Bodies Behind The Bus

Shelby joins us to share her story of almost 20 years with Youth With A Mission (YWAM), a Christian missions group with bases in nearly every country. She signs up at 24 to earn a counseling degree, hoping to help missionaries get better care. Instead, she is pushed to share painful secrets with strangers, watches a visiting speaker ask young women to sit on his lap for healing, and lives under a daily schedule that tracks her every move. She pushes through the flu because stopping looks weak, then nearly dies from dengue fever and dysentery in Haiti with no help paying the bills. She falls in love with a Swiss farmer, settles at a new YWAM base, and builds a close friendship that will change everything. This is part one of her story.
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In this episode, Jay and Johnna introduce a new series featuring first hand stories from Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Before the storytellers share what happened to them, we take a step back and look at the roots. We cover who Loren Cunningham was, the Assemblies of God upbringing that shaped him, and how YWAM grew from a beach vision into a network of thousands of bases around the world with no central oversight. We also break down the Seven Mountain Mandate, an idea Loren helped start that has grown far beyond YWAM and now shapes today's political landscape. Along the way, we talk about how these beliefs and this structure can create a culture where abuse takes root and stays hidden, and we name some of the leaders still carrying this mandate forward today.

References
NBC News, “Pastors and Prey” series https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/pastors-prey/index.html

NBC News, Assemblies of God investigation (Oct.30,2025) https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us news/assembly-god-church-shield-predators-child-sex-abuse-allegations-rcna240213 

HoustonChronicle / San Antonio Express-News, “AbuseofFaith” https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/abuse-of-faith/
   
YWAM.org, “Our Founders” https://ywam.org/about-us/our-founders 

LorenCunningham.com https://lorencunningham.com/ 

Christianity Today, “Died: Loren Cunningham, Who Launched Millions on Short- Term Missions” https://www.christianitytoday.com/2023/10/loren-cunningham- ywam-death-youth-with-mission/ 

Christianity Today, “Mike Bickle Accused of Abusing a 14-Year-Old Before IHOPKC’s Founding” https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/02/mike-bickle- allegations-ihopkc-repent-investigation-report/ 

MinistryWatch, “Report Details 17 Cases of Abuse by IHOPKC Founder Mike Bickle” https://ministrywatch.com/report-details-17-cases-of-abuse-by-ihopkc- founder-mike-bickle/ 

Kat’s Story / YWAM / Tyler, Tx / Pt. 1 (prior BBTB episode) https://open.spotify.com/episode/3hp https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kats-story-ywam-tyler-tx-pt-1/id1601586078?i=1000593690769

Kat’s Story / YWAM / Tyler, Tx / Pt. 2 (prior BBTB episode) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bodies-behind-the-bus/id1601586078?i=1000593705604

Intro to Stories from The Austin Stone (prior BBTB episode) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bodies-behind-the-bus/id1601586078?i=1000714367734

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Keri Ladner is the author of American Dominion: The Rise and Radicalization of a New Christendom. Her book traces the roots of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and Dominion theology in the United States. She began her research while studying the Columbine shooting and how it was later used to build the martyr myths tied to this movement. Ladner also writes about these topics on Substack.
American Dominion: The Rise and Radicalization of a New Christendom - Book Link
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Bel joins us from Australia to share her story of growing up in a church in the Sydney Anglican Diocese. When she was six, she nearly died in an accident at church. Soon after, her family moved to a new church led by a man we call Rev T. He called himself a counselor and claimed he could help people no doctor could. Bel describes a community shaped by control, fear, and the constant feeling of being watched. She shares how Rev T's counsel tore her family apart, how her sister was sent away from home and put through an exorcism, and how a private meeting in his office crossed lines no pastor should ever cross. Today, Bel is a wife, a mom, and a survivor. She shares her story in the hope of making the church a safer place.
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In this episode, our storyteller Jane shares her years inside Chi Alpha, the college campus ministry of the Assemblies of God (AG). What began as a warm, welcoming community slowly turned into something else. Jane describes the pressure to lead, the strict rules over her time, friendships, money, and even her food and health, and the spiritual control that kept her silent for years.
She walks us through her path from new student to leader, intern, and full staff missionary. She talks about the leadership "class" she paid to take, a retreat that changed her, the support raising system that left her broke, and the moment she finally found the strength to leave. Jane also speaks to the wider abuse that has come to light in Chi Alpha and the Assemblies of God, and why she chose to break her silence now.
Her story is a powerful look at high control religion, the savior complex on the mission field, and the long road to healing. Jane closes with a message of hope for current members, for survivors, and for the leaders she hopes will repent.

Chi Alpha Survivor Website http://xalionsden.com/
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