After a wave of run-ins on campus and throughout town, many students have been fearful of a new “God the Mother Church” group, which is falsely rumored to be a sex-trafficking scheme.
The group has begun to approach people on Texas A&M’s campus while also going door-to-door to invite them to their new “God the Mother Church,” a nickname for the World Mission Society Church of God, the South Korean-based global church. The rumor that the religious group is tied to sex trafficking goes back to 2018 when viral social media posts began circulating across college campuses, including Ole Miss and Georgia State.
The week of Feb. 6, Aggieland also fell victim to the rumors after several students were approached by church members on and off campus. One GroupMe post by biomedical engineering senior Corinne Petersen, which has spread across various social media platforms, details an uncomfortable encounter. While working at an art gallery in the Memorial Student Center, Petersen said in the post that she was approached by two women in their mid-20s who invited her to study the Bible with “God the Mother Church” and asked for her phone number.
“I had a weird feeling so I told one of my friends, and she told me that she has heard of people preaching ‘God the Mother,’ [but is rumored to be] tied to sex trafficking,” Petersen said in her post.
After hearing from her aunt that this was also happening at Baylor University and was rumored to be tied to sex trafficking, Petersen reached out to the University Police Department, or UPD. Since her post in the GroupMe, the Waco Police Department has released a statement saying there are no ties to sex trafficking, according to the Baylor Lariat.
On Tuesday, Jan. 18 around 1:30 p.m., psychology junior Abby Morris said she had a similarly uncomfortable experience meeting members of the church while sitting on a bench near the Psychology Building. Morris said she was also approached by two women around her age as an invitation to Bible study, and they asked for her phone number and other information regarding her denomination.
“I felt a little weird about it,” Morris said. “I also wasn’t looking to join a Bible study, but they just kept asking me all these questions and they asked me to come to a meeting.”
Morris said she urges students to be cautious while on campus and if they are interested in joining a Bible study group to ask questions before attending events and to see if they are affiliated with the university.
UPD Lt. Bobby Richardson said in a statement to The Battalion that the department has received six reports from students who have been contacted by individuals claiming to be associated with the “God the Mother Church.”
“It was reported to UPD that the organization has ties to human trafficking,” Richardson said in his statement. “Based on our investigation, there is no evidence to link the group to human trafficking and no criminal offense occurred on campus.”
However, Richardson said if individuals are or know someone who is a victim of human trafficking to report it to the police immediately.
Additionally, individuals can reach out to the 24-hour National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP or INFO to 233733.