Former members accuse Dutch branch of evangelical church of being a trauma-inducing cult
Former members of the evangelical church De Deur have set up a foundation to help warn others against the gospel community. They call De Deur a dangerous cult rife with abuse, coercive control, manipulation, and self-enrichment. Former church members need help and care to process the traumas they suffered there, they told De Stentor.
De Deur has over 60 churches in the Netherlands, managed from Zwolle. The church is part of the global Christian Fellowship Ministries. De Stentor has been investigating the church for some time, collecting accounts from many former members and family members of people in the church. They boil down to the church causing trauma by depriving members of their free will and taking over their lives.
The foundation De Deur Uit was set up by former members to warn against the church, raise visibility for the abuses there, and provide support for people who want to leave. “Offering an antidote,” founder Joel Crosby (31) from Zwolle told the newspaper. He grew up in De Deur and left six years ago.
De Stentor gave the accounts it collected to cult expert Arjan van Dijk for an opinion. He saw many red flags, including the church’s requirement for unconditional dedication, control over social contacts and behavior, and a policy discouraging critical thinking and asking questions.
Cults do a lot of damage and there is too little attention for them, Van Dijk said. “Too little is known about it, while a lot is going on, perhaps more and more. In anxious times, people look for security and solidarity in groups.” He advocates for faster help for victims and more restrictions on cults’ freedoms.
Justice Minister David van Weel previously called intervening in cults very complicated because it runs up against the freedom of religion.
The pastor of De Deur would not comment much to De Stentor beyond denying the accusations. “I have no comment on the untruths that are being told about us. The fact that a foundation is being set up by former members who are fighting us says nothing. Any one can set up a foundation,” the man said. “We have 4,000 churches, we have existed for 50 years, things sometimes happen, and there are always unhappy people. I find it strange that they are always given all the space to tell an ugly story about us.”
