kvue.com | 'People were so surprised we got him back' | Family describes son's experience in presumed TX cult

A Central Texas family is warning the public after their first-hand experience with what many consider to be a religious cult.

The Church of Wells in East Texas has made national headlines for their beliefs and issues with their members over the years.

But in 2016, a Georgetown family reported their son missing after he went to Downtown Austin on Halloween night to preach the Bible and never returned home.

Initially, the family was concerned their son had been carjacked - or worse. But after several days of worrying, they were able to contact their then 27-year-old son, Jordan Reichenberger.

Jordan let them know he had left downtown Austin with some of the elder members of the Church of Wells and had driven with them to their compound in East Texas.

kvue.com | 'People were so surprised we got him back' | Family describes son's experience in presumed TX cult

Channel 2 Investigates: Inside controversial Church of Wells | News - Home

"Mom and dad, I can't listen to you anymore. I have to keep my hands over my ears and I can only listen to my elders."

When members of a small evangelical congregation were arrested after disrupting services at Lakewood Church in June, it was the first time many in the Houston area heard of the Church of Wells.

When Channel 2 Investigates began looking into the church's background, we discovered the incident at Lakewood was not the first members of the church had been to Houston in their quest to save souls from damnation, nor were they strangers to controversy.

The Church of Wells is so named because members live in the east Texas town of Wells, which is 17 miles outside of Lufkin and has a population of 769 people.

The church's website is filled with videos documenting members preaching at college campuses, on street corners, in front of businesses and outside of other churches. One video shows members screaming, "(Jesus) sees your sins and he will judge you on that day," at people leaving Montrose-area nightclubs.

The videos also show church members getting into numerous confrontations with those who take issue with their impromptu sermons. The church's motivation for public spectacle and controversy is seemingly revealed through Bible quotes and excerpts from sermons written by evangelist Leonard Ravenhill, who died in 1994.

The excerpts from Ravenhill posted on the church's website revolve around the belief that they must face persecution in order to be true Christians.

"When we get to heaven dear brother, God isn't going to ask you where your diploma is; he's not looking for medals, he's looking for scars," Ravenhill said during one video excerpt.

Channel 2 Investigates: Inside controversial Church of Wells | News - Home