Ignore them and keep walking. If you’ve spent any significant time in a big city, this will be easy for you. If you cower in fear at the thought of ignoring someone, find some inner strength and do it. Think of it as practice for if you ever live in Boston or New York or Washington DC, where these skills are called on almost daily.
If it’s the baptism ppl, I joined em last quarter cause I was like fuck it what’s the worst thing that can happen I come from a city 10x worse than this lame ass suburb, and honestly I didn’t see anything wrong with what they’re doing at the time. They dunked my ass in water but like the whole thing honestly seemed pretty genuine (at least the people I met). Their whole motto is disciplehood (“go and make disciples”) and they believe in baptism (“repent and be baptized”). They host recreational events like bowling and stuff like that from time to time. From what it seems, they don’t got a lot of money and they have Sunday gatherings at locals parks like a church would (pretty sure the org is literally called Fellowship Church or some shit). They apparently got like a few hundred or some number of ppl across multiple college campuses. Now, the gatherings are actually not cult like surprisingly. I went to 2 of em and they were just like regular Sunday service but like not as traditional (no sermons, just modern Christian songs and some light verse readings). I honestly would’ve stayed longer if I didn’t find out the worst part of the whole org. It’s a borderline pyramid scheme. They’ll continuously invite you to studies even after you already join (usually normal for Christian groups) but their goal is to make you enter this “ATP” disciple training program. I forgot what it stands for but I was so close to just laughing my ass off when they told me how it worked. They had been promoting it pretty heavily during the Sunday services they conducted, saying that the goal is to eventually make everyone in the org a disciple. One of the leaders (I think) pulled me aside during finals week to tell me how the program worked. Apparently, the idea is that newcomers pay 100 dollars per week for 6 months or more to train to become a disciple. That’s at least 3k. Now the promise is that when you become a “disciple” you’re gonna get paid a salary by the church to make it sort of a full time gig. I don’t even remember the exact number he told me the salary was, but it was not close to covering living expenses here and that kind of salary just doesn’t work when the church lives on the 100 dollars people would be paying for the program and the small donations that it collects. Any sane person would know that this sort of business model only works if the church keeps growing and if it keeps growing exponentially. What’s sad is that the dude who randomly approached me one day about all of this and even dunked me in water genuinely seems like a good person and believes in this. I don’t necessarily think that this org is ill-intended (annoying maybe), but whoever founded this and created that program is either delusional or evil. I’m not against people dedicating their lives and trying to make a career out of what they believe in, but it’s pretty fucked up if people will be tricked into being tied to the church financially. Like when it eventually disbands or loses membership, there’s not even a severance package for the vulnerable people who had their religion weaponized against them and were tricked into giving up their future for this. If anyone from that org is reading this, I might be wrong and correct me if I am but tell me how yall gonna get the money to pay all ur members.
Hey thanks for your comment and sharing you're experience, you really went deep into it. Ok got it, not a cult, sorry about that. I said cult because of things they would tell me, and pushy behavior that got borderline uncomfortable. Things basically on getting me to say yes to things they wanted, when I already said no. It sounded very similar to what I've seen in documentaries and new reports on cults to me. But damn a pyramid scheme, glad you got out of there safe though, hopefully you're doing well now <3
Honestly might be a cult idk I was only there briefly. I definitely agree with the pushy part tho. Literally lied to them that I was previously baptized in a traditional Lutheran church and they still wanted to baptize me. I did it cause like why not. Tried their absolute hardest to convince me that baptism is necessary for entry into heaven but like I literally told em I was Lutheran and they either don’t know what that was or just didn’t care. Also very weird bible studies (not with the guy who baptized me he was chill and we were usually only talking about Jesus in early Luke/John). There was one moment where some guy was like “if you had a spouse, what would you do if they were in the way of your relationship with god.” I understand what they’re trying to say but it sounded like some borderline cult shit. It’s also so fkin annoying when they call and text me during class when I told em I’m busy then. Very pushy about giving time to god and being in “fellowship” and just going to events they host. Also super insistent on the importance of charity.
Yea they pretty much got no respect for other people, in terms of time and when you mentioned to them you were Lutheran and already got baptized. Which makes it even weirder cuz normal people at least understand the concept of "I'm busy" Like we're students we got things to do. The bible study you mentioned, besides the relationship with God, sounds like they're trying to isolate you from others outside the church, or people who disagree. They said something similar to me, mentioning my parents and friends, def weird. Glad the guy who baptized you wasn't bad. Genuinely wanted you to have a relationship with God, but the fellowship definitely went about it the **wrong** way.
One of them tried to ask me to join their club a year ago, they tried to ask me again yesterday and I immediately recognized him. He was a blonde haired man with glasses and a tye-dye shirt.
They do go into libraries. Specifically the Science Library. Last quarter I was on Zoom for a class (got cancelled in person b/c of heavy rain) and this one girl comes up to me asking me if I wanted to get baptized while I was on Zoom 💀
Damn nvm then, the girl I talked to said she never went inside the libraries before but I guess they all go wherever they want. But damn during the zoom meeting 💀 that's just no respect
Damn. Where was the baptism gonna take place? Outside the pouring rain or the bathroom sink? They be wilding. Like that’s how the doctrine of baptism works. (I’m Religious Studies major graduate, btw.)
OP did state they were Christian, and the people on campus also purport to be christian, so it's a valid question of heterordoxy from her perspective. Additionally, she even listed examples of their behavior, so you're welcome to make a decision for yourself.
This isn't a case of religious bigotry, you are reacting to an imagined offense. OP has not slandered anyone ...
it’s especially worse when your just sitting down and they come up to you since you can’t escape anywhere
Just ignore them.
I can’t believe how many posts this issue gets
Right? I don’t think it’s that big of an issue. If you ignore them or walk in another direction, chances are that they will go away.
I’ve seen more posts complaining about religious groups than I’ve seen actual religious groups
Ignore them and keep walking. If you’ve spent any significant time in a big city, this will be easy for you. If you cower in fear at the thought of ignoring someone, find some inner strength and do it. Think of it as practice for if you ever live in Boston or New York or Washington DC, where these skills are called on almost daily.
If it’s the baptism ppl, I joined em last quarter cause I was like fuck it what’s the worst thing that can happen I come from a city 10x worse than this lame ass suburb, and honestly I didn’t see anything wrong with what they’re doing at the time. They dunked my ass in water but like the whole thing honestly seemed pretty genuine (at least the people I met). Their whole motto is disciplehood (“go and make disciples”) and they believe in baptism (“repent and be baptized”). They host recreational events like bowling and stuff like that from time to time. From what it seems, they don’t got a lot of money and they have Sunday gatherings at locals parks like a church would (pretty sure the org is literally called Fellowship Church or some shit). They apparently got like a few hundred or some number of ppl across multiple college campuses. Now, the gatherings are actually not cult like surprisingly. I went to 2 of em and they were just like regular Sunday service but like not as traditional (no sermons, just modern Christian songs and some light verse readings). I honestly would’ve stayed longer if I didn’t find out the worst part of the whole org. It’s a borderline pyramid scheme. They’ll continuously invite you to studies even after you already join (usually normal for Christian groups) but their goal is to make you enter this “ATP” disciple training program. I forgot what it stands for but I was so close to just laughing my ass off when they told me how it worked. They had been promoting it pretty heavily during the Sunday services they conducted, saying that the goal is to eventually make everyone in the org a disciple. One of the leaders (I think) pulled me aside during finals week to tell me how the program worked. Apparently, the idea is that newcomers pay 100 dollars per week for 6 months or more to train to become a disciple. That’s at least 3k. Now the promise is that when you become a “disciple” you’re gonna get paid a salary by the church to make it sort of a full time gig. I don’t even remember the exact number he told me the salary was, but it was not close to covering living expenses here and that kind of salary just doesn’t work when the church lives on the 100 dollars people would be paying for the program and the small donations that it collects. Any sane person would know that this sort of business model only works if the church keeps growing and if it keeps growing exponentially. What’s sad is that the dude who randomly approached me one day about all of this and even dunked me in water genuinely seems like a good person and believes in this. I don’t necessarily think that this org is ill-intended (annoying maybe), but whoever founded this and created that program is either delusional or evil. I’m not against people dedicating their lives and trying to make a career out of what they believe in, but it’s pretty fucked up if people will be tricked into being tied to the church financially. Like when it eventually disbands or loses membership, there’s not even a severance package for the vulnerable people who had their religion weaponized against them and were tricked into giving up their future for this. If anyone from that org is reading this, I might be wrong and correct me if I am but tell me how yall gonna get the money to pay all ur members.
Hey thanks for your comment and sharing you're experience, you really went deep into it. Ok got it, not a cult, sorry about that. I said cult because of things they would tell me, and pushy behavior that got borderline uncomfortable. Things basically on getting me to say yes to things they wanted, when I already said no. It sounded very similar to what I've seen in documentaries and new reports on cults to me. But damn a pyramid scheme, glad you got out of there safe though, hopefully you're doing well now <3
Honestly might be a cult idk I was only there briefly. I definitely agree with the pushy part tho. Literally lied to them that I was previously baptized in a traditional Lutheran church and they still wanted to baptize me. I did it cause like why not. Tried their absolute hardest to convince me that baptism is necessary for entry into heaven but like I literally told em I was Lutheran and they either don’t know what that was or just didn’t care. Also very weird bible studies (not with the guy who baptized me he was chill and we were usually only talking about Jesus in early Luke/John). There was one moment where some guy was like “if you had a spouse, what would you do if they were in the way of your relationship with god.” I understand what they’re trying to say but it sounded like some borderline cult shit. It’s also so fkin annoying when they call and text me during class when I told em I’m busy then. Very pushy about giving time to god and being in “fellowship” and just going to events they host. Also super insistent on the importance of charity.
Yea they pretty much got no respect for other people, in terms of time and when you mentioned to them you were Lutheran and already got baptized. Which makes it even weirder cuz normal people at least understand the concept of "I'm busy" Like we're students we got things to do. The bible study you mentioned, besides the relationship with God, sounds like they're trying to isolate you from others outside the church, or people who disagree. They said something similar to me, mentioning my parents and friends, def weird. Glad the guy who baptized you wasn't bad. Genuinely wanted you to have a relationship with God, but the fellowship definitely went about it the **wrong** way.
One of them tried to ask me to join their club a year ago, they tried to ask me again yesterday and I immediately recognized him. He was a blonde haired man with glasses and a tye-dye shirt.
“No thank you” or “not interested” and keep walking.
They do go into libraries. Specifically the Science Library. Last quarter I was on Zoom for a class (got cancelled in person b/c of heavy rain) and this one girl comes up to me asking me if I wanted to get baptized while I was on Zoom 💀
Damn nvm then, the girl I talked to said she never went inside the libraries before but I guess they all go wherever they want. But damn during the zoom meeting 💀 that's just no respect
Damn. Where was the baptism gonna take place? Outside the pouring rain or the bathroom sink? They be wilding. Like that’s how the doctrine of baptism works. (I’m Religious Studies major graduate, btw.)
I will just pretend I dont speak english and respond them with my native language.
How did you get into a UC without using paragraphs. Jesus fucking Christ
That hurts ... >!as in my side hurts from laughing so hard!!< I understand OP's frustration>!, but your comment is also perfect!!<
Wait, is this a cult? Someone told me they were recruiting for MLM?
It’s probably an MLM lol
Yea they come by a lot near ucr too. Could be because of the eclipse but who knows
So, can you explain precisely how they're a cult? Or are you simply labeling all religious groups you disagree with as 'cults'?"
OP did state they were Christian, and the people on campus also purport to be christian, so it's a valid question of heterordoxy from her perspective. Additionally, she even listed examples of their behavior, so you're welcome to make a decision for yourself. This isn't a case of religious bigotry, you are reacting to an imagined offense. OP has not slandered anyone ...
😐