A church in Marysville has crossed the line from volunteering at
local public schools to recruiting kids into a “cult,” says the mother
of one of the students. The Turning Point Church sends roughly a dozen
adult “youth leaders” to six schools north of Everett, including Totem
Middle School in Marysville, once a week, where they hang out during
lunch hours, chat with students, and join in sports games.
“We can be someone in their life to say everything is going to be
okay and God is still good,” says Emily Masten, one of the youth staff
leaders and a receptionist for the church.
The youth leaders from Turning Point Church, which proposed the
lunchtime visits, were allowed on campus to “increase adult presence at
lunchtime” in the wake of chronic classroom disruptions,
says Gail Miller, assistant superintendent of the Marysville School District.
The Washington State constitution prohibits “sectarian control or
influence” in public schools.
But it’s unclear whether the church’s actions cross that line. Doug
Honig, a spokesman for the ACLU of Washington, says the intersection of
religion and government must be taken on a case-by-case basis. However,
he notes, “public schools cannot sponsor or promote religious
activities. People who are invited onto school grounds by school
officials are not permitted to proselytize students.”
In Marysville, problems arose in late February when an adult female
church delegate sent a MySpace message to Totem parent Rianne Olver’s
11-year-daughter, inviting her to an evening church meeting. The church
maintains a youth group called 180 and a subset group called 628 (for
kids from sixth through eighth grades).
“Hey, 628 tonight!
“6 o clock, free espresso for visitors. Super rad games and
activities.
“Hang out with cool people. Plus you are really cool so it would
just make it that much cooler.
“Are you going to be there? If you need a ride, I can hook it up
:)”
“She even offered to come to my house and pick up my daughter
without me knowing about it,” Olver says. “I wonder how many other kids
got this message and were so excited that an older person thinks
they’re cool and wants to buy them espresso.”
The nondenominational church, which holds Sunday services at Totem
Middle School, is unusual in other ways, too. In one sermon, available
on the church’s website, Pastor Mike Villamor says “Christians should
be sex-perts.” In YouTube videos, Villamor refers to elders in the
congregation as “saints” and churchgoers refer to him as an “apostle.”
Villamor did not return repeated calls for comment.
Rick Ross, a court witness on “destructive religious groups,” runs a
national online forum on organizations engaged in cultlike behavior.
The forum has a rich thread dedicated to the Turning Point Church,
where former members and others express concern that the church is
targeting children without telling their parents.
“In my experience, that leads to a breakdown in the family—a
conflict between a child enthralled with the church organization and a
parent who says, ‘That is not my belief,'” says Ross. “The idea that
any church would try to circumvent parents without notifying [them] in
advance is shocking to me because the right of parents to decide the
religious affiliation of their children is sacrosanct.”
Masten, the youth staff leader, dismisses the charge that the church
is a “cult”. “If people don’t understand something, there are two
reactions: You make fun of it or you get scared of it,” she says.
Masten confirms that youth leaders discuss the church and God with
students on school property, but she says they do so only when asked.
However, she acknowledges that if students provide contact information,
youth leaders invite them to evening meetings.
“Most youth leaders will do bulk texting to students they have met
once or twice,” says Masten. “It’s just like, ‘Hey do you want to come
over and hang out at my house?'” says Masten. (Basically, adults
directly soliciting social engagements from 11-year-old children.)
Youth leaders may neglect to contact parents because it is “something
that they are not really mindful of yet,” she says.
It’s something they will become mindful of soon.
After hearing Olver’s complaints, the Marysville School District
called Turning Point Church to tell them they must cease lunchtime
visits to Totem Middle School. Miller, the assistant superintendent, says, “They can’t proselytize and they
cannot solicit individual students’ contact information.” She adds: “We
are doing an investigation because, if [Olver] is correct in that this
is what is happening, that is inappropriate. If students ask them
questions, they can answer matter-of-factly, but they cannot seek them
out.”
Students’ issues with the Turning Point Church aren’t new. More than
four years ago, church delegates were on public school campuses during
school hours, says one former student.
“People of various ages, [in their] 20s and older, were going around
handing out these Bibles and saying that we should all go to Turning
Point Church because it’s a cool place to be,” says Nick Poling, 18,
who attended Totem Middle School a few years ago. The school has
open-air hallways, and the youth leaders would hang out between the
buildings. “They were out there waiting for us when we came out for the
buses.”
“There were teachers around and it’s not like they tried to stop
them,” he says. “Back then, I just was kind of confused as to why the
administration would let them do that.”
Although Turning Point Church has been barred from lunches at the
middle school, outreach workers continue to communicate with students
at five other schools, including Marysville Pilchuck High School and
Marysville Middle School. 
News intern Aaron Pickus contributed to this story.
Hey, can I go into these schools and talk to kids about atheism? i like dodgeball as much as any fundie.
this is just horrible. not only are they trying to brainwash these kids into some obscure religion, they’re doing so in a public school setting and keeping it a secret from the parents!
these kids are 11 years old! If any religion is that desperate, there’s definitely something wrong there.
do it, bookworm.
Creepy! Bribing kids with candy and soliciting them on Myspace and with text messages. Isn’t there a reason we tell kids to watch out for strangers with candy? If they need to bribe you to go with them, you don’t know them and they can potentially harm you.
I am a graduate of Marysville Pilchuck High School, and I know of a few friends who are members of Turning Point Church. Thinking back to my senior year in 2007 I remember there being these out of place 24 to 25 year old youth leaders roaming around the lunch room and “hanging out” with students. I never really understood who they were or what their motives were but they always seemed to give me the creeps. I had no idea that these people were being allowed at the middle schools, and I find that kind of innapropiate. They also kind of gave me the same intruding feeling as the army recruiters on campus, but in a more secretive subtle way.
Oh my goodness. I know this church pretty well, and ITS CRAZY. I grew up in Marysville, and when I was in middle school and early high school, several of my very close friends (including the boy I dated for 6 years) went to this church. At this time it was really small, but they were always recruiting, especially kids. I went to the youth group once with my boyfriend, and it took me forever to get these people off my back about converting (thinking back, I don’t think I DID get them off my back. I moved.) even though i made it VERY CLEAR that I was Catholic, staying that way and never comign back.
As time went on, my friends slowly started dropping out because of mysterous changes in faculty and finance that would not be explained to them other than “Thats what the Elders decided”…. and I never really figured out what the hell “the elders” were by the way. Anyway, the church grew, and it became obvious that, THAT was their main goal… not worshiping or doing good works or anything else, but recruiting new members. And it had this way of trying to make your whole life about the church. Oh yeah. And pastor Mike makes a ton of money. Go figure.
I also know several families who where basically broken up over Turning point, where parents were encouraged to divorce if the partner who attended would not convert their spouse.
I’ve been out of Marysville for years now, and it makes me sad and worried that this church is still around town….
Most of these Turning Point Church people are probably homosexuals. How many of the recruits are boys? Very slimy.
Just because an adult goes to a church does not make them safe. Pedophile priests anyone. As a mom, I would call the police and file a report that these adult are stalking/attempting to kidnap my child. No adult can offer my child a ride without my consent. Turning Point church is not concerned with decent Christian conduct. They want to aggressively recuit children and play ‘victim’ when a parent asserts there basic rights. I hope ACLU gives the tools to parents to fight back. What is my right as a parent? Can I file a restraining order against all members of Turning Point? Can I cite them for no trespass? What damage are they allowed to commit before these rights can be enforced?
Shame on the Marysville School District.
Kip-
What does being homosexual have to do with anything? The people in the church may be slimy, but that has nothing to do with their sexuality.
So you’ve got retirees, Tulalip Tribe members, and youth leaders from Turning Point Church volunteering at Totem Middle School to reverse chronic “classroom disruptions”???
What the hell is going on at that school? Some kind of in-town “Lord of the Flies” scene?
Kristi-
When I called the police, the officer I talked to was generally concerned, but said that legally there hands were tied. Your question “What is my right as a parent?” is a very important one, that no one can seem to answer. I have questioned the school district as to why I do not have to be notified when a religious group comes to have private conversations with my kid, and why that was allowed to happen in the first place, and have gotten pretty vague responses.
Bookworm-
According to the district, they cannot discriminate against any group that wants to come in, which is why they “have” to let Turning Point be there. So I would think if thats the law, an athiest group should be ok. Something tells me though that if an athiest or say muslim group wanted to work with the kids it wouldnt happen. But then again, those groups dont PAY THE MARYSVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO USE THEIR FACILITIES, like Turning Point does.
The other night after I read the message sent to my daughter, I tracked down Katie, the person who sent it to her. I couldn’t find her in the church so I asked a staff member if he could find her for me. He then escorted me outside and across the parking lot into a small building in a dark alley which is kept locked. Inside is an office, and an eery room with lots of lights and photo equipment. We exchanged many words. I was dumbfounded at the sheer lack of common sense. These people are so fanatic about their group that they justify all the crazy ass shit they do. They basically said it doesn’t matter what they have to do to get the kids there, as long as they get them there.
Beyond the creepy solicitations of kids outside of school, I know for a fact that at least this Katie person has been pushing her religious talk AT THE SCHOOL, which is an obvious violation of the law which calls for separation of church and state.
The more I learn about Turning Point Church the more disturbing this becomes. Their preoccupation with recruiting, and dangerous ways of going about it, is a red flag to begin with. But it goes so much deeper. Everything I hear about this group is synonymous with your text book characteristics of a cult.
And now hearing from the community and seeing how long this has been going on, I find it hard to believe that the schools were unaware. That leads me to believe that schools either are deliberately participating with the church or are just allowing them to get away with it because of the fact that Turning Point pays them to use the facilities.
IF ANYONE OUT THERE WANTS TO GO TO YOUTH GROUP, I KNOW SOMEONE WHO WILL GIVE YOU A RIDE.
HER NAME IS KATIE.
THIS IS HER MYSPACE:
http://www.myspace.com/citwit
LIKE I SAID, SHE WILL HOOK YOU UP WITH A RIDE.
SHE MIGHT EVEN GIVE YOU SOME FREE ESPRESSO, BUT YOU HAVE TO SAY YOU LOVE JESUS FIRST.
SERIOUSLY, YOU SHOULD CONTACT HER, THERE WILL BE SUPER RAD GAMES AND ACTIVITIES.
AGAIN HER NAME IS KATIE.
SHE WANTS TO TAKE YOU TO YOUTH GROUP.
http://www.myspace.com/citwit
Geez, Kip, you have a problem w/ homosexuals & you’re reading The Stranger??? Heck, you’re even commenting on its articles! Can we say cognitive dis-connect?
This is worse than military recruiter’s….
If children actually NEED adult “friends” to be present during lunch times, why aren’t the actual parents of these kids taking turns as Playground Parents, or something? Seems really creepy for church folks to come infiltrating a kid zone, for any reason.
Youth groups shouldn’t be allowed to operate inside school hours or grounds. Organize a meeting, send out invitations, but do not operate on school grounds or during school hours. Organizing a meeting is just like saying “Hey, want to meet up later??” No big deal. The school is allowed to hold a bible on it’s library shelves, no problem. But they cannot point it out or rpeach it ot teach it or tell students to check it out. For reference it’s completely legal and ok with me. I have very strong views on parenting and school. I’m agnostic, a bible on the shelf is just another book. But to allow youth group leaders to school from church to watch kids is lame ass BS! Shouldn’t happen. As for the adults from this youth group inviting kids to their houses or churches without the parents’ knowledge ro f’ing permission, that’s completely illegal. I guarantee it. I used to work for the YMCA, no adult was ever allowed to be alone with any one kid, whether they were the same sex or not. There are reasons for this, statistics. Statistics are there for a reason, shit happens. Don’t argue the stats, it’s true. Also, one last thing, this chruch is NOT christian, it IS a cult. How the hell can a pastor tell his congregation “Ladies, the answers to yoru troubles is sex and sleep?” I’m agnostic once again, and that comment from a pastors mouth is f’ing disgusting!! Talk about human being human! That is not anything I’ve ever read in teh f’ing bible. yes, I’ve read the bible, I wanted to know what kind of evil was inside it. There wasn’t as much as I thought though, mostly fairy tales and myths, folklore and stories. The only REAL fact in the bible, Jesus Christ was a REAL man, he walked, talked, breathed the same air, slept pissed and shat twice a day! It’s also true that he died, brutally, for political reasons. The rest is a story. The bible is the true story that is “Based on True Events” Not written OF true events. That is all.
Actually, Jack S., outside the Bible there is no record of anyone resembling Yeshua ben Joseph, nor anything at all of the many incidents described in the gospels.
Now, the Romans were a very literate culture, and they kept a lot of political & governmental records. Yes, some of it is lost, but there is quite a lot that remains, and throughout all of that… nothing whatsoever to back up anything in the Gospels.
Another interesting thing, Israel has the greatest amount of archaeological digs per sq. mile than any other place on the planet. If there were records, they would have found them. And what HAVE they found? Nothing about the Hebrew people before Solomon. No Moses, no wandering peoples, no Temple in Jerusalem until after the Babylonian captivity, none of that. There are two camps in academia– the ones who say that David never existed, and those who say that if he did, he was a hilltop chieftain/goatherd.
So the Bible ain’t even BASED on true events. About 70% made-up, 25% distortions & maybe about 5% accurate.
I’ll say that I’ve been burned by the Marysville school system (I graduated in 2004: the year of the 49-day strike), but this is just ridiculous. I am an educated, conscious, and resolute atheist. If I were still going to MP, and they tried to pull this on me, they’d probably get an earfull about the redeeming power of science.
Anyway, the point is that Marysville is in this midst of an academic apocalypse, and it has been since about 2002. Get out. GET OUT NOW.
beans rice and Jesus Christ
I attended MP and graduated in 05. I know these kids and while I don’t regularly attend their church I’ve been there before. It is just as any other church is. All youth groups recruit. There is absolutely nothing wrong here. As far as the comment Pastor Mike made, you should probably hear it in context before you go on and on about it. It isn’t a cult. And those adult youth leaders are nothing but positive role models for those children.
Also, Turning Point pays the school distric to use their facilities because their church isn’t large enough to house the entire congregation on Sundays. It’s common for churches to do this. When I went to Cedarcrest their was a church that used the cafeteria Sundy mornings. No biggy.
I want to know what the other 4 schools are so I can alert my neighbors.
I am a product of Marysville schools (Totem used to be Marysville Junior High). I think the creep factor would be taken out of this whole thing if parents were aware of who was monitoring their children. I think it is wonderful to have the extra volunteers at the schools (c’mon parents, I certainly didn’t see a whole lot of YOU around), especially given the fact that the Marysville School District is desperately floundering for money (seriously considering closing down an elementary school that serves the Totem area to save $400,000) and free help is awesome. However, anyone accessing children at a public school should have a police background check and there should be strict rules to follow (having known volunteers from Western Washington University in various Whatcom schools, this is the drill they follow up there). The solution: transparency, communication with parents and students, and a strict protocol.
who cares. this is retarded. i could think of a million things more alarming than this. like china. but youre worried about some church in marysville? cmon. lets be serious.
This is so wrong. I’m all for having extra adult supervision on campus. However adult supervision is completely different then these people trying to corrupt and recruit kids. Yes i mean corrupt and recruit. Some of us find Church very evil and i would never want a child subjected to such disturbed people. For you church goers who are going to back lash to me, would you be ok if there were a bunch of gay boys down there on campus “just wanting to hang out” and telling your 11 yo how cool they are and answering questions about being gay? I didnt think so. Keep your religion out of the public arena. If these kids want to learn about your sickness, perversion, religion, whatever you wanna call it, they’ll seek you out. Quit preying on our children.
Very interesting……seems all these posts are only negative. I’m concerned that the Stranger has decided to post only the negative ones. Every post I have read has a religous mindset to it. And I’m sorry that TPCWOC has to take the brunt of these outrageous claims of “cult” behavior. I’m certain it’s mostly due to fear and ingnorance. I am a believer in Christ and would be VERY happy if someone would speak to my children about Him and of His love. To catagorically identify Christ centered truth to Athiests is appalling and any parent who wants to make those claims should be looked at for sensationalizing this situation. It sounds to me that this is much ado about nothing….get over it and God Bless you!!!
I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble but the activities of the particular church are not uncommon at all in the Northwest. Groups like Young Life, YWAM and such, have been in our schools since the 70s; and convening meetings with kids at all costs.
The unfortunate reality is that what seems like such clear violations to most people, this conflict will be perceived simply as a ‘demonic attack’ on the church. Until religious fundamentalists allow their perceptions to reflect reality, we will continue to see basic rights disregarded in the name of Christ.
Another interesting part of this story, as mentioned above, is the money being provided to the school district by these religious institutions.
Why is anyone other than staff, students or parents allowed on school property during the school day? When I was in school there was never anyone allowed on school property without permission ever. I went to a private school though, so maybe I don’t understand the public property aspect of it. This is a safety issue in my opinion.
I forwarded this article to alot of people representing all walks of life. One particular person, who is a pastor in an evangelical church wrote this response:
“I think that any outside group – church, military, other non-profit, or any other should have to be approved by an anonymous parent vote first – it’s the only way to keep covert operations out of the school. I’ve NEVER been a fan of going to the schools to hang out with the students over lunch. I think it’s different to show up at a public event like a ball game or arts performance – but showing up at lunch with a covert mission is just not cool. Obviously, I’m all about giving kids a chance to find out who Jesus is, but if I’m confident about who Jesus is, I don’t need to se covert methods to do it.”
Just another viewpoint, one I disagree with but worth mentioning.
Ok. . . i went to this church for 5+ years, and even tho i don’t attend there any longer I do have relationships with a lot of the people going on campus and working in the youth programs etc. . . Yes saying that they don’t have to tell parents about rides is wrong, parents should be fully in the know of what is going on with their children, But don’t be closed minded about something you don’t know anything about. The people there got me through some very tough things in my life. And what Masten said about People being scared of something they don’t know is very true. Think about it. . . the first time you drive is pretty scary, what about trying some new crazy food, its scary. I hold nothing against the church or any of the people there, So please before you read what some biased person wrote about a church and people they DONT know do some reasearch for yourself, it’ll do you some good
Oh and to ‘oh no Marysville’, get your facts straight, he doesn’t make a ton of money him and his wife have other businesses you probably know nothing about.
Rianne Olver
~ you are a horrible person for what you did to Katie, i can’t believe that a grown person would be so childish as to perform a stunt like that. Horrible horrible chice on your part, shows the maturity of a 5 year old. If i was your kid i would have run away a long time ago.
Good one, D. I’ve always said that Christians aren’t happy unless they’re feeling persecuted. How else to justify the everyday domination, prejudice, scorn and hatred they dump on anyone who disagrees w/ them? And yes, that includes fellow Christians from different denominations.
“Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven,” said the Protestant as he gunned down the unarmed Catholics…
I can never seem to make up my mind as to wether I’m conservative or liberal. Every time I feel like I’m leaning one way or another, someone in that camp manages to piss me off. Then, I stumble on this page, and everyone seems to be pissing me off.
Moderation, guys.
On the one hand, college kids hanging out with middle school kids is questionable, and the school probably shouldn’t encourage it, but equating that to a cult? Bah…
The anti Jesus folks are obviously having a field day with this, but their issue is Jesus, and not the kids.
And the homophobes? I’m not even gonna touch that one…
Devil’s Advocate:
Please, if this were any other group of people (Buddhists, Muslims, Boys and Girls Club, Peta, Shriners, etc), this story would not be nearly as fascinating to the clearly biased journalist and Stranger readers. And I use the term “journalist” loosely. If it was anyone else doing what this church is doing, you would call it a mentoring program, see it as an act of community outreach, and commend them on caring enough about these kids to buy them a cup of coffee. You only find this creepy and strange because you don’t agree with the vehicle (Christianity) that this outreach/kindness is being delivered in.
Wow. What a terrible and traumatic experience it would have been for someone other than my family to demonstrate filial love towards me when I was 13. Where were these crazy lunactics a few years ago when I needed that? Come on, people. Get over your prejudices and pre-recorded arguements. Or start actually caring about someone other than yourself and go sign up as a Big Brother/Sister in order to thwart the spread of this so-called evil. Every cause needs an opposition, right? Either way, take at least 5 minutes out of your day to a) love someone other than yourself and b) read something other than the Stranger. I highly recommend some tabloids. At least those are clearly labeled as crap.
Bottom line: kids need mentors. If you don’t like these ones, do it yourself. Unless you’re a convict/pervert/communist, then please stay home.
Nonsense, Ms. Ron Burgundy.
You have it exactly backwards: at Totem Middle School, outreach/kindness is the vehicle Christianity is being delivered in.
Tell you what. Turning Point Church can mentor kids at the school if us atheists can mentor kids at your church. Deal?
Agreed Fire Aim Ready. Thats the whole issue is the method of delivery. Of course children need mentors, and adult inspiration, and people to look up to. The issue is though that these christian people, whether you deem it a cult or not have prejudices and ways of thinking that they use to corrupt the youth. And that is the unacceptable part.
My son goes to Totem Middle school. He’s not Tribal. He tell me the tribal kids start most of the fights. We’ve been in the classroom and the kids ignore the teachers.. It’s bizarre! They had that big student walkout last year at totem also. My son was going to walk out and we said get your ass back in school! The walk out was to bring attention to exactly this type of thing! ~M~
people people calm down. This story highly exaggerates the truth of what the church stands for. I am not an active member of the church but I have been there multiple times… to Oh No Marysville, they don’t have elders at a Christian church and do not forc conversion upon people. I know we all jump to conclusion when we hear a story that may or may not be effecting our children but don’t trust everything you read.
Most of these Turning Point Church people are probably heterosexuals. How many of the recruits are of the opposite sex? Very slimy.
These people sound like pedophiles. They certainly use the same MO. Ban them from public Schools NOW. Back in the day, we had a Young Life minister that had open access to our campus. He was always bugging me and it made me uncomfortable. He was a creep and I should have threatened a harassment charge. Leave our children alone. It’s bad enought that military recruiters come to the high achools at lunch.
Stay Grounded…check your facts: “they don’t have elders at a Christian church”.
See the link below for the church mentioned in this article. It shows their “Elders”.
http://turningpointchurch.com/index.php?…
Yeah you religious nuts have a point. Trying new foods, learning to drive, and “filial love” coming from creepy youth pastors who want to hang out with 11 year old kids without parental consent are all scary because they are new and different. We’d be totally cool with it if we “understood” and had “context.” Riiiiiiiiight. Just like you’d be cool with my texting your kids pick them up, get them high on espresso and tell them the “truth” that god doesn’t exist. How does that sound? Rad? Cool? I’ll hook up a ride around 6.
Yeah you religious nuts have a point. Trying new foods, learning to drive, and “filial love” coming from creepy youth pastors who want to hang out with 11 year old kids without parental consent are all scary because they are new and different. We’d be totally cool with it if we “understood” and had “context.” Riiiiiiiiight. Just like you’d be cool with my texting your kids pick them up, get them high on espresso and tell them the “truth” that god doesn’t exist. How does that sound? Rad? Cool? I’ll hook up a ride around 6.
oops. sorry for the double post. totally uncool.
So last week the place where I usually pick up The Stranger was out so I went to a music store and asked if they had them. The guy says “you know youre in Marysville right?”
I think its funny that all these turning point members are posting on here now.
I also think its funny that people who creep around schools and ask kids for their phone numbers would call other people immature. Its amazing how some churches can beat the common sense right out of you.
Actually, to be quite honest, i GO to Turning Point and it is not a cult. I know Emily Masten and i go every Wednesday and Sunday. They believe in the TRUTH. And i do NOT like Rianne Olver. She is WRONG. You know, the people there are friendly and all they want is to show the love of god. I invite people every week and this to me is bull. Come for yourself before you believe this crap. Your life will be changed.
I mean this in a caring and compassionate way:
“HAS ANYONE RUN BACKGROUND CHECKS ON THESE FOLKS?!?”
http://turningpointchurch.com/index.php?…
Specifically Mr. Parks.
EEEEEEK.
@one who left:
“But don’t be closed minded about something you don’t know anything about.”
Please don’t make the false assumption that we on the outside don’t know what’s going on on the inside. We may know more than you, in fact, about how cults operate because many of us have *been through them*.
Having worked in the public schools, having had my diversity poster in the *staff room* vandalized, catching bus drivers passing out free bibles to kids – believe me, I’ve seen it and I “get” it. We all “get” it.
It’s not rocket science to understand what this church is doing on school grounds inviting kids to sneak out with adults to get coffee and meet Christ — it’s just the cult mentality “believers” are stuck with that prevents them from seeing they’re part of a predatory, brainwashing community.
There’s a difference between being “closed minded” and disagreeing with covert church tactics. I simply disagree with covert church tactics.
Two cult recruiting characteristics according to UC Berkley from http://www.prem-rawat-talk.org/forum/upl…
1. Deception – Group identity and/or true motives are not revealed.
2. Emotional Leverage/Love Bombing – Instant friendship, extreme helpfulness, generosity and acceptance…Group recruiters “lovingly” will not take “no” for an answer-invitations impossible to refuse without feeling guilty and/or ungrateful. “Love”, “generosity”, “encouragement” are used to lower defenses and create an ever increasing sense of obligation, debt and guilt.
Sound familiar?
Meh. Sounds just like a creepier version of Young Life…which is in MANY schools already.
Meh. Sounds just like a creepier version of Young Life…which is in MANY schools already.