World Mission Society Church of God

In 1970, the church grew to four churches. In 1980, the church grew to 13 locations and increased to 30 in 1990. There was sharp increase of the growth in 2000 where it recorded 300 established churches and 400,000 registered members in South Korea. The church currently claims "more than 400 branches were established in Korea alone, within a half century after its establishment."[4]

The Church of God started to spread abroad in 1997 starting in Los Angeles, Lahore, and Essen. In 2007 it recorded over 100 churches abroad and in 2008 it recorded over one million registered members[5] By 2013 the church claims to have expanded to 2,500 churches in "about 175 countries." [6]

A media outlet owned by the Church of God reports to have more than 7,000 churches in 175 countries.[7]

An external account mentions that the number of church members is estimated to have only been around 100,000 in 2013, contrary to Kim Joo-cheol's claims.[8]

The Church believes that Ahn Sahng-hong is the Second Coming of Jesus, who came with a new name, the name of the Holy Spirit and it states that he fulfilled biblical prophecies that only Jesus could have fulfilled.[11]

The church celebrates the seven feasts described in Leviticus 23: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Feast of Weeks, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles.[12] The church believes that they observe these feasts according to the New Covenant established by Jesus, by distinguishing from the feasts kept in the Old Testament.

It believes in the Saturday Sabbath according to Genesis 2:1-3 but celebrates it not from sunset to sunset but from sunrise to sunset. It considers the Sabbath to be a sign between God and God's people according to Ezekiel 20:12 and Exodus 31:13, and it must be kept as a service according to Luke 4:16.

Members are encouraged to keep the three services on the Sabbath day. Between services, members participate in various church-related activities such as Bible studies, watching church produced videos, or preaching in the local community.[13]

The Church replaced the stained glass windows of this Washington D.C. church with clear glass.[14]

According to the church's interpretation of Exodus 20:4, items such as crosses and statues are considered a form of idolatry and are not erected on or in their churches.[15] The Church has likewise removed stained glass windows from existing churches, as images made of light are seen as being connected to sun worship.[14]

The Church believes that all human beings were originally created as angels in Heaven. They sinned against God and were sent to the earth as a second chance to return to God. The only way for humans to return to heaven is by keeping the Passover with bread and wine (Jesus' flesh and blood) and following the teachings of the Bible, as taught by Ahn Sahng-hong. They include believing in God the Mother, who is the Bride to give them life in the last days.[16]

The World Mission Society Church of God holds that baptism is the first step towards salvation and must be done in the name of the Father (Jehovah), of the Son (Jesus), and the name of the Holy Spirit, Ahn Sahng-hong.

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." – Matthew 28:18–20

The Church believes that prayer must be done in the name of the Holy Spirit Ahn Sahng-hong in the last days and that women must wear veils, according to 1 Corinthians 11:1–16 while they pray.[13]

Members travel from house to house and in shopping malls, hospitals and college campuses to share their beliefs in the bible.

Critics note that the group's recruiting efforts can be very aggressive, and target vulnerable people, especially those going through a major life transition or with a void in their lives. Some have alleged that the group targets those with greater access to money. College students and returning veterans have been particularly targeted.[17][18][19]

Some aggressive WMSCOG recruiters have created concern on college campuses, where young women seem to be their primary target, proselytized emphatically with the church's "Mother God" doctrine. Some of these recruiters have been banned from some college campuses in the U.S. for "trespassing" or proselytizing without permission.[20][21][22][23]

In December 2015, People magazine published an interview with former member Michele Colon, who had attended the WMSCOG church in Ridgewood, New Jersey for two years, and later sued the organization. Colon, who was generally contradicted by the church but generally corroborated in interviews with six other former WMSCOG members, described the WMSCOG as a "doomsday cult" that is "opportunistic." She said they try to recruit people who are going through a life transition period, or have a void in their lives "and they will fill it." She said WMSCOG manipulated members with "fear and guilt," and constant repetitions. She reported that the church "micromanaged" her life, and expected that all her time be spent there, controlling her music-listening and forbidding her from using the internet.[17][18]

Colon said church leaders do not tell members, until they seem fully committed, that their "God the Mother" is actually a living South Korean woman in her 70s, known by multiple names and various spiritual titles, who is apparently the widow of the deceased founder, Ahn Sahng-hong.[17][18]

At least one former member has sued them for urging her to have an abortion, and others have accused the church of discouraging pregnancy in anticipation that the world would end in 2012.[17][18]

Court document on a lawsuit filled by a former member

Michele Colon, a nurse from New Jersey, claimed, in a civil suit filed against WMSCOG in New Jersey, in 2013, that the group is a “profit-making” cult, and claimed it "uses a number of psychological control tactics … to prevent its members from exposing its criminal and tortious behavior."[17][32]

However, Colon's lawsuit was almost entirely rejected by the district and appellate state courts. Colon's claims, the court ruled, depended upon her claim that the WMSCOG is a "cult", not a "church" — a determination that the courts ruled they were not allowed to make, by law. The courts, largely citing the "religious freedom" element of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, particularly the judicial church autonomy doctrine (forbidding courts to inquire into "the facts and circumstances which intrude into church doctrine, affairs, and management"), the appellate court ruled that:[33]

Each claim springs from Colón's contention that WMSCOG is a cult, not a church, and that she was essentially defrauded by this cult. The conflict arises from her disagreement about the manner in which the church implemented its doctrinal beliefs, managed its clergy and parishioners, and invested donations. Therefore Colón's complaint necessarily required the court to examine the interior workings and structure of the church, a constitutionally unacceptable process.

Rick Alan Ross, cult researcher and deprogrammer[19][31] describes the WMSCOG as "a very intense group... similar to the Unification Church [of] Sun Myung Moon — the "Moonies", comparing WMSCOG indoctrination methods to those of the Unification Church.[19]

Ross claims that the WMSCOG has driven members into "bankruptcies because of excessive donations", and claims that some have lost their jobs to "excessive demands" of the group and associated "sleep deprivation”. He says that members often are sent to group housing and shared apartments, becoming isolated and alienated from family and friends, even spouses and adult children. Ross notes the group, which recruits members on university campuses, at malls and other shopping sites, has no meaningful accountability for leadership — a "dictatorship in Korea" — nor for the millions in revenue it receives.[19]

In Vietnam, the Committee for Religious Affairs urged alertness about the group and cautioned that it should not be equated with other Protestant groups using similar names. Claiming the organization as cult-like, the government gratuitously cited the group as engaging in deceptive recruitment, with questionable and manipulative indoctrination, doomsday predictions, and urging the donation of cash and members' abandonment of their own families.[34]

In May 2018, Vietnamese authorities seized the Church's assets in Hà Nội, Sàigòn and in other provinces, and interrogated hundreds of its members. The Church leaders were accused of brainwashing its members and micromanaging their lives by urging students to abandon their studies and their workers to abandon their jobs in order to recruit more followers.[35]

WMSCOG has been investigated for — and subsequently cleared of — human trafficking on multiple American university campuses. Police investigations into possible human sex trafficking connections ensued in January 2018 at the University of Mississippi,[36] in September 2019 at the University of South Carolina,[37] and in March 2020 at the University of Utah.[38] Similar reports also occurred at the University of Louisville, Vanderbilt University, the University of Georgia,[36] Oberlin College,[39] Texas State University,[40] and Arizona State University,[41] among others. All investigations were closed after failing to find a link between the church and illicit activity.

Many students, across multiple campuses, reported unknown persons asking if they knew about "God the Mother."[36][37][38] Recruiters have been known to approach female students and ask if they believe in a female god, which often will lead to invitations to study groups.[38] Recruiters will also approach students and ask if they would like to join a Bible study group.[38]

This style of recruitment has come under fire from former church members, who have said that the church tends to target those who appear "psychologically vulnerable" and specifically young white people who appear wealthy.[17]