Monrovia – The Saint Assembly Church is said to be expanding as another parent has complained of the church recruiting his two children.
Report by Bettie K. Johnson-Mbayo, [email protected]
Pastor Isaac G. Peters, a resident of Paynesville Island Community, said the strange church must be investigated by the government so as to enable children reunite with their families.
Though the kids are his wife’s family relatives, the family accepted them at infant stage after their father passed.
According to him, it will be helpful if this church is dissolved: “They are indoctrinating our children and this has the propensity to break down the society because if a group will say children don’t obey your parents which the Bible calls for children to obey parents, it is disheartening and it’s breaking family values.”
He continued, “It is the family that builds the society so if the family is breaking down, the society will not stand.”
Peters said his nephew Jeremiah, was once in a church called New Light Baptist in Du-port while attending school and was obedient prior to him becoming a member of Saint Assembly.
He said Jeremiah changed when he got in contact with the Saint Assembly Church where he was always seen with Bible going early morning hours to recruit others. “After some times, he started acting strange, he stopped bathing with bath soap, using cologne and deodorant because he said it is against the doctrine.”
“He started turning against everyone in the house, and even calling my wife and me demons saying we will go to hell because we are not of his faith.”
His 21-year-old child is currently a pastor in the strange church adding that since he joined the church, he stopped going school after he was promoted to the seventh grade.
Peters said Jeremiah later hauled his 18-year-old sister named Jessica to the church.
“Then he started hauling his little sister to the church after which they will sneak from the house and spent their entire day at the church.
“After few visits she became a member and stopped sleeping home like her brother, she will leave home early morning and return maybe at night, some days she and her brother will be out of the house for three to four weeks and when they return all they say is they came from their church.”
He said the absence of the two from home was reported to the police. “We reported to the Police that our children were missing children not knowing they were attending their church.”
Peter said the act by the members of the church is because they have the view that they were only transported through a parent but that parent does not own them.
He stated, “The church told their members that they only passed through a parent as a form of transport to come in the world but they (parent) don’t own you but God, so anything your parent tell you don’t listen as long they are aren’t not part of the church.”
“For us it was getting deeper she wasn’t respecting anyone, neither eating in the house. She wasn’t in school anymore till everyone got concerned and started asking her; she told them to leave her, she’s serving her god.”
He explained, “One day my wife told her if you will continue like this; we will not support you neither do anything for you and she still didn’t change but started challenging everything we did in the home against her doctrine.”
For a short while, she changed from wearing rags after she was bullied by her peers but later went back to the church after a visit by members of the church.
“Her friends started bullying her and she decided to stay away from the church and got a dye to do her hair which is against her doctrine, and everyone was happy with her for once.
“Later when her brother came and saw her playing ludoo and he told her she was doing things against the church’s doctrine.
“After few hours a few group of people came from the church and grabbed her and carried her to their church in our absent, she didn’t say anything about that but only told us that she is not going to the school anymore.”
He narrated, “She packed her things and left the house not knowing where she went, her brother stayed away from us and we started searching again, we went to the church but was denied from seeing them.”
“People came telling us if we don’t put efforts our daughter will get marry, because the church practices that, so we were told that she was about to get marry and then one morning she came home and asked for the aunty and I was sitting outside, less than five minutes, the aunty came crying shouting and screaming saying Jessica dying, we rushed in the house and she had fainted.”
He continued, “She was treated after two hours, she came through and we ask her what happened she said she don’t know what happened.
The next day early morning, her brother Jeremiah came and we told him what happened to his little sister, and he took the phone and communicated with the church people and later left without telling us about his communication.”
He said after two to three days, he overheard a bike sound at evening hours, “When the man came, everybody started stirring at him resisting him but he was successful in making her to faint again and he ran leaving his bike there.”
Peters said she was restored and has desist from attending the church on grounds that she been accused of exposing the doctrine to non-members.
He explained that the family is currently ready to send her to complete her education after she stopped in 9th grade.
According to him the church establishment is a problem for the whole country.
“We have taken her for deliverance and so far we have not seen any result. She continues to say there is nothing wrong with the church and when she attends another church, it is a sin and the church can penalize her.”
He described it as a cult. “This is a cult, I see this as a movement trying to recruit because they deal with so-so young people, not much older people. I feel they are hiding behind the Bible and using it as a medium to recruit people; it is a danger to the society, they have different agenda and if this continues this country will be on a downward trend when it comes to education and children being disrespectful to the elderly.”