Woman shares her story of excaping secretive Christian cult

By Ben Barry via SWNS

A woman has spoken out for the first time after leaving a secretive Christian church - as the FBI investigates historic sex abuse claims.

Jolyn Mitchell, 30, was born into a religious group called the Two by Twos - an underground group with followers across the world.

The group is led by elders - who are called "overseers" - which preach about God and get people involved in the group.

It also had senior members called "workers" who would share homes with other members.

Jolyn said she was a "generational member" after her parents joined before she was born.

The multi-generation member said women were treated as second-class citizens - they weren't allowed to wear make-up, paint their nails and had to cover up.

Earlier this year, the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) announced it was investigating hundreds of historic sexual abuse claims.

Jolyn, a health care administrator, from Seattle, Washington, who left the group in 2012, said: "I didn't know the extent of the level of abuse - I don't think anybody did.

"I did experience a lot of spiritual and emotional abuse.

"Everyone in the group were told that this was your one true way to get into heaven and if you were not part of the group you were going to hell.

"We were told that this is a direct line to Jesus and it was created by him and his disciples."

Jolyn was born into the group after both her parents and grandparents were born into it.

She said it worked like a lot of other religions - they would meet on a Wednesday night for bible studies and Sunday service at people's homes.

A few times a year the group would have a convention where thousands of members gather at someone's property.

There were no formal church buildings, members would go and set up barns and tents for the conventions.

Jolyn said: "There were things we did that were comparable to other religions.

"What was different was there was a lot of fear built into this group - we were told that this was the only way to get into heaven.

"We would have conventions that were always held at people's homes.

"We would go weeks in advance to prepare the ground or build women's and men's quarters.

"The conventions would start on a Wednesday through to Saturday and the days were filled with five to six hours of meetings."

When she was 17 years old, Jolyn realized that she wanted to leave the group and started going to meetings less and less.

She said: "I didn't feel great about the situation. I went to school and I met people who weren't of faith.

"We were told that no matter what religion you followed if you weren't part of this group you were going to hell.

"I started to realize that wasn't true.

"One thing that was apparent to me was that women were treated as second-class citizens.

"If a woman got pregnant before marriage, in some areas the workers would take away their right to participate in the meetings so you couldn’t give your testimony until the baby arrived.

"If you didn’t follow these rules or people were made aware of any of your sins, members and workers would make you feel immense shame through various tactics."

In 2012, Jolyn stopped attending the religion's meetings to focus on putting herself through college.

She said that she would be bombarded with calls from other members trying to get her to stay and ask why she wasn't attending.

Jolyn said: "Two years later after I left, I remember I was at my friend's house and watching a documentary about a church cult.

"I turned to her and said 'I think I was in a cult'.

"People were not happy when I left, I received phone calls asking where I was.

"My friends and family were all still in the cult when I left.

"I didn't really have anyone when I left, I had to start my friend group over and rebuild my life."

Jolyn said she was "shocked" when she found out that the FBI was investigating the religious sect for historic child sex abuse.

She said: "With the level of abuse that is being reported, I think it is really selfish for people to turn a blind eye and continue to participate.

"For those who have recently left or are considering leaving, there is a beautiful and fulfilling life post-exit.

"It’s hard at first, especially if it’s all you’ve ever known, but possible and your life isn’t over even if people cut you off.

"It’s not normal to live in fear or to constantly feel like you’re not good enough.

"Coupled with the strict focus on this being the only way to heaven, that hell was the only outcome for ‘disobeying’; it created a lot of unhealthy fear that keeps members attending."