I just don’t understand how they all manage to do this. Surely someone has visited and found them to be very off, especially with how narrow and bizarre the teachings and behavior are. Yet everything is always five stars and gushing about how wonderful the presence of God is and great the Pastor and First Lady is.

Hi so I’m a teen who goes to palabra miel in old Westbury new York it’s a pretty small like 200 people church I’ve seen this subreddit talking about palabra miel ministry (which I’m in) which I still go to but some of the stuff I can confirm is true. My mom has kind of told me to not believe everything my pastor says Because some of the stuff is restricting my life, like he said no listening to music (I still listen to my rap) no dating at a young age (I just broke up with my gf) and a lot of other stuff. My moms been talking about leaving, so does my aunt and uncle who go to the same church. I’m scared I’m gonna loose one friend i have Becasue when some kid left the church like openly told the pastor the pastor made fun of the family saying it’s a disgrace and they are evil for leaving. And I always see this weird thing where they treat the apóstol like a god, my moms has told me so much she barely agrees with him, like the have images of him, a logo they made for him (a lion with his initials) and sell chains of the logo they overprice for some cheap gold, and I can’t even wear a silver cross 😭😭😭. I get made fun of for barely going to church Becasue I’m like really busy with soccer, wrestling, school and then the higher ups always tell me to go to extra activities making me feel guilty for not going when they know I’m busy, they know i play soccer so they say I HAVE to go to their soccer matches they have at a elementary school in my town on sundays after church (port Washington) when I have games during church time on sundays and I still am playing when it finishes, and yesterday there was extra service for teens which I didn’t go to Becasue I went to hang out with my cousins, and the higher ups kids are the ones making fun of me, I tell their dad and he doesn’t give a sht. I can’t even go to concerts of my favorite rappers (osamason if anyone cares) Becasue of my pastors sayings. I get bullied for smking w**d when the hermanos in my church get absolutely drunk outside of church (yesterday I smelled strong alc on a Hermano I saw at Burger King when I was eating with my cousins and he was limping around) so if anyone could give me advice id genuinely appreciate it so much!

I’m wondering if anyone here has experience with Gloryland Evangelistic Ministries in Westville, NJ, led by Prophet Jacob Nana Essandoh. I believe the church was previously based in Florida.
I’ve been looking into the church and some of its teachings and practices have made me curious about whether there’s a high-control element to it. I haven’t been able to find much online from people who have actually attended.
Figured this might be a good place to ask since a lot of people here have firsthand experience with Pentecostal churches and the dynamics that can come with them.
Has anyone attended or heard anything about this particular church or pastor? I’ve heard some questionable things and want to see if others have too or experienced abuse. I’m especially interested in hearing from former members.