Robert Schuller was an American televangelist, pastor, and author who founded Crystal Cathedral Ministries and hosted the long-running “Hour of Power” television program. He was born in 1926 in Iowa and earned a Master of Divinity degree from Western Theological Seminary in 1950. After completing his studies, he was ordained as a minister in the Continue reading

The Crossroads Movement, later known as the International Churches of Christ (ICOC), emerged in 1967. Its origins lie in the 14th Street Church of Christ in Gainesville, Florida, which later adopted the name Crossroads Church of Christ. Under the leadership of minister Chuck Lucas, the congregation launched an evangelical outreach initiative known as “Campus Advance,” Continue reading

José Luis de Jesús Miranda was born on April 22, 1946, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He grew up in poverty and later said he became addicted to heroin by the age of 14. During his youth, he served multiple prison sentences for petty theft, which he attributed to his living conditions at the time. Miranda Continue reading

The Concerned Christians was a religious organization founded in the early 1980s in Denver, Colorado, by Monte Kim Miller. The group was initially established as an anti-cult and anti–New Age activist organization. In its early phase, it worked with law enforcement agencies and established churches to raise awareness about mind control practices and what it Continue reading

Community Chapel and Bible Training Center was an independent religious organization founded in 1967 in Burien, Washington. The church originated from a home Bible study led by Donald Lee Barnett, who had completed two years of education at a Pentecostal Bible college. The study began after Barnett’s wife, Barbara, met a Lutheran couple through her Continue reading

City Harvest Church is a Pentecostal megachurch based in Singapore that was founded in 1989 by Kong Hee and his wife Sun Ho, beginning with a group of 20 youths meeting at the Peace Centre. Initially known as “Ekklesia Ministry,” the group operated under the legal oversight of Bethany Christian Centre. It became an independent Continue reading

The Church of Wells, originally known as the Church of Arlington or You Must Be Born Again (YMBBA) Ministries, is a religious community based in Wells, Texas. The group was founded in 2011 by Sean Morris and Ryan Ringnald, who met as roommates at Baylor University in 2004. A third leader, Jacob Gardner, also joined Continue reading

The General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, often shortened to the Church of the First Born, is a fundamentalist Christian sect with historical ties to the Latter-Day Saint (LDS) movement, though it maintains no present-day affiliation with Mormon fundamentalist groups that use similar “Firstborn” names. The group has also been referred to by older Continue reading

The Church of the First Born of the Lamb of God, often shortened to the Church of the Lamb of God, was a Mormon offshoot founded by Ervil LeBaron in the late 1960s. Its origins trace to the broader Mormon fundamentalist movement, which sought to continue the practice of polygamy after the Church of Jesus Continue reading

The Church of Israel is a Christian Identity-linked sect founded in 1972 by Dan Gayman. Originally called The Church of Our Christian Heritage, it arose from a schism within the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) and is now linked to white supremacist interpretations of theology, though Gayman has attempted to distance his church from Christian Continue reading

The Church of God with Signs Following is a Christian snake-handling sect primarily located in the Appalachian region of the southeastern United States. The group is known for its literal interpretation of Mark 16:17-18, which it understands to command acts such as handling venomous snakes, drinking poison, and enduring fire as demonstrations of faith and Continue reading

The Church of God International (CGI) was founded in 1978 as an offshoot of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG), founded by Herbert W. Armstrong, and emerged after internal disagreements over doctrine and governance. The CGI’s creation followed the excommunication of Garner Ted Armstrong (1930-2003), Herbert Armstrong’s son, from the WCG. After his dismissal, Garner Continue reading

Daniel Wilburn Layne, who usually went by “Danny,” was raised in the Church of God in California, where his father was a minister. In early adulthood, Layne developed a heroin addiction and became a petty criminal and drug dealer to support his habit. His autobiography recounts a period of significant psychological distress, including a stay Continue reading

The Church of Bible Understanding, originally known as the “Forever Family,” is a Christian new religious movement founded in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1971 by Stewart Traill. The organization developed into a large communal network during the 1970s, reaching an estimated 10,000 members and operating about 110 communes, mainly in New York. Over time, its communal Continue reading

The Christian World Liberation Front (CWLF) was an evangelical Christian campus ministry at the University of California, Berkeley, active from its founding in April 1969 until its dissolution in June 1975. It emerged during the peak of the 1960s counterculture and became one of the most visible ministries associated with the wider Jesus People movement, Continue reading