But let us look at ourselves Mother. I want to look special for the Lord and my husband. Yet with so many former Fundamentalists now calling themselves advocates, I find that I am still the only one who documented case afte case, getting down to the specifics of naming child molesters and churches that conspire to protect them. I began documenting clergy sex abuse of children in Christian Fundamentalism in 2001. Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? This resulted in many personalities. We use a pattern that makes a culotte that looks exactly like a pleated skirt yet has plenty of room for movement. As for the shackles and weapons, I never knew how they got there, he told me. Around 1984, the girls were moved to the current facility at 2277 E. Pierceton Road, Warsaw. In 1982, when New Bethanys leaders shut down the home to avoid a state inspection, they had a volunteer staffer put up this banner. Donna, spread thin with her husband on his third Iraq deployment, and fearful of a family history of substance abuse, worried that Kelsey was headed for trouble. This five part audio documentary explores the teachings and practices of Chuck Shifflett, former pastor of Calvary Baptist Church of Culpeper Virginia and a devoted, indeed fanatical, follower of the late Jack Hyles. Kosciusko County Sheriff Kyle Dukes says that of allegations investigated in the past 20 years, no criminal charges were ever filed. Just last year, prosecutors in Blount County, Alabama, charged Jack Pattersona Roloff protg and founder of a boys home called Reclamation Ranchwith aggravated child abuse. You must log in or register to reply here. For more than 40 years, the ministry has been helping teenage girls receive a Christian education as well as being taught how to improve their relationships with parents and Pastors. If you are a first-time commenter, please read the commenting policy before wowing readers with your words. I want to please the Lord not man. Then-prosecutor Tommy Rountree said deputies raided the ranch after an escapee alerted them to beatings, isolation cells, and armed staffers who would go hunting for runaways.. At both the state and federal levels, the troubled teen industryreligious and secularenjoys quiet support from many politicians. Follow Bruce on Facebook and Twitter. They do not know how to walk sit or act. Be willing to resist the pressures of the world and disobedient Christians. Three weeks ago, Dr. Phil featured Hephzibah House on his daily TV talk show. In addition to documenting the complaint, the health inspector also cited Hephzibah House for a few of its procedures involving food preparations. Welcome to the website for HEPHZIBAH HOUSE. And the girls are having accidents and that's what happened to me," she said. Our Affiliates. Clark Word, now 44, was sent there when he was about 15. Many times I warned my husband about this woman and could not understand why Godly men across this nation followed her. Yet I was an ERA type woman to the core. What do normal 18-year-olds do?" A woman that wears pants is either rebellious or ignorant. Heather wore pants until she was five when we got saved. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. She told me how, in her first weeks at the academys Missouri compounda summer-camp setup in remote La Russell, population 145she and other girls snuck letters to their parents between the pages of hymnals in a local church they attended, along with entreaties to congregants to mail them. One of the greatest shocks our girls go through is to have their pants taken away! Hephzibah House, the private Christian boarding school for troubled teenaged girls that has been marred for decades with accusations of abuse, is now permanently closed. This story has an eerily similar feel to those told by the girls that were incarcerated at Mack Fords New Bethany Home for Girls. Police normally returned runaways to the home, but the severity of the boys injuries led state officials to investigate. Ben Williams tells us he is concerned that the girls currently enrolled at Hephzibah House are being abused. Since the same root hafz means "guarding" or "taking care of," all words from this root suggest the idea of "safeguarding," and . I just knew that when certain lobbyists would stand up to say, We have a concern about how this affects faith-based institutions, the bill was immediately amendedit was a very Republican legislatureor it would immediately die. Believers Baptist is pastored by Don Williams, the son of Ron and Patti Williams. Learn More Intact Family Services If you still have retained your figure then you are attractive and you are defrauding men and you will stand in judgement before the Lord for causing a man to stumble (11 Corinthians 5:10). This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Vaginal exam -- [This] did not happen to me, luckily. I wanted them to notice me and I learned how to please them, resulting in the character qualities of the Biblical strange woman in Proverbs. Thank you so much for helping us to spread the word about the abuse at this facility!!!www.formerhephzibahgirls.webs.com. The combination does not really go together. The mission headquarters has been located in Winona Lake, Indiana, since 1971, the year of its organization. I would give literature to parents about the schools, says Gerencser, who is now a critic of the IFB mindset. Donations on a monthly basis can be made through Patreon. With so many woman contacting 16 News Now, we reached out to Hephzibah House. Sexual Abuse in the Name of God: New Bethany Home for Girls, Teen Group Homes: Dear IFB Pastor, Its Time for You to Atone for Your Sin, NPR Story on Mack Ford, Sexual Abuse, and New Bethany Home for Girls in Arcadia, Louisiana, Black Collar Crime: Pastor Eddy Noelsaint Accused of Rape, Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Youth Pastor Josh Henley Sentenced to Forty-Five Years in Prison for Sex Crimes Against Children, Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Student Ministry Leader Vernon Willis Accused of Inappropriately Touching Church Girls, Evangelicals are an Existential Threat to the United States, Some Atheists Think I was Stupid for not Deconverting Sooner, Black Collar Crime: Catholic School Teacher Verity Beck Accused of Murdering Her Parents, Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Evangelist Chris Brooks Accused of Assaulting His Wife, Why I Write The Black Collar Crime Series and Will Continue to Do So Despite Criticism from Evangelicals, Dr. David Tee Thinks Everyone Who is Not a Christian is an Atheist, Bruce, I Pray You Will Have Your Eyes Opened and the Truth will Guide You, Dont Dress Like a Whore if You Dont Want to Get Sexually Assaulted Says Lori Alexander. How can those who are advocating for these women of Hephzibah House obtain information on the churches who support HH so that we could write letters directly to these pastors. Copyright 2014 - All Rights Reserved - jeriwho.net. Hephzibah House told supporters the facility that once housed troubled teen girls will now be a Christian Camp for those suffering with PTSD. Founded in 1971, the school operates under the authority of Believers Baptist Church, one of the hundreds of small churches that ascribe to the religious teachings of the independent fundamental Baptist movement. Lets not tell them or maybe we should- that Indian Indians think pants are more modest than skirts. Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights. I know there are a few pastors just like him who would not change even if Jesus himself came down and told them Ron Williams was wrong but I honestly have more faith in some of their supporters that they are deceived. Over a period of twelve days, it has screened more than 300 films and sold more than 250,000 tickets. She told me of her upbringing in North Carolina, where an IFB preacher named Mack Ford occasionally visited her church. Perhaps you live a decent Chrlstian life, but why are you allowing your daughter to live like a strange woman? It is interesting to note that as far as I can tell, we have never had a girl or woman come into our program at Hephzibah House that did not wear pants. ?No problems whatsoever. While at Grace Seminary, he was awarded the annual Glenn Russell Fink Award in expository preaching (1978).In 1987, Brother Williams was honored by the Great Plains Baptist College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where they conferred upon him an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree. Williams said the school and its staff do the Lord's work in line with fundamentalist Baptist teachings. She was also punished with cold showers, she said, and endless sets of calisthenics after meals. His role becomes more confusing with relation to a girl. He also studied at Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana. New Bethany founder Mack Ford proved even less talkative. He worked as a Public Health Advisor with the National Venereal Disease Control Program of the United States Public Health Service for seven years. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist. Hephzibah Home is a residential treatment program for children ages 3 to 11 and it includes two units, The Treehouse and The Clubhouse. Hephzibah House - UnGodly Discipline - CNN report 60,646 views Sep 1, 2011 274 Dislike wdtony 730 subscribers Anderson Cooper Of CNN reports on allegations of abuse at Hephzibah House, a. Spanking -- To my knowledge they no longer spank, however this is so they will continue to receive students in my opinion. There's girls there right now and my heart hurts for them every day," she said. Were helping parents get their kids back. Hephzibah Children's Association Corporate Office: 1144 Lake Street Oak Park, IL 60301 Tel: 708.649.7140 Group Residence: 946 North Boulevard Oak Park, IL 60301 Our students are taught to be productive and responsible members of society. Absolutely. About This Home BACK ON THE MARKET AT NO FAULT OF THE SELLER! Because we are disobeying the Lord a mother who wears pants will produce a daughter that may not have a servant spirit to men or her husband unless she wants something special from him. Of course not it was for men! Yes of course he does. By that time, Roxy said, most girls are broken, having been told that their families have abandoned them, and that the world outside is a sinful, dangerous place where girls who leave are murdered or raped. The Lord will forgive and forget but her body and mind will bear nonerasable scars. That was round-about long-winded way of saying that I am glad that I did not grow up under the regime of such extremism and do not know what it is like to have to be completely deprogrammed of that false version of Christianity. Fear of government intrusionparticularly on account of the communitys spare the rod, spoil the child worldviewis so pervasive that IFB congregations are primed to dismiss regulatory actions against abusive facilities as religious persecution. Are You Involved in a Story Making Headlines? The girls found themselves at a remote compound bordered by a rural highway and ringed with barbed wire. By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. How can you be a keeper at home rearing your children loving your children, and your husband and at the same time leading a movement across the nation? Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. It's going to help me heal, he tells us. The Lord has done a marvelous work in our lives. Again, I believe they realized they would be shut down so that one had to go.Ron Williams is still very interested in who's who in the virginal world of his students, however. After Dr. Phils expos, Dave Halyaman publicly voiced his objections to the story. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Our daughters are virtuous women because we have obeyed the Lords commands. So 'surprise soup' would be multiple different soups dumped in, stir it up, and that was the slop that they were served," Ben Williams said. Search one of the largest collections of foreclosure, bank-owned, 2nd Chance Foreclosure, Short Sale, and luxury properties available online. In a 1979 standoff that would become the stuff of fundamentalist folklore, Roloff declared his cause the Christian Alamo, organizing hundreds of supporters into barricades to keep state officials off his compound. I was a different personality for specific occasions and my dress fit the occasion. A good society recognizes that its ultimate value, and survival, depends on cooperation among its members at many levels, and long-term cooperation requires mutual respect. I have heard many mothers say they do not wear pants and do not believe in them but you know how it Is! Its no wonder rape victims are blamed in fundamentalist Christianity. Search 5 Single Family Homes For Rent in Hephzibah, Georgia. They wear balanced, simple and modest clothing. Back in Maryland, Jeannie Marie was unaware of her daughters plight. In 2007, she sent her 14-year-old daughter, Kelsey, to the Circle of Hope Girls Ranch in Humansville, Missouri. Your children need to obey; you and your husband need to let these groups know where you stand on this issue. Petition Closed. Hephzibah House told 16 News Now the Department of Child Services visited in January and nothing was found. Standing Strong against ignorance, preconceptions, labels and excessive housework. I know this will step on toes literally, but these new sandals with three and four inch heels are not simple. They included former Indiana Rep. Mark Souder (Hephzibah House), Alabama Rep. Robert Aderholt (Reclamation Ranch, Rachel Academy), and North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx (King Family Ministries), who testified: This bill is not neededThe states and the localities can handle these situations. How ridiculous. She had posted her phone number for anyone wanting to talk, drawing a cautious but earnest call from Word. Anderson Cooper covered a thorough investigation of the boarding school for . Get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy the peacefulness. The Kosciusko County health inspector documented a formal complaint about the food quality just last month, including that students were "served something resembling dog food" and that they "became ill multiple times from food and was then shamed for being ill". It's us but for your ears. The average household income in the Highway 88 area is $57,996. Rider recalled one new girl she was assigned to supervise: Angela was a firebrand whod arrived at New Bethany straight out of a mental institution and became such a target of staff and big sister discipline that she twice attempted suicide. The entrance to New Bethanys Louisiana compound. You have this sense of total isolation: Theres no way out of it, youre there for the rest of your life.. I will continue to try to help as long as people want me to help them, explains Ben Williams. That guy Ron Williams is totally warped. This resulted In many years of heartache for our lives. Our children are being molded by our character whether we like it or not. This pamphlet remains popular in some corners of the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) world. Believer's Baptist is pastored by Don Williams, the son of Ron and Patti Williams. Hephzibah House-Being Forced to Wear Diapers. But the thing that makes my stomach churn is that these horrible ideas of how girls and women should behave, the ideas about how to raise and discipline a child, and the banality of the infractions that got the girls sent to the place in some casesthese are all celebrated by some versions of Christianity. If you have any information please send it to prettykitty1964@live.com, This is a great ministry and the Williams are very kind people. Their studies consisted of memorizing Scripture (mistakes were punishable by paddling) and a rote Christian curriculum. Open Houses. is an assistant Director of Hephzibah House, and Assistant Pastor at Believers Baptist Church in Warsaw, Indiana and has held these positions since 1990. The name Hephzibah or Hafzbah expresses a very clear idea. "They really dumbed us down there, because women aren't really supposed to have a lot of thoughts or dreams besides becoming a mother. Hephzibah House, which still operates today and was championed to the end by WMUU, the radio station started by Bob Jones University, has been investigated in the past for child abuse. "A lot of on the floor work," she said. Getting through by phone also proved challenging, and calls were monitored. He says he wants the community to know about the physical and emotional abuse he both saw and endured growing up at Hephzibah House. Patterson insists that the abuse allegations were bogus and denies using any corporal punishment or isolation tactics. Ugh ! Ive been fighting this. There are many problems in the church today and I think women constitute one of the main problems. [MORE: See photos of life at New Bethany. Founded in 1971, the school operates under the authority of Believers Baptist Church, one of the hundreds of small churches that ascribe to the religious teachings of the independent fundamental Baptist movement. I pray that some will stand for His sake and not let the world control our dress and our lives. Like you, I came to Christ as a young adult and had no experience at all with extremism until then. Good thing his wife isnt alive. The bowel and bladder torture consisted of girls being given bran, made to drink lots of water at breakfast, and then denied bathroom access until lunch. As you may recall, neither Don Williams nor Ron Williams. While jogging earlier that year, the 17-year-old (whom Ill call Roxy) had been pulled into a vehicle and assaulted by a group of men. When it comes to paddling the girls too hard, the school said they have not used corporal correction for years. AS THE USUAL, the food was rather poor and not always cooked very well. Well you say we are in different times, they wore different clothing and besides they both wore robes. The average property tax on Highway 88 is $1,560/yr and the average house or building was built in 1971. Thank you for reading this post. Hephzibah House, which still operates today and was championed to the end by WMUU, the radio station started by Bob Jones University, has been investigated in the past for child abuse. The home relocated to Missouri three years later, returning to Texas in 1998 after then-Gov. And we've received some from every one of the 50 states and from some foreign countries because of missionaries having trouble with their daughters," Williams said. He earned an Associate of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Cerritos Junior College in Los Angeles in 1971 and a certificate in radio broadcasting in 1972. There are accusations of abuse dating back to the 1980s. After months of punitive mealtimes, including five-minute force feeding sessions for girls on redshirt, she wolfed her food. Just the way a woman reacts to the whole subject of pants, modesty and dress reveals to me the seriousness of the situation. Our ungodly dress has resulted In our unsubmissive, bold, masculine spirits. Thats the backdoor channel that Donna, a military wife and mother of eight in the Northeast, ended up taking. Then they wanted to talk to the girls. Hephzibah Houses Ron Williams and Reclamation Ranchs Jack Patterson urged supporters to fight the bill. Don assumed the pastorate of the church from his father truly a family-owned and operated institution. Ford operated a separate New Bethany home for boys in Longstreet, Louisiana. Neither characteristic is a Godly one. I hope more reporters and journalists will be exposing this horror it has been going far too long. Because of his practical experience in picking up the pieces of homes and families for so many years, the preaching of Pastor Williams emphasizes the Christian home and family. "The things that are happening at Hephzibah House are definitely cultish. Reclamation Ranch, he says, had a family-style atmosphere. He points to his misdemeanor sentence as proof that the prosecution was politically motivated. Just an observation. Some of these very critics were there when I was here, and I counseled them. Keep up the good work!! You can also read the FAQ for Hephzibah House here. Some say your job requires pants. Your next investment or dream home is just a click away. Windows nailed shut in sleeping quarters is a fire code violation. I took that case personally, recalls Emory Rush, the now-retired sheriffs chief deputy who led the raid. And guess what? We found 84 addresses and 85 properties on Highway 88 in Hephzibah, GA. The wife of Hezekiah and mother of king Manasseh ( 2 Kings 21:1 ). They were Wiley Cameron (who later served on Bushs peer-review board for Christian childrens agencies in Texas) and his wife Faye (who was banned from working with children in the Lone Star state). King and his assistant were charged with kidnapping, unlawful neglect, and conspiracy. Whichever is true, both will give an account to the Lord. I never went to Hephzibah House but was horrified to read the comments of survivors. Dr. Ron Williams founded Hephzibah House in 1971. Most people in Hephzibah, GA drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 28.7 minutes. They would have these horrible illnesses or sicknesses and they would be made fun of or treated like garbage, but for things like that we were given forced pelvic exams or forced anal exams and that doesn't make any sense to me.". I mean, I think he brings up his utility bill is $20,000. I was sent to this home,and know many other's our lives were forever damaged. After a while, I was so brainwashed I didnt even want to run, she told me. The call dissolved into a shouting match between Jeannie Marie and McNamarawho finally declared that he would only discuss the matter with her husband. Pastor Ronald Williams and his late wife, Patti, founded Hephzibah House in 1971, a Christian boarding school for teen girls. In fact, in a letter to the constituents inquiring about the bill, Brown had simply noted that this was a concern of the bills opponents, not necessarily his own view. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Mother, you can avoid this by rearing her properly, or perhaps cleaning up your own life first and then cleaning hers up. Terms of Service apply. 4020 EDENFIELD, Hephzibah, GA 30815 $348,077 Redfin Estimate 5 Beds 3 Baths Sq Ft Off Market This home last sold for $355,000 on Aug 5, 2022. Perhaps you are wondering how you can have freedom of movement in a dress. Hephzibah. It was discontinued because technology is so advanced, you can do blood work and figure out whats going on. For church and special occasions or a precious date with my honey, I wear my finest. While it is unlikely they will ever be arrested and prosecuted, surely Indiana law enforcement and child protective services can find ways to eradicate the stench coming from Hephzibah House. Karen Glover, a Navy veteran who attended Indianas Roloff-inspired Hephzibah House as a girl, described what she calls the bowel and bladder torture. The girls were given bran, made to drink lots of water at breakfast, and then denied bathroom access until lunchtime.