“Christian Identity” is an umbrella term for organizations and beliefs falling under a racial interpretation of Christianity which asserts that only Celtic and Germanic peoples, such as Anglo-Saxons and the Nordic nations, are the genuine descendants of the ancient Israelites and are therefore God’s “chosen people.” It is not an organized religion, nor is it Continue reading

Christian Gospel Mission, officially known as Providence and commonly referred to by the acronym JMS (Jesus Morning Star), is an offshoot of the Unification Church (“Moonies”) founded by Jung Myung-seok in South Korea in 1980. The organization has been widely designated as a cult by international media. Before establishing his own group, Jung was a Continue reading

John Alexander Dowie, a Scottish-Australian minister, was a charismatic faith healer and evangelist best known for founding the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church and the theocratic community of Zion, Illinois. Born in Edinburgh in 1847, he emigrated with his family to Adelaide, South Australia, at the age of 13. After working in various jobs, he returned Continue reading

Scott Williams, a former high school teacher from Ballarat East, Australia, founded the group that would later become Christian Assemblies International (CAI) in Feldafing, Germany, in the 1970s. Williams had faced allegations back home that he was indoctrinating students, and he faced the same accusations in Germany. After moving the organization to Stirling, Scotland, he Continue reading

John Thomas was born on April 12, 1805, in London. Raised in a religious household by his pastor father, he later pursued studies in medicine and anatomy. In 1832, Thomas emigrated to the United States. During the voyage, his ship encountered a violent storm, and he vowed to devote his life to seeking God’s truth Continue reading

Former painting contractor Charles Franklin McHugh founded the Christ Family in the early 1960s. After two failed marriages and the collapse of a small business, he went to the Arizona desert for a spiritual retreat. He claimed that after 40 days, he experienced what he said was the revelation that he was the second coming Continue reading

Glen Taylor Helzer was born on July 26, 1970, in Lansing, Michigan, and raised in a devout Mormon family alongside his younger brother, Justin, and sister, Heather. He graduated from Ygnacio Valley High School, served in the National Guard in Texas, and completed a missionary assignment in Brazil. In April 1993, he married Ann, with Continue reading

Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) is an international interdenominational Christian nonprofit organization. Founded in 1937 by Jesse Irvin Overholtzer, it aims to teach the Christian Gospel to children and encourage their involvement in local churches. The organization is a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Overholtzer was inspired by his belief that children Continue reading

Champions for Christ (CFC) is a ministry dedicated to outreach among college and professional athletes. Founded in 1985, it began as part of the controversial Maranatha Campus Ministries before later being absorbed into other organizations, most recently the Every Nation group of ministries. At different points, it also operated under the Texas-based Mid Cities Christian Continue reading

The Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) is a Pentecostal denomination that grew out of the Aladura movement in West Africa. It was founded on September 29, 1947, in Porto-Novo, Benin, by Samuel Bilehou Joseph Oshoffa. Since then, the church has expanded across West Africa and into Europe and North America, with its largest following in Continue reading

Caritas of Birmingham is a self-described Catholic community founded in 1986 by Terry Colafrancesco in Sterrett, Alabama. It was created to promote the visions of the Virgin Mary as reported by six young people in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, starting in 1981. Colafrancesco, who is known to his followers as “A Friend of Medjugorje,” established the organization Continue reading

Cru, known until 2011 as Campus Crusade for Christ, is an interdenominational Christian parachurch organization. Founded in 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles, by Bill Bright and Vonette Zachary Bright, it grew into one of the most influential evangelical ministries in the world. The Brights were deeply shaped by Henrietta Mears, director of Continue reading

Calvary Chapel is a global association of charismatic evangelical churches with Pentecostal roots. The movement began in 1965 when pastor Chuck Smith, formerly of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, founded Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa in California with a congregation of only 25 people. In 1968, the church separated from the Foursquare denomination after Continue reading

Larry Gazelka founded Built Anew Ministries in Minneapolis in the early 1980s after announcing a divine calling during an Assembly of God crusade. After a few years, Gazelka left his ministry after he was confronted by other pastors for allegedly spreading a false rumor about his own pastor, which he confessed to being untrue. Around Continue reading

Brunstad Christian Church is a worldwide evangelical Christian organization that originated in Norway. For many years, the group was informally known as “Smith’s Friends,” a reference to its founder, Johan Oscar Smith. Today, the church is a global federation of local congregations with an estimated 40,000 adherents in over 65 countries. Smith was born in Continue reading

The Bruderhof is a communal Anabaptist Christian movement founded in Germany in 1920 by Eberhard Arnold. Its name means “place of brothers” in German. The movement is an intentional community that practices shared ownership, believer’s baptism, nonviolence, and lifelong faithfulness in marriage. The term “Bruderhof” was first used by early Anabaptists in Moravia; Arnold adopted Continue reading

The Brownsville Revival, also known as the Pensacola Outpouring, was a Christian revival movement that began on Father’s Day, June 18, 1995, at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida. This event, which attracted millions of people from around the world, became a notable phenomenon within the Pentecostal movement. Two years prior, in 1993, pastor Continue reading

The Brisbane Christian Fellowship (BCF), also known as the Brisbane Christian Assembly, is a non-denominational Christian community established in the 1970s. Located in Samford Valley on the outskirts of Brisbane, Australia, the group is estimated to have around 1,000 members. BCF describes itself as a vibrant congregation focused on the ministry of the Word of Continue reading

The Brethren is the most commonly used name for a religious movement founded by Jimmie T. “Jim” Roberts in the early 1970s. The group has never adopted an official name but has been referred to variously as The Travellers, The Road Ministry, Body of Christ, The Brothers and Sisters, The Assembly, and The Church. Members Continue reading

Erik Jansson was born in Sweden in 1808. At age 22, he claimed to have experienced a religious vision that cured his rheumatism. He had another vision a decade later, and began preaching. He had no formal theological training and his teachings diverged from the Lutheran Church of Sweden, which led to confrontations with the Continue reading

Wild Branch Christian Ministries, which is better known as the “Big House Family,” is a Christian group founded by Michael Galeotti out of a Los Angeles Bible study group. It is best known for the former involvement of television actor Bethany Joy Lenz, who was part of the group for about a decade. Lenz joined Continue reading