Cults: Hidden Killers Investigates

Did Word of Faith Fellowship Really Take Over Local Politics To Cover Crimes?!

The Word of Faith Fellowship has been investigated by the SBI, Inside Edition, the Associated Press, social services, federal prosecutors, and the FBI. According to former members, the church has survived every one of those inquiries without meaningful accountability for the core allegations of physical abuse, child abuse, and trafficking. Jane Whaley’s only personal legal consequence — a 2004 misdemeanor assault conviction — was overturned after five years of appeals. The church sued the Department of Social Services over child abuse investigations and won, reportedly shutting them down. Former members described a cover-up strategy in which congregants were allegedly coached to lie to investigators, recant statements, and present a unified front. The church’s influence extended into political structures. According to WRAL, leaders and followers contributed at least eighty-five thousand dollars to state politicians. The New York Times reported members volunteered at Trump campaign events. In Rutherford County, the Republican Party leadership was allegedly taken over by people connected to the church. Matthew Fenner’s case, stemming from an alleged 2013 assault, was delayed for over eight years. A special prosecutor took over in 2026. The only convictions: unemployment fraud. Membership has reportedly declined from about 700 to 300-400, but the compound remains active. Tony Brueski closes a five-part investigation with the uncomfortable truth: the most investigated church in America has allegedly never faced a full reckoning. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ [https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/] Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ [https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/] Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ [https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/] Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod [https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod] X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod [https://x.com/TrueCrimePod] This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #WordOfFaith #JaneWhaley #SystemFailed #Cult #TrueCrime #Spindale #PoliticalInfluence #HiddenKillers #MatthewFenner #ReligiousAbuse

How Did Word of Faith Fellowship Bring Hundreds from Brazil to Work for Free?

The Word of Faith Fellowship’s reach reportedly extended far beyond Spindale, North Carolina. The church maintained affiliated congregations in Brazil that, according to the Associated Press, served as a pipeline funneling young Brazilians to the mother compound on tourist and student visas. Sixteen Brazilian former members told the AP they were made to work without pay while being subjected to physical or verbal abuse. Andre Oliveira said he was eighteen when his passport was confiscated and he was forced to work approximately fifteen hours a day. He described the experience as trafficking and slave labor. Thiago Silva, who traveled from Belo Horizonte at eighteen expecting a youth seminar, said Brazilians were brought for labor and nothing else. American workers at the same job sites were reportedly paid while the Brazilians were not, according to an American former member who supervised projects. The church’s international network included congregations in Ghana, Scotland, Sweden, and other countries, but Brazil was the primary labor source. Several hundred young people reportedly traveled this pipeline over two decades. When former members reported the alleged forced labor to a federal prosecutor in 2014, she promised to look into it. According to their accounts, she never followed up. Tony Brueski continues a five-part investigation into a church that allegedly moved people across international borders and exploited their faith to extract free labor. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ [https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/] Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ [https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/] Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ [https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/] Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod [https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod] X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod [https://x.com/TrueCrimePod] This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #WordOfFaith #JaneWhaley #HumanTrafficking #ForcedLabor #Cult #TrueCrime #Brazil #Spindale #HiddenKillers #CultAbuse

Were Word of Faith Children Really Trained to Attack Their Own Classmates in School?

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. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ [https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/] Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ [https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/] Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ [https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/] Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod [https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod] X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod [https://x.com/TrueCrimePod] This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #WordOfFaith #JaneWhaley #ChildAbuse #Cult #TrueCrime #Spindale #CultSurvivors #HiddenKillers #FosterCare #ReligiousAbuse

How Did Word of Faith Fellowship’s ‘Prayer’ Go from Screaming to Choking?

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. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ [https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/] Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ [https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/] Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ [https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/] Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod [https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod] X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod [https://x.com/TrueCrimePod] This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #WordOfFaith #JaneWhaley #Blasting #Cult #TrueCrime #Spindale #CultAbuse #HiddenKillers #MatthewFenner #ReligiousAbuse

How Did a Math Teacher Get 750 People to Follow 145 Rules at Word of Faith Fellowship?

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. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ [https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/] Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ [https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/] Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ [https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/] Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod [https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod] X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod [https://x.com/TrueCrimePod] This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #WordOfFaith #JaneWhaley #Spindale #NorthCarolina #Cult #TrueCrime #BrokenFaith #HiddenKillers #ReligiousAbuse #CultSurvivor