Letter from a grieving mom

Email I received about HOPCC from a woman who pretty much lost her son to the “church”

Dated 10/18/2018 the names of the people involved have been redacted for their protection

Dear Patty, 
I saw your article dated May 20th 2017 concerning the House of Prayer Christian Church (cult). My name is… and I live in…

Eight years ago my youngest son…had been stationed in Washington state Army base and had just exited the Army on terminal leave after having served his time. 

He was living with an army buddy and his wife in Washington. My son has 3 older brothers and one older sister and all the kids had attended Christian Church since they were born. But I didn't believe in pushing my kids to give their lives to Jesus. I wanted it to be their idea and I always prayed for them. 

My son called me 8 years ago (as he routinely did) and told me he wanted to accept Christ as His Savior. I told him how happy I was about his decision and that maybe he could do so over the phone with me. He said "No mom ... I want to go to a Church and do it." So I told him to go ahead and do so, and to call afterward & let me know how it went. 

I didn't hear from him for several days. Then he called me and told me he was living at House of Prayer Christian Church in Washington in the single men's house. He told me he had given his life to Jesus there. His conversion sounded genuine. But in the next few weeks I was noticing changes in him ... things he was telling me set off alarms in me. 

I want you to know, Patty, that my son and I had a very close relationship. He was a very low keyed, sweet and thoughtful son and he loved and cared about me. Let me share just how sweet he was. When he was stationed in Afghanistan in a camp at the foot of a mountain and he would wait in long lines just to call me; to ask how "I" was doing. He wasn't my only concern. I was a mother of three sons in the Army at that time, in Kuwait and Iraq as well as Afghanistan. As a child, he would leave me little love notes ... on my bed, on counters, etc. 

He was the child that cheered up our family and made us laugh. He was a comedian as a baby. As a teen and adult, he could say just one word or utter a short sound and have the whole room laughing hysterically. Everyone liked him and he had friends who were all ages from kids to adults, both male and female and all races. Everybody liked him. He would do anything for anyone who needed help. He was well liked by anyone he came in contact with. 

My son’s phone calls from Hopcc started to worry me. He sounded mean and angry and was questioning whether our family were really Christians. He began talking about women and how they should dress. His calls would often have me in tears. I told him that I believed he was in a cult. He started to cry and asked me if I wanted him to leave and come home. I said yes. But just as he was packing, one of the men in the singles house saw him packing and went to fetch a "pastor". The pastor ran and intercepted my son; 'love bombing' him and convincing him that one of the ladies in the Church was interested in him.

After that point, my son stopped calling regularly and when he did call, he was angry and judgmental and was trying to convince me that I shouldn't wear pants or make-up, or I'll go to hell. He questioned whether me and his dad were really Christians. Then, his calls began to dwindle off. If I called him, he was mean and told me that the family needed to come to Georgia and join Hopcc. I told him we have a Church already. My son told me if we didn't come, to Hopcc that we were all going to Hell. Patty, I kid you not. 

Finally, a few months ago, the cult told him to cut me off completely. They have spies that look around on the internet to see what people are doing or saying about the cult. Since I've been very active along with the ex-members, they must've noticed and told my son he had to cut me off.

My son seemed very nervous on the phone that night and I had the sense that there was someone near him, trying to get him to do what they said to do. He was breathing nervously and hesitant. Finally he raised his voice in a mean tone and told me to leave him alone and not contact him anymore. He was calling me "Ma'am" instead of "Mom". "Ma'am" is what the cult members use when talking to females. I knew he was forced to do it, because he has never been a mean person. 

Patty...Rony Denis had my son marry a …….woman who had 3 kids from 3 different fathers, about 5-6 years ago. My son is a very handsome man and could've married anyone he wanted. Rony Denis the leader practices putting couples together, or breaking them apart and marrying them to someone else. I'm not sure the marriages are even legal. Everything Rony Denis does is about control. I was told by one of the pastors who was thrown out of the cult a year ago by Denis, that Rony Denis matches couples up strategically to maximize control over the people. 

He marries people he has less control over with people that are completely devoted to Denis. Married couples are not allowed to talk about the leader in a negative way. Even the children are taught to tell on their parents if the parents talk negatively about Denis. If Rony Denis tells one person something, they are not allowed to tell their "spouse" what they were told. 

Rony Denis also practices planting false memories into the members. He tells them they were molested by their mother or father, and many other similar scenarios, and he makes them admit it in front of the entire congregation. Anyone who pisses Rony Denis off is accused of being homosexual. Rony has a fixation on sexual perversion. He is very charismatic and fakes being divine. A master manipulator. 

He commits real estate fraud. He gets members to buy a house in their own names. Then Rony gets the members to rent it out and collects the rents for his own use, until the houses go into foreclosure. From what I've heard, some of the members pay the mortgages and some don't. 

The children go to "school" on site and ex members have told me that they aren't taught by teachers; just anyone they can put in there.
Ex members have shared that Rony Denis has requested that the men get vasectomies
and passports.  

Patty? This whole situation has slowly killed me. I don't have a life; not like most people do. Every second of everyday my mind is on getting my son back. I cry a lot. Rony Denis is a sick, perverted, mentally disturbed master manipulator. 

One of the Pastors was thrown out many months ago for standing up to Rony Denis in front of the entire congregation. Rony accused him of sleeping with 500 men and told him to get out. Then Rony had the whole congregation dance that the Pastor was leaving. This Pastor has a wife and daughter still in the cult and he's been concerned that Denis will put his wife of 30 years marriage, with another man. This Pastor has become a help and support to all the ex-members and to myself. He has a house that can serve as a safe place to go for any members who wish to leave the cult. The members have been informed of this during the protests. 

(This actually is what happened. She is speaking about former Pastor Arlen Bradeen, who was kicked out around March 2018. Arlen has since been championing the fight against Rony Denis with the help of other former members and little ole’ me. Bradeen was still in the middle of his divorce when his wife introduced him to her future husband as they entered a divorce hearing. His divorce was signed 7/23/2019. And on 7/30/2019 he learned his ex-wife had applied for a marriage license with her newly SELECTED husband. I will be sharing Arlen's story later as well).


Your article from May 2017 seemed to reflect that the information you were given about the cult was limited, unclear and incomplete, due to fragmented information given by ex-members. I thought I would make things a bit more clearer. This cult has affected many lives, having broken up families, marriages and friendships. The waves of pain and destruction are not just limited to the Cult members or ex members. In the last 8 years, I have cried and agonized over the loss of my wonderful son. I've become a shell of a person. If you are a mother, you would know that when a mother's child isn't okay, mom can't be okay. 

She is somewhat correct as I had just started to learn about this cult in May 2017. This is just one email but this is the common theme in ALL the conversations I’ve had with former members.

Denis and other church leaders isolate the family that remain inside from having any contact to family on the outside. They are isolated from most of the outside world as only higher church officials are allowed to have Smart phones and that is primarily to check on what “WE” (former members and I) are up to. They are told that having access to the internet, and social media is a direct path to sin and going to hell.

And it is true that Denis tells the entire congregation that people tossed out are either homosexual or child molester. That will be a more in-depth post for tomorrow.

Stalk me much!

Thought I would place the three audio recordings I've shared so far in one spot. Also added some new information as to how they stalked me and why there hasn't been anything in print (SO FAR) since 2017.

Posted June 30

I recently spoke with a brave young lady who is now 18 but was a member of House of Prayer from the age of 3 until she left at the age of 16. Lynette Rosario said church leader Rony Denis frequently took 3 young girls and his daughter on trips to Florida along with a few other top church officials. The parents of these young girls trusted Denis with their children. These girls were around 11 to 15 years of age when Denis allegedly beat them with a belt just because these teenage girls were speaking with boys. On a second trip he made the girls sleep in the attic in their own urine and feces. You will hear my voice and that of former Pastor Arlen Bradeen (He is NO LONGER with HOPCC) and more importantly, in her own words, the things Rosario went through at the age of 15. I have her permission to use this audio. This is just part one of our conversation.

Interview 1 with Lynette Rosario

Posted July 16
Here is my second audio snippet where I talked to a brave young man named Andrew. I edited this audio to just cover some information about what he experienced as he left the church, what the church does to those that leave, his relationship with his dad (still in the church) and he does introduce us to how (or better yet how not) the church school benefited him. In the audio it is me, Andrew, former member Gladys and former member Arlen.

Andrew

Posted July 22

Here is more of my conversation with Lynette Rosario. She was a member of House of Prayer from the age of 3 until she left at the age of 16. In part one posted lower on this page thread she talked about church leader Rony Denis' beatings. In part two she talks about how her mom talked her into leaving, how Denis made her feel, her struggles with education after being taught by the church school and what she would want people to know about House of Prayer. You will hear my voice and that of former Pastor Arlen Bradeen (He is NO LONGER with HOPCC). I have her permission to use this audio.

Interview 2 with Lynette

If you've been following the blog and postings. The last story we did in the newspaper alleged that the church was committing real estate fraud.

A few days or two prior to that last story, I had already noticed that cars were driving slowly by my house and my neighbor's house. I soon learned that my neighbor was also a former member who got herself and her three kids out of that church. She has since moved out of Georgia.

In the days that followed this story and the story about their school being unaccredited church "spokespeople" CJ Vargas and Jeff Derby inundated me and ALL of my co-workers and boss with emails. Some with information about the stories saying we got all the information wrong or they were lies told to us by the former members.
Others were nothing but Bible Scriptures and a few were from Derby's twisted mind and although he thought he was just being funny and sarcastic, they painted a pretty good picture of what he thought.
Nearly every weekend for two months there was a Grey Nissan with that would park at the end of the cul-de-sac (my house is the second house in from that spot). 

Sometimes they would park right in front of my house and just sit in the car. At times they sat there while I mowed the lawn. Once or twice I would walk up to the car, tap on the window and ask what do you want? Sometimes I would let my Shepard Blood Hound mix and later on my Pitbull/Boxer mix (and sometimes both) out to greet my new guest and say hello. They must not like dogs though because they would take off when my dog would try and greet them through the driver's side window. My other neighbors started watching my house while I was at work. They would send me photos saying, "The God Squad is here again."

They were trying to intimidate me. Trying to shut me up. 
You'll note that at the end of the real estate story it said:

The Courier reached out to Oloans to respond to questions about PHP and Centex and the allegations. The following day the Courier received an email from HOPCC media spokesperson Cesar Vargas who said Oloans, under the advisement of his attorney, would not speak to anyone from the media concerning any issues.

I called Anthony Oloans ONE TIME prior to us going to print with the story. I spoke with him no more than 30 seconds and asked him if he or his attorney would like to reply to the allegations.

Here is an excerpt of the final email I got from "church spokesperson" CJ Vargas. It started out by attacking the newspaper (He used the words Fake News before Trump did)...we would do anything to attract subscribers...we have low circulation...stuff like that...which is true for the print version but not our online readers..then this:

Email dated July 14, 2017

Patty, we will never accept homosexual preachers, nor people whose conduct is totally unbecoming of true Christianity. Patty, you are a better christian than the people who are telling you lies about the church. Some of these same people have been trying to come back to church. They are telling you one thing, then behind the scenes telling us something completely different. You are being used by these people.
The church has nothing against you or the paper, I love you and the church loves you.  I, Cesar Vargas, nor the church have any intention to take you guys to court for any matter. We want to end this peacefully and friendly.
In closing, I have been advised by legal counsel to no longer write or communicate with the media. That means this is goodbye.
Any phone calls or contact with church members or preachers from this day forward will be looked upon as a form of harassment. No more information about the church will be given, and this will be my last email. Our church is open to anyone who would like to come, if you would like to know more about the church please come in and visit.

I called Oloans so they could give their version of the TRUTH and suddenly I am the one harassing them? They've been parked at my house for months, yet I am am harassing them for ONE phone call to allow them to give their side of the story....COME ONE.

Derby sent me an email too:

From this day forward if you like to I can direct you to our legal team in Atlanta.  I can also have someone talk to you from Alliance Defending Freedom. 

I am still waiting on information as to who are their attorneys and who I should call regarding these issues.

And that is also why there has not been a "newspaper" story since. In the principles of ethical journalism you should always try and reach out and get the other side of the story. Even if the other side of the story ends up being nothing more than a "no comment."

This is also when I discovered that churches are protected from having to reply to any Open Records Requests or Freedom Of Information Act.

So that is why, after gathering information for two long years, I decided I would just put the information I've been collecting out here. These are from interviews with former members, new documents that are just starting to come to light. More and more courageous people willing to step forward with their truth. I am merely passing the information along and at times offering my opinion. It is up to you to draw your own conclusions.

I'll be posting some emails I got from former members and I have to place a phone call so I can speak with one person who left the church 2 months ago. She wants to talk more about the education system (or lack thereof). And another person who said he called DFACS after he learned about Lynette Rosario's beating and how that opened a whole new can of worms that was actually featured recently on Fox News 28 in Savannah.

I posted this on my timeline 7/2/2017
Don't you just hate it when somebody who's supposed to be the leader sends his cronies out better yet sends his little puppets out to do the work of real men come on dude you want to take me on take me on in person don't send you a little juvenile puppets to do the job. I mean come on you have the ability to lead a church yet you don't have the ability to take me on face-to-face what a wuss. PS thanks for the confirmation that you are the ones scoping out my house... and you're not the only one that was recording the conversation tell your little puppet thanks for the heads up telling me that some of your church members are very high on the city officials list checking into that accordingly. A smear campaign is a two-way street let's see who wins

Inside I went

The day I covered the protest at House of Prayer, May 2017, I had never heard of that church or that group. Out on the street I met with Gladys Jordan and Jenessa Wright and others. They were former members, some of who left on their own after learning what church leaders were up to. Others who were cast out because they asked too many questions and questioned church leader Rony Denis.

Photo: Cesar (CJ) Vargas confronts his mom, Gladys Jordan in May 2017. She was trying to tell him to leave because it was not a true church. He disagreed and is still in House of Prayer.

Later I would start to learn more about the power, greed manipulation, and abuse and mind control that revolves around the House of Prayer. Denis has many minions doing his bidding. I would soon learn more about his higher ups like Pastor William Pilkington and all his helpers like Jim Benton, Jeff Derby, Anthony Oloans, Gerald Robertson and others.

But on that day I was there to cover the protest. I listened to Gladys and her friends and took photos and video. They claimed the church was really a cult and Denis and others in power were manipulating and brainwashing the members while also profiting by taking control over their homes and finances. As a reporter I walked up to the church members to get their side of the story and to also allow them to respond to the allegations former members were making against the church and its leaders.

I met with Jim Benton and Jeff Derby and Jordan’s son CJ Vargas outside. I interviewed them to allow the church members to respond to what the protestors were alleging.

After the interview Jeff Derby asked if I would like to go inside so I could see for myself that it was a normal church. I looked around and saw a deputy, who was working as off-duty security that I knew well.

“They want me to go inside and see things for myself,” I told the deputy. “If I ain’t out in ten minutes will you come get me?”

The deputy said yes and in I went.

Throughout out my many years I’ve been inside many different religious buildings. I’ve attended Temple with my Jewish friends, went to Catholic Church as a child, been to many Baptist, Presbyterian and many other Christian churches. I’ve even attended a service with a group of Jehovah Witnesses.

I knew that these church members practiced under the principles of old-style Pentecostal. I had seen that before too. People speaking in tongues, the singing, chanting…women wearing long attire to cover their bodies…keeping their hair long and tied up in a bun. Women on one side of the church, men on the other.

Yeah I’ve seen that in person and on TV.

And when I stepped inside that’s exactly what I saw. Women on one side, men on the other, chanting, speaking in tongues, people reading scripture.

Jeff Derby walked me toward the first set of pews. Suddenly everyone started to come toward me. People wanting me to testify or giving me their testimony. They swarmed around forming a circle with me stuck in the middle. I started to get nervous and more importantly I started to feel afraid for my safety.

This was the first place of worship that I’ve been inside of where I felt uncomfortable (Let me remind you all…I am a paranormal investigator…I hunt ghost and scary stuff).

I felt like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz suddenly being surrounded by the Munchkins of Munchkinland who had never seen a regular sized person before. And in this version the Munchkins weren't nice.

As they kept gathering around me and getting closer, Derby kept asking me if I thought they were a cult.

I thought to myself if I don’t say the right thing right now I’ll end up like Nicolas Cage did in the end of the movie “Wickerman.” (He was burned to death by a group of fanatical people practicing some weird type of paganism if you didn’t know).

“Looks like a regular church to me,” I said. As if right on cue the front door opened up and their stood the deputy checking in on me.

I bolted out the door, thanked the deputy for keeping their promise and stood outside trying to calm my frazzled nerves and composure.

I knew there was some truth to what the former members were saying so I stayed the course and kept on top of what former members were alleging.

The next and pretty much last story that ran in the newspaper was this:

Real Estate fraud allegations leveled at church leader

Posted online July 16, 2017, 10:30 a.m.

Several former members of House of Prayer Christian Church, now called A Place of Prayer, allege that many high ranking church members and church founder, Rony Denis are involved in real estate fraud and forgery.

Former members Gladys Jordan, Frederick Irwin and others, as well as former HOPCC pastor the Rev. Ray Yorke allege that Denis convinces vulnerable church members into buying homes.

Those houses are then turned over to a property management company run by church member Anthony Oloans via a power of attorney. Oloans is a minister of HOPCC and Denis’ "right-hand man," according to Yorke and several former members.

Oloans has declined comment on the issue.

Former members allege the homes are often used to provide quick cash for the church through refinancing and lines of credit loans. They allege some homes are also allowed to go into foreclosure, ruining the homeowner’s credit, especially those who leave the church. Foreclosed homes are often bought by other church members at and again managed by Oloans.

On hopcc.com, a website created by Yorke for former members, Irwin calls the system a "real estate money factory." He said it started in 2004 or 2005 when Denis refinanced his house.

"The ease of this process…creating quick cash through a refinance and taking out a 2nd mortgage….gave birth to an idea in his mind," Irwin wrote." "‘If I get brothers & sisters who trust me to use their credit and buy houses in their name we can use the same manipulation process for inflated appraisals, refinance the loans, take out home equity lines of credit and create lots of quick cash ‘for the church."’

Irwin said it was Denis’ plan to create a mortgage department, a building crew and a property rental department that was called The People Helping People Group.

Oloans was one of several managing members of a company called People Helping People Group, which included Irwin. Other managing members included Denis and his wife Marjorie and current church officials Gerard Robertson and David Reip.

"People helping People is an organization began by the House of Prayer," Yorke said during a town hall meeting June 21 while addressing the fraud issues and addressing current members of HOPCC who attended the meeting. "It is corrupt and it is used to also to cheat servicemen…"

Yorke said People Helping People has been blacklisted by Fort Lewis. It is also on the off limits list at several other military installations to include Fort Stewart.

Fort Stewart’s Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Board off limits list released May 30, includes People Helping People Group and its subsidiaries: Executive Home Rentals, JHS Investments, JT Enterprise, JZS Investments and Peach State Rentals.

According to Ron Elliot, Fort Stewart PAO, the AFDCB said PHP and its subsidiaries have been on the list for a long time. However it was not clear why they were placed on the list. The Courier did find evidence that the companies have been on the list as far back as 2011.

Oloans is now listed as the manager for Centex Management LLC in Allenhurst. The corporation formed in 2006. Reip is listed as the registered agent.

Yorke said opening new companies under different names has been common. He pointed to HOPCC recent change of name and added that, "It looks like they are trying to hide by changing the name of all their churches."

The Courier reached out to Oloans to respond to questions about PHP and Centex and the allegations. The following day the Courier received an email from HOPCC media spokesperson Cesar Vargas who said Oloans, under the advisement of his attorney, would not speak to anyone from the media concerning any issues.

It was after this ran that STUFF GOT REAL.

In my next post I’ll talk about how some folks from HOPCC church tried to intimidate me by stalking me at my house (YES THEY PARKED IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE MORE THAN ONCE), the calls they made to my boss and the newspaper owner, and TONS of emails some of which contained stuff that showed the true racists and hateful words they say about the rest of US and former members. I'll also explain why this has been the last story in print.

Education frustration

So here is the article that focuses on their "school" or lack thereof.

Member says my church is not a cult

Church member disputes claims made against House of Prayer

Posted online July 5, 2017, 9:21 a.m.

Cesar Vargas said he wants to set the record straight.

“My church is not a cult, and the people in it are not crazy,” he said.

Vargas is a member of House of Prayer Christian Church, now called the Place of Help Prayer House. The church has been at the center of controversy as former members, including Vargas’ mother, Gladys Jordan, call it a cult.

Jordan was one of about 30 people who staged a noisy protest May 19 (2017) outside the Airport Road church.

The protesters alleged church leader Rony Denis manipulates followers, degrades women and children and is committing fraud.

Jordan said she and her two sons joined HOPCC when it formed in 2004. She claimed she was “cast out” when she started questioning leadership and the church’s unaccredited education program.

Jordan’s younger son was also expelled from the church for the same reason, Jordan said.

But Vargas said the church is misunderstood because members choose to follow guidelines of early Pentecostal churches.

“We believe that the church should be different from the pop culture,” he said. “We are what the Assemblies of God, Church of God and Methodists were 100 years ago.”

Vargas, 26, said he loves his mother but doesn’t agree with her perception of the church.

He said he makes his own decisions and claims former members are spreading lies about the church. He said members do have access to cellphones and the internet and that their school is accredited.

Vargas sent copies of his high school diploma and other diplomas of church members from Heritage Home School Academy based in Overland Park, Kansas, and dated from 2011 to 2013.

Heritage Home School Academy is accredited by the National Association of private Schools.

Vargas, who said he plans to study theology, also provided copies of students’ SAT scores.

“Most of us tested well above the national average,” he said.

Jordan said she listened to church leaders who convinced her to pull her son from Bradwell Institute his senior year.

She agrees her son received his high school diploma from Heritage Home School Academy in 2013. She said Denis paid for it while she was still a member.

But Jordan said the church is no longer using Heritage Home School. She said it now uses BJU Press Homeschool.

BJU Press supports Christian educators by producing textbooks and materials for home schoolers rooted in Christian beliefs, according to its web-site. BJU Press provided the learning materials for HOPCC’s school, God’s Heritage Christian Academy.

The pamphlet for God’s Heritage Christian Academy states: “This school does not seek accreditation by any outside educational institution but does endeavor to provide the highest possible academic program.

Jordan said the school ordered one set of manuals and then proceeded to make copies of the book for each student.

Former church member and day school-teacher Yvette Bowens confirmed the current curriculum is not accredited.

Bowens said she was a member of HOPCC and its affiliates starting in 1989. She said her twins attended public school until the sixth grade before she put them in the church’s educational program.

Bowens said she taught several grade levels and believed the school was legitimate. But the church kept moving her from state to state and changing the way they conducted class.

Bowens said her twins were unable to attain their GED. She said Denis is not to be trusted and the kids’ education is in jeopardy.

Jordan said HOPCC’s school is one of many issues Denis is trying to cover up. She alleges kids are being physically and verbally abused, and worse.

Vargas said those allegations are unfounded.

“We know several people that left our church have been making prank calls to several places,” he said. “The fire marshal was called and told a bunch of lies about the safety of the church. He came out, inspected, and everything was fine. Several church members have had Child Protective Services called to their home for no reason, no nefarious activity or child abuse/neglect has been found. We were able to obtain copies of the phone complaints, and we recognize the voices of former members. We are considering soliciting the help of local law enforcement.”
(I will have a post about this as well. Since the church got the heads up that an inspection was coming they made everything look like it was supposed to)

***

I received a brief email from Bowen where she said the kids were often yelled at after this article had come out.

To this day the school remains unaccredited.

Note that it clearly says not associated or belongs to any organization and that is the address of the church and school.

So how can they get away with it? Unfortunately, Georgia laws allows it.

LAW

Georgia’s home study law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690) requires homeschool parents/guardians to provide a basic academic educational program which includes the five content areas below.

Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Reading

After you decide to begin a home study program, the most difficult decision is deciding which curriculum to use. The Georgia Department of Education does not endorse, promote or provide a curriculum for your home study program. Each parent/guardian must decide which curriculum is best for their child and then purchase the curriculum on their own. You may search the Internet for “homeschool curriculum reviews” and read what other people are saying about each curriculum so you can make an informed decision. It is advisable to choose your home study curriculum prior to registering your child/children by submitting the "Declaration of Intent" online. You must submit a declaration of Intent by September 1st or within 30 days after a home study program is established. You may employ a tutor. Parents must have a high school diploma or GED. (In other words, teachers do not need to be state certified).

The Georgia Department of Education has a very limited role related to home school.  The Georgia Department of Education is only responsible for maintaining the Declaration of Intent records.

The law requires 180 instructional days.

Students in home study programs shall be subject to an appropriate nationally standardized testing program administered in consultation with a person trained in the administration and interpretation of norm referenced tests. The student must be evaluated at least every three years beginning at the end of the third grade (grades 3, 6, 9 and 12). Records of such tests shall be retained by the parent/guardian. (I asked a former member if children were being tested. It appears they are giving standardized tests, but the tests results are being kept in the church school. Also, nowhere in the state law does it say the tests must be sent to the state for verification that policy is being followed. The only thing the state requires be submitted annually is the Declaration of Intent to home school the children).

Again, this is not illegal. Many children stay within this system and then end up attending the church run “Homeschool” Bible college and later become church leaders. For some this church is all that they will know their whole life because they are taught to fear anything and everything “out there.”

They become dependent of that environment and can’t fathom any other way of life.

THIS IS A METHOD OF CONTROL USED BY MANY CULTS. Church of Scientology is one of many examples I could list.

But I see the kids from other Private Schools. Church affiliated schools. They offer great academics, great opportunities. Scholarships, accredited programs and more importantly state certified teachers and the ability to let that child to develop their own sense of being. They are finding out who they are and who they want to become. These private schools encourage kids to thrive while keeping God first. And they are proud to share and yell these kids’ successes from the roof tops. That is what I consider a proper educational foundation and in my opinion these children aren’t getting that.

In my next post I’ll share what happened to me that day in May of 2017 when I stepped inside the House of Prayer while covering the protest. They came at me full force to try and intimidate me to silence – and they are still at it.

A little more background on how everything started to unfold: Hear from former and current members

Here are two more stories that I did covering the information about House of Prayer for the newspaper. Both of these article were within weeks of the first article of May 2017.

Article 1:

Church draws focus of activist

Posted online June 14, 2019, 9:56 a.m.

Bobby Worthy apparently isn’t one to keep quiet if he thinks civil liberties are being violated.
Worthy is the outspoken founder, president and chief executive officer of Justice League United, a non-profit organization based in his home town of Blackshear.

Worthy, an avid political activist, has traveled across the nation as a civil rights activist. Recently he’s been advocating on behalf of former members of the House of Prayer Christian Church. He also said he’s looking after Liberty County taxpayers.

Worthy attended the May 19-21 protests when former members of the Airport Road church claimed its leaders are running a cult.

Worthy plans to hold his own public meeting June 22 with former HOPCC members who claim family members still in the church are being distanced or cut-off from them. 

Let me ad some information here. Worthy made some unfounded claims about law enforcement being paid by the church. It was completely FALSE and untrue. Law Enforcement Officers routinely get hired to duty off-duty security at events and functions and are allowed by law to do so and be in uniform and even in their patrol cars. During the May protest the church had hired off-duty officers for security reasons. I've hired off-duty officers for Courier newspaper events. The Chamber hires off-duty officers for events. It is common practice and not illegal as he tried to claim. That made me suspicious of Bobby Worthy  so I looked into his records and found that:

He was convicted of felony forgery in Ware County.

The forgery charges covered Ware, Liberty and Wayne County.

According to the Georgia Department of corrections Worthy was in and out of jail between 1990 until 1998.

According to a news report on Douglas Now, Worthy was convicted of theft by deception in October of 2015 in Ware County and was sentenced to one year probation.

I promptly stayed away from him as any type of source. I also warned former members about him. He states he is trying to help but he also seems to ask for funds to cover his costs. 

But he did hold that meeting which was reported on. Here is article 2:

Tempers flare during, after meeting

Posted online June 28, 2017, 8:33 a.m.

A June 21 meeting billed as a town hall for former members of the House of Prayer Christian Church nearly led to fistfights as tempers flared.

The contentious meeting inside the Liberty County Recreation Department’s Stafford Pavilion was organized by activist Bobby Worthy.

Former members used the platform to attack the church and its leader, while current members of the church interrupted speakers and defended the church.

The meeting quickly turned confrontational and led Worthy to demand church members leave if they weren’t respectful.

Once church members left the meeting continued.

Among those who spoke out against the church was the Rev. Ray Yorke, who said he and his wife came from North Carolina to attend the meeting.

Yorke said he was a pastor at HOPCC for 12 years. He claims the church and its leader, Rony Denis, are frauds and has created a website, hopcc.com to allow former members to tell their stories.

Yorke claims church leaders are forging documents, manipulating the members of the congregation, harassing former members with scare tactics and committing fraud.

As he spoke, current church members continually interrupted Yorke, including Cesar Vargas and Mike Patterson, both of whom stepped up to the podium to speak.

Vargas said he wanted people to know that Yorke willingly took money Denis paid him during his 12 years at HOPCC.

Patterson repeatedly asked whether God or the Devil started the House of Prayer.

Yorke replied that Denis founded HOPCC and said, “God doesn’t start a lie to answer your question. (The church) is a fraud and all of you know it is.”

Family dispute
Vargas and his mother, Gladys Jordan, a former church member, clashed at a public protest in May. Jordan, who was also at the June 21 meeting, noted both Vargas and Patterson were wearing blue tooth earpieces and said that others from the church had brought in cell phones.

Jordan said the church doesn’t allow its members to own cell phones, computers, television or access to the internet because they consider those a portal of the devil to spread lies.

She claimed it likely that Denis allowed them access to technology to video the event and tell Patterson and Vargas what to say.

Jordan has been trying to convince her older son to leave the church and said at the May protest that she and her two sons joined HOPCC when it formed in 2004.

She claimed she was “cast out” when she started questioning leadership and the church’s unaccredited education program.

Jordan’s younger son was also expelled from the church for the same reason, she said.

Jordan said children at the church will never receive a high school diploma and will stay stuck in the corrupted system.

Worthy said he’s met three young men who are ex-church members struggling to get higher education because they had no diploma and tested at an eighth grade level.

“This is the kind of stuff that the House of Prayer is bringing into our neighborhood,” Worthy said.

Serious allegation
An even more serious allegation was made when Jordan said Denis and the man who run the school have admitted, during church testimonies that they lust after young kids.

In a Hinesville Police Department incident report dated Dec. 15, 2016, a representative from the Department of Family and Children Services was escorted by HPD officers to a home owned by House of Prayer and allegedly occupied by Denis, his wife and their daughter.

NOTE: The Courier obtained a copy of the report which does show the address where Rony Denis lived at the time. It does mention his wife Majorie Denis and daughter Mariah Denis but it appears that the officer kept spelling their last names as Dennis and listed the name Juan Denis instead of Rony. There is no Juan Denis. There will be more on this for sure!

Scuffle in parking lot
After the June 21 meeting broke up, another confrontation occurred in the parking lot as church goers waited for the people to exit the building.

Tensions rose and two people pushed each other before calmer heads prevailed.

Yorke said church officials are trying to distance themselves from allegations and have changed the name of the church to the Place of Help Prayer Force.

The church, located off Airport Road, has placed up new signs with those names.

As you can see this second article started the conversation about the school and its credibility. If you’ve heard the recordings posted on my Bump Investigations Ministry Inc., page you know that Lynette Rosario and Andrew Lawhon found out the hard way that in fact the school stopped being accredited around 2013 when they changed their curriculum provider. Their "School transcripts" were WORTHLESS.

Tonight I’ll post that education article and information on why I think (my personal opinion) these kids are being denied proper education and why they can continue running the school the way they do.

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