The God Squad, officially known as the Full Gospel Mission and later the St. John Volunteer Corps, was an apocalyptic Christian sect active in New Zealand from the late 1950s until its collapse in the late 1990s. The group was founded and led by Douglas Alexander Metcalf, a self-styled “Bishop” who presented himself as a prophet, healer and, ultimately, the returned Jesus Christ.
Metcalf was born in Dunedin in 1921 and worked in various working-class and teaching jobs before establishing his ministry. He had a Pentecostal background and developed interests in UFOs, heraldry, firearms and British Israelism. In the late 1950s, Metcalf began recruiting door to door in the Christchurch area. His following expanded after a 1957 incident in which a woman unexpectedly recovered from leukemia following his prayers. By the mid-1970s, his congregation had grown to between 800 and 1,500 members.
Metcalf’s growing organization developed a communal structure based on his religious teachings. In 1972, he purchased a 48-hectare property near Waipara, where members constructed a fortified compound called Camp David. The site eventually was surrounded by 7.6-meter concrete walls and electric fencing and became the center of the movement’s communal life.
Metcalf sought to reinforce his authority through claims of unaccredited doctorates in Middle Eastern literature and naturopathy. He also operated a fleet of vehicles marked with the name St. John Volunteer Corps, using a charter from a fringe American order to project an institutional identity.
Within Camp David, Metcalf imposed communal rules based on British Israelism and Old Testament laws. Members celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles rather than Christmas and followed strict dress codes. Women were required to wear modest dresses and headscarves, while their educational and social roles were largely confined to childbearing and domestic duties. The rules formed part of a broader system governing members’ personal and religious lives.
Daily life at Camp David was also structured around work and religious observance. Members held jobs outside the community but donated substantial portions of their income to the sect. They attended as many as 11 religious services each week and performed physical labor late at night, often while sleeping little.
Metcalf reinforced the community’s isolation by emphasizing the threat of outside persecution and predicting an apocalypse in 2011. He also constructed a secret rural retreat in Murchison intended to serve as a relocation site. Former members later described a system of psychological dependency in which Metcalf invoked fears of eternal damnation to influence followers, restrict personal autonomy and control their relationships. His authority extended across many aspects of life within the compound.
Public scrutiny increased significantly in May and June 1977, when New Zealand police and air force personnel conducted major raids on Camp David and associated properties. Investigators were searching for diverted military equipment and evidence of suspected anti-government activities.
Authorities seized between 150 and 170 firearms during the raids. Media coverage surrounding the operation helped popularize the name “God Squad.” Most of the major firearms charges were eventually dismissed because the weapons were legally owned, but the raids nevertheless brought greater public attention to the group’s isolated structure and internal practices.
During the initial media attention, Metcalf briefly fled the country with a 20-year-old female follower whom he had raised in his household. Despite the scrutiny surrounding the group, he continued to lead Camp David and maintained his authority over the community. Metcalf remained in control until his death from a heart attack in 1989 at age 68. After his death, followers held a 24-hour vigil in expectation of his resurrection, but he did not return.
Leadership subsequently passed to his son-in-law, Darryl Metcalf Williams. His management of the community contributed to increasing internal tensions, particularly after the 1993 Waco siege prompted renewed weapons stockpiling at Camp David.
The movement’s decisive collapse came in 1996, when widespread revelations about Metcalf’s sexual abuse of female followers emerged within the community. Former members, including women who said they had been abused as preteens, described how Metcalf had used his claims of divine authority to commit sexual assaults, statutory rape and infidelity. The revelations also contrasted with the strict moral rules he had imposed on followers. As accounts of the abuse became known, Metcalf’s status as a divine figure was undermined, and large numbers of members left the community.
After Camp David was abandoned, subsequent searches of the property uncovered hidden passageways, secret rooms and concealed escape routes connecting buildings. The discoveries provided further information about the compound’s physical layout and security measures. The trust responsible for the deteriorating property eventually sold the land around 2009. Proceeds from the sale were divided among former members and charitable organizations.
Key Sources:
Bristow, R. (2007, February 24). God Squad Property Split. The Christchurch Press.
Gillan, K. (2021, July 23). How I forgave my parents for raising me in a cult. SBS Australia.
Kanowski, S. (2023, January 2). Serafina Tane grew up in the Camp David religious cult. This is what it felt like to leave. Australian Broadcasting Corporation News.
O’Callaghan, J. (2015, November 28). Finding the colour of life after God Squad cult. Stuff NZ.