International Churches of Christ Alleged to Have Covered Up Abuse and Controlled Members’ Lives

This Church Promised to Save Their Souls. Defectors Say It Was a ‘Cult’

Chele Roland joined the Los Angeles International Church of Christ in 1991 after being encouraged by regular customers at the diner where she worked. She described herself as a seeker and a do-gooder, feeling that the church had sought her out to help change the world. The same day she attended her first service at the Wiltern Theater, she learned of her father’s unexpected death. A woman from the diner assured her that God had brought her to the church for a reason. Looking back, she believes the church exploited her vulnerability to draw her into a controlling group that dominated her life for 17 years.

Two lawsuits filed in July 2023 in L.A. County Court allege that the International Churches of Christ (ICOC) is not a church but a high-control group where leaders allegedly take advantage of members. The lawsuits claim that church leaders have covered up sexual abuse and rape for decades to protect themselves from scandal. One lawsuit includes four women who allege they were sexually abused as children in the 1990s by a church member who is now serving a 40-year sentence for child rape. The women say church leadership discouraged their parents from reporting the abuse to the police. Another lawsuit involves a woman who claims she was sexually abused by a children’s ministry teacher in the 1990s. Her parents reported the abuse, but leadership failed to remove him from his role in the ministry, known as Kid’s Kingdom.

Beyond the abuse claims, the lawsuits allege that a hierarchy of church elders known as “disciplers” monitored and controlled “every aspect of every member’s life.” They also claim that members were subjected to “recruiting quotas” to increase the group’s ranks, demanded large portions of their income as part of a “highly profitable pyramid scheme,” and subjected some LGBTQ members to “conversion therapy.”

The allegations in the L.A. lawsuits, which refer to incidents in the 1990s and 2000s, first appeared in a set of six federal lawsuits filed in early 2023 in California’s Central District. In July, the plaintiffs withdrew the federal suits. Their attorney stated that the cases were withdrawn due to procedural reasons. The lawsuits highlight ongoing concerns about the ICOC’s practices and the impact on its members.

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