“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.”
―
As background information to this story, I would recommend readers check out my original stories, “Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) Funded Abuse of Nigerian Orphans” published April 24, 2017, and “Voice of the Martyrs Attempts Damage Control” published May 4, 2017.
Additionally, I would recommend reading “A Personal Testimony Regarding Volunteering and Working at VOM” published on May 21, 2017.
Mr. Jesperson, whose story of employment by VOM is referenced in the above post, recently wrote me the following email:
I just learned last night that a Voice of the Martyrs employee is scheduled to preach for the next six weeks at the church I have been attending: Spirit Church in Bartlesville. I was just told that last night and then I basically blanked out the rest of the service after that. The man who is scheduled to preach has a long background with different organizations. One you would be familiar with as they said he was once an SBC missionary. This situation has disturbed me for reasons you would well understand after I published my story at VOM in Todd’s blog last year. Enclosed is the letter I sent, requesting that they reconsider their invite to preach. I plan to send to you any responses I get. The church is one of the biggest here in Bartlesville, the VOM-USA headquarters. I have heard only good things about pastor Wootton, but this should test what I have heard to see if they are true or exaggerated. I know that I can count on your support and I thank you for that in advance. https://spirit.church/
I applaud both Mr. Jesperson and Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC for their ongoing efforts in confronting the corruption in Voice of the Martyrs.
As you can see from their website, Spirit Church is, as Mr. Jesperson stated, one of the largest churches in Bartlesville, OK. Voice of the Martyrs is headquartered in Bartlesville, so undoubtedly there are VOM employees who are members of Spirit Church. This could have a detrimental effect on Spirit Church leadership’s willingness to seriously look into the charges of corruption within the Voice of the Martyrs organization.
Mr. Jesperson did an admiral job of informing Pastor Wootton of the corruption within VOM, so he is now without excuse for continuing to allow the VOM spokesman to have access to a microphone at his church’s Wednesday evening services for six weeks, and it is clear from Pastor Wootton’s response to Mr. Jesperson’s email that he intends to allow the VOM spokesman to continue speaking at his church.
Below is a short bio of Lead Pastors Dr. Darryl and Faith Wooton, found on the Spirit Church website.
Here is the email Mr. Jesperson sent to Pastor Wootton:
From: Mr. JespersonSent: Thursday, October 11, 2018 2:24 PMTo: Darryl Wootton ; IkeSubject: The upcoming six week series on Wednesday nights taught by a current VOM employee…
Dear Pastors Wootton and Ike,
I am sorry that it is necessary for me to write a letter like this one to the pastors of the church that I have been attending. I know that this kind of letter is no joy to read for a pastor and it is no fun to consider the contents here which may require some difficult and hard decisions to be made. However, I must follow my conscience in what I know is right and I have to do what is right in the sight of God as I best understand it and not what is merely most convenient for everyone. At times like this, I remember how many hornets nests Jesus Himself stirred up around Him. Jesus did not pull His punches, and it drove those with power to want to murder Him in order to silence Him. Jesus warned us about how much deception there was going to be and instructed us to be shrewd as serpents. This is something which is I have found to be something that is done way too little in the Western Church. Jesus even got violent and drove the money changers out of the temple. Sin has severe consequences as we all well know.So straight to my point: I have a background with “the Voice of the Martyrs” that goes back a long time now. I gave generously to them starting in the 90’s when my best friend introduced them to me. I even attended a conference they put on back then in Phoenix. Starting near the end of 2001 I became much more involved as I moved here to Bartlesville just to be close to them in the hopes I could help “serve the persecuted” in some way. I ended up doing a lot of volunteering for the ministry (hundreds of hours) and eventually became a part-time employee for a short while. My relationship with them ended abruptly shortly before Christmas of the next year. I tell my story of what happened in a blog here: https://thouarttheman.org/2017/05/21/personal-testimony-regarding-volunteering-working-vom/ The short of it was that I became aware that VOM was not actually what it appeared at first to be to outsiders. In April 2012, when Tom White killed himself, I then realized the full extent of what is wrong with the organization. There are all the signs that Tom White turned it into a great fraud, likely for the purpose of funding trips overseas, not to minister to persecuted Christians, but just the opposite, to molest children on the charity dime.The details are in that blog post that a good man has created in order to deal with the cover up of child molestation in the protestant church, and in this video which was done by a small church as it uncovered that the only thing in the world that VOM will publicly admit to funding is run by a local VOM chapter president who is in charge of an orphanage where there are credible allegations that he is molesting many underage daughters of the poor and persecuted: https://vimeo.com/212739199 This President Isaac is still in this position even today! So the only things that have ever been publicly disclosed about this so called charity is two leaders who are accused of being child molesters. In addition to these facts, I learned from your good friend Jason Elmore right after publishing my story that Tom White’s family was aware that he was a child molester because he got caught in South America and charged with a crime there shortly before he came back here, molested a 10 year old child and then the father went to the police. I have learned who this father is and have seen him many times since and I have seen the child too. It breaks my heart every time I see them.Jim Dau, the charities “CEO,” claimed that he and the whole VOM board was shocked when Tom White killed himself. They claimed that they had no idea that Tom might be a molester. Given what happened in South America, most likely on a VOM paid tripped, this claim either shows that Dau lied or that he and the board are wholly incompetent. Add to that the testimony of VOM’s founders son Michael Wurmbrand about how he was fired when he asked their board to simple investigate how many children Tom may have molested overseas, and you have plenty of good reasons to stay as far away from this organization as possible. Michael called the current organization “a scam.” You can read what he has to say here: https://dorinpele.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/michael-wurmbrand-the-reason-i-placed-all-in-writing/ When I first read it years ago now, I was already at the point where I concluded everything that he says.I am obviously writing this because I just heard that you will have some people who work for the VOM organization do teaching in your church on Wednesday nights for six weeks to the whole congregation. This is more than a little disturbing to me for all the reasons listed in those blogs and on that video. I do understand simple ignorance, which is what got me initially. But now some blatant facts have come out since 2012 and these should not be ignored. Pastor Wootton, I invite you to contact your good friend and fellow pastor Jason Elmore in order to double check my part of this story. I went to his church for all those years and he was there with me. I had lunch with him when I was banned from going back into their building. He was there when I needed to talk to someone after Tom killed himself. He is the one that let me know about how Tom was caught in South America and likely his family and probably VOM had to pay bribes in order to get him back. This whole situation is just so extremely ugly. I wish Richard would have shut the org instead of turning it over to a clever son of the devil like Tom White was. Michael has said so much too in what he has written.I do not know your history with VOM and if you have ever promoted them as a worthy charity to give to. I do not know if you plan to let the VOM employees try to raise funds at your church. To allow them to do this would be highly foolish given all that is known. I do not want to judge the people who are supposed to teach, it sounds like they may have a long history doing other things and may be simply currently deceived like I was when I moved here. If they are sincere, they should leave VOM and find something else that does not hide the way that all its money is being spent overseas. I personally cannot in good conscience attend any services where anyone still currently associated with them teaches. To them I would say, “Physician heal thyself.” Jesus plainly stated that if a religious teacher who is blind leads the blind, that they will both end up in a ditch! While I was still with the org, I too was deceived and was in no position to teach anyone else.I hope you will take my concerns seriously. Something needs to be done about organizations with Christian labels that are funding or covering up scandal like this. You should not be ignorant concerning what has happened in this organization in more recent years. Especially because it is headquartered in our town here and your church is so very large. I am personally convinced the whole thing has devolved into a work of the devil to turn peoples Godly charitable ideals into the worse kind of evil that Satan can think up. This evil needs to be exposed so that Christians will not be taken advantage of any longer.The following additional scriptures are relevant: concerning walking in the light, which is the opposite of hiding every detail of what you actually do, Eph. 5:10 “Test and prove what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.” Also, 2 John 9 “Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.” and Matt 24:4 “Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.” – note that what Jesus is saying here is that many will claim to be servants promoting Jesus as the true Messiah, and yet they will still deceive many. Tom White certainly fits this bill and so we should ask big questions of the org that he built and left behind.Those who hide what they do and, as Michael wrote in that article, “are paranoid that their office is bugged” are walking in the clearest case of darkness. Repentance is an action. Ignoring signs of evil and moving on as if nothing happened is also clearly evil. Now is not the time to bury our heads in the sand and just pretend that the leaders of this org have proven that they are Godly men and trustworthy! Everyone that I personally know of who has once worked at VOM has had bad experiences, like myself. Good trees do not produce bad fruit. Jesus told us to judge by the fruit that is produced. We have a responsibility to judge and to inspect fruit. VOM is like a huge iceberg where only a tiny part is exposed and everything that has been exposed by God in the last 6 ½ years has been rotten. What does that mean we are to judge about the 99 percent that is still hidden under the surface? So I implore you to please change your plans and cancel this teaching series which I was told is supposed to start next week. Had I known anything about this further in advance, I would have written this same letter to you just that much earlier.
I pray that you will soberly consider all of the known facts and do, in the end, what is right in the sight of the Lord. This is not about me getting my way. In the end I want to see God’s will being done on this earth like it is in heaven. May you do what is right in His sight,Mr. Jesperson
Here is, in the words of Mr. Jesperson the “very polite blow-off response back from the church.” Pastor Wootton stated that he “personally believe[s] the new [VOM] leader has been tested and proved with integrity.”What Pastor Wootton bases his belief on is left unsaid, I would guess it was on the word of the VOM leader. Whatever he based his belief on would appear to have no basis in fact.From: Darryl WoottonSent: Thursday, October 11, 2018 4:45 PMTo: Mr. JespersonSubject: Re: The upcoming six week series on Wednesday nights taught by a current VOM employee…Mr. Jeperson,Thank you so much for your concern. I so regret any hurt that you went through at VOM.
We are aware of these very very painful chapters. I know everyone in the Body of Christ grieved.We have met with the new current leadership. I personally believe the new leader has been tested and proved with integrity. I am so thankful that when the evil one comes to steal, kill, and destroy, that Jesus comes to give to give life and give it more abundantly.We have many employees of VOM who are members of our church. Many of them are new. Some of them walked through the difficult times.We praise God for redemption and trust the Wednesday evening teaching will help our members understand what God is doing overseas. In October, we focus on World Missions. Our Assemblies of God Missions program is one of the largest in the world. We have 69 million adherents.God is so amazing.Again, thanks so much for expressing concerns. We are thankful for God’s mercy in our own lives, in the life of our church, and in the life of ministries.I paused and prayed for you and know God will heal your heart from these difficult fiery darts that must have pierced your soul. May God’s healing balm be with you today. May His forgiveness surround you and lead you into new great chapters for the Kingdom.Thanks again for sharing,GOD BLESS YOU!Darryl Wootton, D.Min
Lead Pastor
Spirit ChurchAs you can read below, Reformation Baptist Church, whom have followed this story very closely, would not agree with Pastor Wootton’s belief in the integrity of current VOM leadership. I would hope Pastor Wootton would avail himself of the facts and reassess his church’s position of allowing a VOM employee unhindered access to speak for six weeks to his congregation.Mr. Jesperson,
I’m not sure if you’ve seen it, but you may be interested in the information in our latest update regarding the situation in Nigeria. It contains information on how VOM USA (under the current leadership) is continuing to cover up what is going on on behalf of someone who is, by all evidence, a serial child molester, and how they have completely broken a promise that they made in past statements. You can read it here.
Thanks, Joshua Horn
Member at Reformation Baptist Church
Situation Update: Falsehoods from VOM USA
Reformation Baptist Church – Thursday, August 16, 2018We would also like to address new statements that VOM USA has made regarding this situation. They say that “Nigerian judge dismissed the charges against Rev. Newton-Wusu, citing that he ‘found no evidence against the accused.’ ” This statement is manifestly false on several accounts.
- They say, “VOM had already ceased supporting VOCM-Nigeria’s work when we became aware of these accusations.” This is completely false as is evident from the timeline of events in our Persecuting the Persecuted video.
- All charges against Isaac Newton have not been dismissed. This case was dismissed, likely through bribery, as we have explained in a previous update. But there are several other cases currently in the Nigerian courts where Isaac Newton is being prosecuted upon the suit of his victims. Those cases are still ongoing, and it is dishonest from VOM USA to imply that his name has been fully cleared.
- The only reason that this judge found no evidence against Isaac Newton is that he was unwilling to hear it. He did not hear from a single witness or victim before making his ruling. He also did not hear from the person in the prosecutor’s office who was given responsibility for the case or the government commission of high level officials in the Ogun state government that was assigned to look into the case and suggested that charges be filed.
Be sure that VOM USA is not in the dark about what is going on in Nigeria. They have staff on the ground who are surely aware of what has gone on. They have also certainly seen the videos from witnesses that we have posted. They are spreading a false and dishonest narrative that Isaac Newton has been found innocent. What do they say of the victims and witnesses who have boldly come forward to speak the truth even when they are being threatened with physical harm? They imply that their stories are lies. They are taking the word of a single judge who did not hear a single witness against a host of victims crying out for justice.The lies from VOM USA do not stop there. In posting their latest statement, they have replaced and removed a previous statement they made on the same issue, but still visible on the Internet Archive. In it they say, “VOM-USA has made a standing offer to pay all legal fees for any potential victim in Nigeria.” They have broken this promise. They have made no effort to meet this obligation by contacting the victims who have publicly identified themselves. While in Nigeria in January, 2018, a group from Reformation Baptist Church came to the VOM office in Nigeria and informed them that we had a list of names of victims and that the US office could contact us to arrange payment of their legal fees. We have heard nothing from them. On June 6th, 2018, a group of former students from the Stephen’s Center, including victims, also visited the VOM offices to ask them to meet this obligation. After saying that they would have to hear the girls stories alone, they never arranged a time so they have failed to do what they have publicly promised.In another section removed from their statement they said:VOM-USA will continue to cooperate fully with U.S. and Nigerian authorities in every way possible. It is our sincere hope that if criminal activities have occurred, the criminals will be brought to justice.Is this no longer true? Will they no longer cooperate with government authorities? Do they no longer hope that criminals will be brought to justice?If VOM USA has failed to keep a promise that they made publicly to pay for the victims’ legal fees, why can they be trusted when they say that they had no involvement the molestation that occurred? If they were not covering up the abuse, why haven’t they brought in independent investigators to report on VOM USA staff’s involvement as they promised us? When they say all charges against Isaac have been dismissed, are they calling the victims who have come forward liars?Below is the revised VOM statement on the sexual abuse of children in Nigeria. The Reformation Baptist Church addressed the false and misleading statements in this VOM statement and their document is directly above this one. Unmentioned by VOM is the fact that this statement replaced their original statement. The original statement is directly below this revised statement.Below is the original statement published by VOM on the sexual abuse of children in Nigeria.