribs. Jane Whaley cited Acts 2:2 — the passage about the Holy Spirit arriving as a rushing wind — as biblical justification. But according to former members, the real effect was systematic brutality in which virtually any behavior could trigger a session. Daydreaming. Smiling at the wrong time. A perceived impure thought. The compound maintained a building called the Lower Building where men were reportedly held for up to a year, cut off from families, and subjected to prolonged physical abuse. Michael Lowry alleged he was beaten in 2011 to expel gay demons. Matthew Fenner alleged he endured approximately two hours of violence in 2013 in a session targeting his perceived sexual orientation. Fenner has spent over a decade fighting for a trial. As of 2026, the case has been transferred to a special prosecutor after the original DA faced allegations of misconduct. Tony Brueski continues a five-part investigation into one of America’s most secretive churches with the practice that former members say turned prayer into punishment.

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Approximately 145 rules reportedly governed life inside the Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina. No television. No newspapers. No restaurants serving alcohol. No beards. No college without permission. No buying a car or house without approval. And the most disturbing rule of all, according to former members: no having children without the personal authorization of church leader Jane Whaley. Whaley, a former high school math teacher with no theological training, reportedly built the fellowship from a converted steakhouse in 1979 into an organization spanning the globe. At its peak, the church had approximately 750 members in North Carolina and nearly 2,000 in affiliated congregations across Brazil, Ghana, Scotland, Sweden, and other countries. Former members described the early fellowship as warm and welcoming — a community that offered purpose and belonging. But according to their accounts, the welcome was a recruitment strategy, not a permanent state. Members were allegedly encouraged to move onto or near the compound, take jobs at church-connected businesses, and cut ties with outside family. Once every pillar of their lives ran through the institution, leaving meant losing everything. Former members said Whaley reinforced her authority by claiming to be a prophet who received direct communication from God, and that the church allegedly catalogued members' most private confessions as leverage against departure. Tony Brueski begins a five-part Hidden Killers investigation into one of America's most secretive cults — starting with the question of how hundreds of adults handed over control of their most intimate decisions.

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