50. From Cult Survivor to Child Advocate: Part 2 (Kim Kelley's Story)

CW: This episode contains discussion of childhood abuse, cult involvement, exploitation of minors, and human trafficking.

Kim Kelley was raised inside one of the most infamous high-control cults of the 20th century, formerly known as the Children of God and later rebranded as The Family International. Raised largely by the community rather than her mother, who was a high-ranking leader, Kim grew up in an environment where abuse, manipulation, and exploitation were normalized and reality itself was shaped by indoctrination. As she explains, when you are raised in a cult, you do not know anything else. Red is blue and blue is red.

As a child and young teen, Kim spent years on the streets of Houston fundraising for the cult, unseen and unprotected. In this episode, she shares how she eventually escaped, unlearned the world she was raised in, and built a life beyond survival. Today, Kim works to combat human trafficking by training law enforcement to recognize red flags and better protect vulnerable children.

Note: This episode discusses how sexuality and LGBTQ+ identities were used as tools of control within a cult. The perspectives shared are fully affirming of LGBTQ+ people and communities and are intended to highlight hypocrisy, abuse of power, and harm within high-control systems.

Kim’s website: ⁠http://TheKimKelley.com⁠

Kim’s TikTok: ⁠http://tiktok.com/@thekimkelley⁠

Kim’s Instagram: ⁠http://instagram.com/the_kim_kelley⁠

Kim’s Non-profit:

⁠DigitalDefendersUnited.org⁠

⁠https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalDefendersUnitedInc⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/digitaldefendersunited⁠

⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@digitaldefendersunited⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/DigitalDefendersUnited/⁠

⁠https://x.com/DDUnonprofi⁠

Patreon: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/Healedish⁠⁠

Follow for more:

Jubilee’s TikTok: ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@jubileedawns⁠⁠

Jubilee’s IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/jubileedawns⁠⁠

Healed-ish TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@healedishpodcast⁠⁠

Healed-ish IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/healedishpodcast⁠⁠ Apply To Share Your Story: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://forms.gle/23f8SPBX1VntsqUU8⁠⁠

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(77)

74. What Purity Culture Never Taught Us About Women's Bodies | ft. Azriél Patricia & Dr. Ashley Jeanius

Did purity culture leave you with more questions than answers about your body? In this episode, I sit down with Azriél Patricia and Dr. Ashley Jeanius for an honest conversation about women's health,...

23 Kesä 1h 1min

73. Raised Pentecostal: Hell, Healing, and Heartbreak (Bailee’s Story)

Bailee was raised as a pastor's kid in the Pentecostal church, where speaking in tongues, prophecies, and miraculous healing were part of everyday life. She was taught that God always wants to heal, s...

16 Kesä 1h 49min

72. God Told Me To Marry Him (Ashley’s Story)

*Content warning: emotional abuse, animal abuse*Ashley, co-host of Praise Be To Pod, didn't grow up deeply religious. After attending youth camps as a teenager, she dove headfirst into evangelical Chr...

9 Kesä 1h 43min

71. Reclaiming Testify to Love (Michael Passons' Story)

Michael Passons spent years as a member of Avalon, one of the most successful groups in Christian music. In this episode, he shares his journey from breaking into the industry and rising to fame, to n...

2 Kesä 1h 11min

70. A Bill Nye Debate Sparked My Deconstruction: Part 2 (David's Story)

In this episode, I’m joined by David from Deep Drinks. After a powerful encounter with God, he became a youth pastor at just 19, but being pushed out of ministry led him into a season of questioning e...

26 Touko 1h 14min

69. A Bill Nye Debate Sparked My Deconstruction: Part 1 (David's Story)

26 Touko 59min

68. When Everything Stopped Being Black and White (Stephanie Stalvey's Story)

In this episode, I’m joined by author and artist Stephanie Stalvey to talk about growing up in the church, navigating purity culture, and what it looks like to begin questioning the beliefs you were t...

19 Touko 1h 6min

67. From Megachurch Pastor to Skeptic Pastor (Jeremy Steele's Story)

When Jeremy Steele was a growing up, a woman at church told him God wanted him to become a pastor. From that moment on, he devoted his life to Christianity, eventually attending seminary, becoming a y...

12 Touko 1h 36min