I used to be a member of one of their overseas churches in the UK. When I first started attending people seemed to be welcoming and I was full of excitement. But gradually it became expected that I would conform to certain behaviour patterns. Okay, this being a church I could expect that to a degree. But a lot it was just pedantic: Young single men were not allowed to talk to any of the young single women for too long or ask for a date without prior approval from the pastor; or to date a sister from another church because they were all ‘lukewarm’ and you could only be in the ‘Will of God’ in their fellowship. We were expected to be at every service, every outreach, every Bible Study, every revival and any other functions that the church deemed it necessary to attend, even though this was often several days a week and I, at any rate, was often physically shattered after a hard day, or even a hard week, at work. It was also expected not just that we tithe, but also that we should put our names and the amount upon the envelope. In addition to this, the church would often pick up pledges and ask for ‘love offerings.’ And there would be jibes from the pulpit to the congregation about these things, along the lines of; “You don’t have to do this, but if you don’t it shows where your heart is for the lost.” And the above was a general tone for a lot of issues ~ guilt! If it was felt that you were not pulling your weight you were portrayed as, or made to feel as, being selfish. But sometimes there would be inconsistencies; one brother might be allowed to date another sister from another church, or one brother or sister might be able to date even though they had only just recently joined (they had this thing where young men and women weren’t usually allowed to date if they were new members. They could only date once they had got the nod. This could be anything from a year to two years ~ or even more!) They were hard on all the singles, often treating them with contempt. They knew that the singles would be free to carry all the burdens because they had no family commitments so time and expenses would not be consumed by children. As a result of this, the singles would be expected to pick up most of the slack; cleaning the church and setting it up for services and functions, be at every outreach and then to reach into their pockets and shell out extra because they were perceived as having more disposable income, not having children or a mortgage. There was a culture of judgement towards other Christians and each other. I was sometimes guilty myself. I am not proud of this but it’s the way I was discipled in that atmosphere and environment. But you could never be perceived to be questioning a person in a position of leadership’s judgement, no matter what they might have done. Regularly we were schooled on verses such as David cutting Saul’s robe, the bear mauling the youths who had mocked Elijah, the rebellion of the sons of Korah, and so forth. It would be frustrating because there would be people you might have known for years who would go missing but you couldn’t ask about them because you knew that you would be met with a frosty response, and if after all that you still were brave enough to ask, all you would get is, “He/she/they are not around anymore.” But, a few weeks later there would be a veiled sermon, with hints and allegations about such a person/s; with a jibe sent to those who were perceived as being too sympathetic, or as ‘asking too many questions.’ Suddenly people that you had known and loved for years were being portrayed as rebellious, not willing to come under authority, coming against the headship or even as being ‘devils.’ New Harvest was never accountable. Not in finances, not in headship, nor in the way that it treats people. My self-esteem has been seriously damaged by this church. Even many years after leaving it I am still having problems because of the harm that was done to me by this organisation. If you are thinking of joining this church my advice would be, don’t risk it! They may not be a cult be they are a dangerous and decisive sect.