Cult Recovery Needs a Push: Why MCGI's Continued Operation Prevents Healing

This article argues that the continued existence of the Members Church of God International (MCGI) functions as a living trauma site for former members.

Drawing parallels from global media reactions to childhood bullying scandals, particularly in South Korea, it explores how unresolved abuse, when left unacknowledged by society, leads to prolonged psychological harm.

This article also exposes that MCGI is currently in institutional decline. But without cultural reckoning and collective resistance, recovery remains stalled for many survivors of this authoritarian religious group.

The religious trauma continues

Religious trauma, particularly from authoritarian or high-control groups, is not an abstract concept. It manifests as PTSD, dissociation, identity confusion, and chronic self-blame. As with victims of bullying, former members of such cults often find their trauma reactivated by the sight or success of their abusers.

This article focuses on the Members Church of God International (MCGI), an organization currently under fire for alleged financial exploitation, coercive control, and character assassination. Our central idea is as long as MCGI continues to operate without accountability, healing for many ex-members remains impossible.

Lessons from Celebrity Accountability

South Korea has witnessed multiple public reckonings in recent years where celebrities were forced to resign or apologize following reports of school bullying surfacing, even decades later.

From actors like Kim Ji-soo to kpop's Kim Garam of Le Sserafim, we have witnessed their careers significantly damaged or ended entirely, not due to legal action, but due to the public’s collective refusal to reward histories of abuse. Media analysts and trauma experts have contextualized this phenomenon within a cultural shift toward victim-centered accountability. As noted by journalist Min Joo Kim of The Washington Post:

“The trend highlights how Korean society is becoming more sensitive to issues such as school bullying, harassment, and mental health and more willing to hold public figures accountable for past harm” (Washington Post, Feb 2021).

Korean trauma expert Dr. Oh Eun-young has publicly emphasized that bullying leaves lifelong psychological scars, and survivors often experience re-traumatization when their abusers are celebrated. “Trauma doesn’t end when the event ends. It lingers in the body, in the memory, and in the social fabric”, Eun-young stated.

In that sense, MCGI’s public presence functions as a similar societal wound. Former members report emotional dysregulation, anger, and helplessness when seeing the group celebrated in state-affiliated charity events, social media campaigns, or entertainment platforms. The healing process is disrupted not by memory alone, but by the continued visibility and unchallenged legitimacy of the source of trauma.

MCGI as a Site of Ongoing Trauma

MCGI under its current leadership, has been accused of leveraging spiritual fear, public shaming, and fatigue-based long worship time to maintain control over its members. The organization’s mechanisms such as “patarget” donation quotas, overpriced captive market products, and mandatory attendance mirror tactics associated with coercive cults (Lalich & Tobias, 2006).

Survivor testimonies compiled by the MCGI Exiters initiative reveal a persistent emotional paralysis among ex-members. One recurring theme is “I can’t fully recover while my love ones are still in there.” This sentiment is rooted in what psychiatrist Judith Herman terms “traumatic reenactment” where victims continually relive their abuse in environments that do not validate their experience or offer justice (Herman, 1992).

Financial Decline and Structural Weaknesses

Recent internal leaks and forensic financial reviews suggest that MCGI is in a state of steep decline. A 49–60% drop in collections since 2020. Record member exits in Australia, Canada, and the Philippines. Revenue schemes that indicate desperation, such as weekly donation targets ("patarget") and monetized “charity” food packs.

This decline mirrors the decline of Haligi’t Suhay, the predecessor movement, after the loss of its founding leader, Nicolas Perez. But unlike MCGI, Haligi’t Suhay did not demand excessive collection targets nor did it enforce near-daily services. Its irrelevancy was driven by institutional stagnation. MCGI, by contrast, is burdened by its own overreach. An unsustainable level of control over a disillusioned population. MCGI in deep crisis mean the burden and suffering of the trapped members intensifies.

As members exit, the financial burden of those trapped inside MCGI intensifies as they will cover lost revenues to keep the structure of oppression afloat. This results to more member exodus leading to MCGI's structural collapse.

Organizational theorist Charles Perrow notes in Normal Accidents (1999) that complex, tightly coupled systems often collapse not due to a single failure but because of accumulated strain. MCGI’s rigidity, once its strength is now its liability. Its implosion is no longer speculative. It is structural inevitability.

The Power of Digital Pushback

The strategy for recovery is not just psychological. It is collective and digital.

Public awareness is the cult’s natural enemy. Every testimony, repost, and even memes chips away at the illusion that MCGI is benevolent or invincible. It is what philosopher Michel Foucault described as the “counter-memory.” A form of resistance that arises from those whose stories were erased from the dominant narrative (Foucault, 1977).

Digital participation becomes both activism and therapy

Creating backup accounts ensures continuity despite censorship. Mirroring content of MCGI Exiters like Jr Badong and CJ Perez counters erasure. Even a simple reacting, reels stitching, and commenting normalizes doubt and departure.

A single comment like “I left too” can validate the silent questions of those still inside.

A post-MCGI Society is Achievable

MCGI’s collapse is not fantasy. It is happening. But like any abusive structure, it feeds on silence. For survivors, silence is not peace. It is paralysis. Just as bullied victims cannot heal when their tormentors are glorified, ex-members cannot find closure while the cult flourishes.

We conclude with a call--visibility is recovery. The louder the exits, the more normalized departure becomes. The more we speak, the less powerful their silence.

References

Min Joo Kim, “In South Korea, Celebrities Are Being ‘Canceled’ for Alleged School Bullying,” The Washington Post, February 25, 2021.

tvN, “Dr. Oh Eun-young Talks About Trauma and Mental Health in Youth,” segment from Dr. Oh’s Golden Clinic (translated), tvN, 2020.

Foucault, M. (1977). Language, Counter-Memory, Practice: Selected Essays and Interviews. Cornell University Press.

Herman, J. L. (1992). Trauma and Recovery. Basic Books.

Lalich, J., & Tobias, M. (2006). Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships. Bay Tree Publishing.

Perrow, C. (1999). Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies. Princeton University Press.