Orientation Asceticism Official website Official Website Number of members 70 | Theology Revivalist Other name(s) Church of Arlington Address Linden, TX 75563, USA | |
Elders Sean Morris, Jacob Gardner, Ryan Ringnald | ||
The Church of Wells (formerly the Church of Arlington, or You Must Be Born Again (YMBBA) Ministries) is an American religious group considered by some to be a cult located in Wells, Texas (United States). The group is led by Sean Morris, Jacob Gardner and Ryan Ringnald, former street preachers who are all in their late twenties. It has approximately seventy members, primarily young adults and children.
Contents
Inside church of wells
Beliefs
According to their website, the Church of Wells promotes a revivalist approach to Christianity. They believe that most of Christian America is a "darkened generation" and a "mountain of apostasy". They place a high emphasis on asceticism, denying all forms of entertainment and leisure in favor of prayer (with sessions often lasting several hours a day), fasting, and deep loathing for their own sin. Only by demonstrating the correct "fruits" of salvation to the elders' approval can a Church of Wells member know that he has truly been saved.
They feature this verse prominently in their belief system: "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26). The group uses this verse to justify its members cutting all ties with those outside the group, leaving their homes and families behind. Members express outright rejection of everybody outside the Church of Wells, including the media, all other pastors and spiritual leaders, and their own loved ones. Testimonies of members can be viewed on the church website.
Controversy
In May 2012, a member's three-day-old infant died. Instead of seeking medical attention, the Elders carried the infant's body from house to house, praying for the baby to be resurrected for more than fifteen hours before calling 911.
In July 2013, Catherine Grove, 26, disappeared from her home in Arkansas without notice, abandoning her car and belongings, only to resurface weeks later under heavy guard at the Church of Wells. She said that she is not being held against her will, and was only "seeking the Lord", This is consistent with the accounts of several other members who have cut off nearly all contact with their friends and family. Based on these incidents, the Church of Wells has often been called an emerging cult. On April 2, 2015 Grove left the church and returned to her family in Arkansas. However, she returned to the church only twelve days later (April 14, 2015).
In April 2014, Sean Morris and member Taylor Clifton were injured following a physical altercation during the Wells community homecoming parade. Witnesses report the two men caused a disturbance by "preaching harshly and screaming 'You're going to hell' to children, parents and parade-goers." In the recorded video of the preaching of Taylor Clifton, he can be heard saying of God, "He loves you. He cares for you." The injured members did not fight back, nor did they press charges.
Members of the Church of Wells contend that the information projected in the media is unsubstantiated, and rebuttals to all incidents can be viewed on the church website.
On June 28, 2015, six members of the Church of Wells interrupted a service of Lakewood Church in Houston, heckling Pastor Joel Osteen and calling him a liar. In June 2016 four of the members of the Church of involved in the incident were tried and acquitted of disturbing a public meeting by a Texas jury. In March, 2016 members of the church disrupted a Baptist church service in Saranac Lake, NY.