WETHERSFIELD, Conn. — A global church with branches in Connecticut is being tied to incidents of harassment at shopping plazas across the state.
One of the most recent reports of these strange encounters was inside the TJ Maxx along the Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield. A woman was approached inside the store to attend a women's bible study to learn about "God the Mother."
“It’s scary. Being a mom. It terrifies me,” remarked Dee Constante.
Constante says she has had multiple encounters with religious recruiters at various Connecticut shopping plazas.
“I said, 'No thank you, I’m not interested,' and then I noticed she was following me," Constante said. "The second time that it happened I knew what it was. There were four of them. Really nicely and casually dressed. They were all young and I was like, 'Nope.'”
Another Connecticut shopper who only wanted to be identified as Kathryn told FOX61 about her interactions.
“To me, personally, this has been happening probably since I was 14," she said.
Now in her 30’s, Kathryn says the recruiters start out polite but quickly turn persistent.
“For each excuse that you have to get away, they already have something in their back pocket," Kathryn said.
She added that they typically target women in store aisles with women’s related merchandise.
“These tactics they use and what they do to break down people to get them to do whatever they want whether it’s money or labor. They have strategies," she said.
The encounters have been linked back to the World Mission Society Church of God. It’s a new religious movement founded in South Korea. They’ve expanded with branches across the globe.
A video on their website delivers a message that, “Christianity is deteriorating day by day. However, the Church of God is crowded with the people wanting to study the Bible.”
FOX61 visited both of their buildings in Connecticut - churches in Meriden and Middletown. A member of the church put FOX61 on the phone with a man who identified himself as its leader, Overseer Robert.
Robert told FOX61 they do approach people at shopping plazas and cited a scripture verse to "go where God's people go."
He rejected the label that some people consider the church a cult and even invited FOX61 to worship with them to learn about, “a new covenant.”
According to their teachings, the founder of the World Mission Society Church of God is the second coming of Jesus in the flesh. They believe God is a woman. On multiple dates, the church falsely predicted the end of the world.
Their churches lack crosses. They consider it idolatry and they remove all stained glass because they classify it as sun worship.
“Just keep walking, just keep walking, just keep moving,” said Kathryn.
“Just be careful. There’s a lot of scary people out there,” added Constante.
It’s not just shopping plazas; there have also been reports of religious recruiters showing up at college campuses and even going door to door.
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Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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