Broken Faith - Inside the Word of Faith Fellowship, One of America's Most Dangerous Cults - Mitch Weiss Page 0,16

ready in case he was questioned.

But as careful as he was, it was a chance encounter in a church hallway that ended Evans’s undercover operation—and opened up a criminal inquiry that exposed the church to the world.

4

BUSTED

Evans knew he should’ve paid better attention. He was getting so comfortable inside the church he’d let his guard down. He joined in the hours-long, high-decibel deliverance at just about every service. It was like a mass primal-scream therapy session, and it was tearing up his voice. He’d phoned his mother one Sunday afternoon and she didn’t believe it was him. His voice was all raspy from blasting.

One weekday in January 1995, scurrying down a hallway to a Bible study, Evans didn’t notice a familiar figure headed his way until it was too late.

It was Robert Tilton. Evans stayed calm and managed to avoid making eye contact. He kept walking, but from the corner of his eye he saw the televangelist stop and stare. Evans ducked into the Bible study. But as the ministers taught the Word, Evans’s mind was stuck on Tilton. If he’d recognized him, he’d go to Jane.

By then Evans had been filming for months. Trash bins had yielded information about the church and letters congregants had written to Jane. It gave them a clear picture of how the church operated and continued to manipulate members, even after they left.

One letter addressed a couple who had moved away. It said state law allowed the Word of Faith Christian School to withhold their children’s transcripts until they paid off their tuition fees.

“We have heard from several people that since you left, you have made slanderous statements against the church, spread gossip and rumors, and sowed seeds of strife against your brothers and sisters in Christ. If what we’ve heard is true, God would not allow us to release the girls’ records until all matters of contention are resolved.”

The letter was signed Jane Whaley.

Other letters to Jane showed congregants were encouraged to expose their problems and sins in writing, with signed statements detailing “carnal desires” and financial and family troubles.

With all the information he already had, was it really worth risking his safety to try to get video of Tilton and Whaley together, praying, repenting for his sins like he did at the service in November?

Evans pondered the question. The church’s practices were violent, but would they hurt him if they discovered what he was doing? Anything was possible. Still, Evans wanted to collect more information. The Trinity Foundation had been sharing their work with Inside Edition, a popular syndicated television show hosted by Bill O’Reilly.

Inside Edition planned to launch an investigation into Word of Faith Fellowship, and Evans knew they might need more video. He decided to stay.

* * *

Jane Whaley told everyone in the leadership meeting to have a seat and listen up.

“Remember that God sees and hears us, always. He cannot be deceived. So, think hard about this,” Whaley said. “Are there any Judases among us?”

Suzanne Cooper and the others looked at one another, shaking their heads.

“God has spoken to me,” Whaley said.

She said John Evans was a “plant,” but she didn’t want anyone to speak a word about it. She wanted them to continue treating Evans like they would anyone else in the church.

“God told me John will come around. He’s going to have a heart change,” she predicted.

Whaley was convinced she could win over Evans, just like she did Rick and Suzanne Cooper, Joe and Dayle English, and so many others. She was confident in her ability to bring people into the fold.

When English first arrived at the church, he was impressed that Whaley didn’t care he was a rock celebrity. She treated English as a lost soul, no different than anyone else in her flock. English needed answers, and she had them.

But with Evans, Whaley left nothing to chance. She assigned a trusted minister, Joe Franta, to dig into Evans’s background and find out what he was up to.

It was an important time for Word of Faith Fellowship, and Whaley didn’t need any distractions. Tilton needed Whaley’s help. Not enough money was coming in, and he’d had to cancel his TV show. He continued to hemorrhage followers, too. He turned to Jane Whaley to help resurrect his image.

Tilton had met Whaley two years before, at the height of his fame. Newly divorced, he’d started dating Leigh Valentine, a former beauty queen and a member of Word of Faith Fellowship. Valentine was proud to bring her celebrity boyfriend