Cops called to Norlane ‘doomsday cult’ after ex-members speak out

Victoria Police have confirmed officers were called to a Norlane church, amid fallout from ex-members sharing their “revolting” experiences.

Police have been called to a Norlane-based “doomsday cult”, amid the fallout from ex-members sharing their stories about the church which warns the “battle of Armageddon looms”.

Victoria Police this week confirmed officers were called to the Thompson Rd Geelong Revival Centre (GRC) on Wednesday evening.

It is understood a filming crew from Chanel Nine’s A Current Affair had attended the church as part of their preparation of a package on the church.

“Police were called to an address on Thompson Road, Norlane after reports that unauthorised persons were on the premises,” Leading Senior Constable Adam West said. “Police attended and spoke to four men who left the premises peacefully.”

A Current Affair declined to comment on the matter.

Geelong Revival Centre.

The filming crew’s visit came shortly after a series of ex-GRC members shared their stories with the Geelong Advertiser last week. The former members of the secretive Pentecostal group shared their concerns and experiences, which included:

MEDICAL treatments shunned in favour of prayer, including medical intervention for mental health issues and even cancer.

PHYSICAL abuse of children encouraged for discipline.

SEX before marriage forbidden, with members who break the rule kicked out of the church for two years, and women who break the rule not allowed to wear white on any future wedding day.

MEMBERS being forced to cut off all former members of the church, including parents, spouses and children.

A BELIEF the world will end soon, with only members of the church set to be saved.

“It was a doomsday cult in every means of the words,” a former member said.

Multiple former members said the push against medicine was most appallingly displayed when the suicide note of an 18-year-old former member was read out to a congregation in the early 2000s.

“A young person had come along with her parents, but she stopped coming after a while,” another ex-member said. “The letter he read out, I remember it very clearly … he read the letter, she was depressed, very, very upset, and it was a suicide note. And at the end of it he said ‘see what happens when people leave the lord, this is what happens to them’. I was personally revolted by that.

When contacted by the Geelong Advertiser a GRC spokesperson declined to respond to specific allegations, but suggested they were lies.

“These people are going around making all sorts of false claims, even posting lies on the internet,” the spokesperson said. “We’re not interested in getting involved in a fight with them, they can say what they like, and we’ll just get on with our job.”

“They want to try to give us trouble because they have a problem. Look, we’ve been called all sorts of names. No I wouldn’t bother [responding to claims the GRC is a cult].”

Originally published as Cops called to Norlane ‘doomsday cult’ after ex-members speak out