“Basically, you leave the church and you’re ex-communicated,” Jordan says. “That’s it, they separate you from your family. I haven’t had contact with my son since I left [the church] in September 2016.” She is relieved to hear about Thursday’s raids, saying, “I tell everybody, if the FBI wants to put all of us in a room, each and every one of us will give our testimony” about the church.
House of Prayer Targets Military Personnel, Critics Warn
Veterans Education Success, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., raised concerns about House of Prayer back in 2020. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the group requested an investigation into the church, alleging that it “targets veterans in order to access GI Bill funding, VA disability compensation, and VA home loans.”
A report from Veterans Education Success also accuses House of Prayer of using the personal information and forged signatures of military personnel to apply for home loans in their names.
Jordan, the former church member who’s concerned about her son, says the church has “a fraudulent Bible college and a so-called ‘home’ for the soldiers. They bring them in and give them a home-cooked meal, and from there…they have them lie to the VA to get into the Bible college, they steal their benefits, and [soldiers] never get a diploma from there that’s worth anything because it’s not valid.”
Jenessa Wright, who left House of Prayer’s Hinesville location, says Denis turns members into “merchandise.” She says, “It’s no longer a church. It’s just a fraudulent, money-making empire.” Wright “really woke up” when Denis “said the rapture date and he was going the day before to prepare a place for us,” she says. “That is when I…was like, ‘What is going on?’”
Red Flags from House of Prayer Bible Colleges
Veterans Education Success, which conducted interviews with more than a dozen former church members, says most students at House of Prayer Bible colleges are veterans. Those students are charged higher tuition rates than civilians, and some say they’ve exhausted their GI Bill funds without receiving any credentials.
Former students allege that seminary teachers aren’t certified and that doing chores and recruiting new church members counts toward class time. “That is not a real school,” says one former student, who questions how the VA approved it in the first place.
“Soul-winning is an organized event coordinated by [House of Prayer’s] clergy,” writes Veterans Education Success. “Five days a week, individuals are paired up and sent out to recruit new members on or around military bases.”
Amber Fitz-Randolph, administrator of a Fort Hood Facebook page, says House of Prayer is “absolutely a cult,” based on community buzz. Church members near Fort Hood “were sneaking into barracks at all hours to torment and threaten soldiers who wanted to stop going or wouldn’t given them enough money,” she says.
Former Members Protest, Warn About Church
At the Hinesville location in 2017, former House of Prayer members led a protest outside the church. They held signs reading “House of Prayer Is a Cult” and “Denis Is a Liar.”
The website www.hopcc.com strives “to inform the public as to the many types of abuses that have been taking place” at the church locations. It describes tactics such as “love bombing,” mind control, removal of freedoms, and financial fraud.
“It is our prayer that the masses would be informed and wake up to the injustices being done to these members before it is too late,” the site states.
