This week in Christian history: Word of Faith Fellowship accused of abuse, Albert Schweitzer licensed in theology
Word of Faith Fellowship accused of labor trafficking – July 24, 2017
This week marks the anniversary of when Word of Faith Fellowship, a prominent non-denominational church based in Spindale, North Carolina, was accused of bringing in young people from Latin America to do slave-like labor at their campus.
The Associated Press published a widely read report in which individuals accused the church of bringing young people from Latin America to work in the United States, allegedly forcing them to work 15-hour days, often without pay and being physically or verbally abused.
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“They trafficked us up here. They knew what they were doing. They needed labor and we were cheap labor — hell, free labor,” recalled one accuser of the Fellowship, one of 16 former members from Brazil, as quoted by the AP.
“They kept us as slaves,” he added. “We were expendable. We meant nothing to them. Nothing. How can you do that to people — claim you love them and then beat them in the name of God?”
For their part, Word of Faith denied any wrongdoing.
