Our Journey - Life After GO Ministries International

This is the third and final episode from Randi's Journey that she has shared with us. This episode specifically talks about her time as a leader in GO Ministries International as well as her life when she decided to leave. We now have a YouTube channel that we will be uploading episodes to with subtitles and sharable clips from the episode! Our Journey Podcast Youtube

This is part two of a three part series of Randi's journey. If you haven't listened to part 1, I highly recommend you go back to watch it. This episode deals with death of a loved one. Please take care while listening. Moving forward, episodes will be released as they are recorded instead of on a schedule. Subscribing and following our socials are great ways to make sure you don't miss an episode! www.ourjourneypodcast.com https://www.tiktok.com/@ourjourneypod https://www.instagram.com/ourjourneypod/ https://www.facebook.com/ourjourneypodcast

Randi was involved with GO Ministries International for over a decade. Her uncle, Steve Munds, founded GMI, she started touring with them at 9-years-old as a summer intern. She then officially joined as soon as she graduated high school and stayed for 6 years. Her immediately family was all involved in GMI and have since left. Don't forget to come back next week for Part 2. See more of Our Journey at www.ourjourneypodcast.com https://www.tiktok.com/@ourjourneypod https://www.instagram.com/ourjourneypod/ https://www.facebook.com/ourjourneypodcast

Victoria was an intern for one year from 2014-2015. She was part of GO during the same time as some of our previous guests including Shelbie, Christina, and Carissa. Victoria is so well spoken and articulates things that I think some of us have struggled to put into words. She also shares her experience as a woman of color and the racism she encountered. Check her out on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/itsyourgirlvic/ And her podcast, Tents and Tabernacles at https://open.spotify.com/show/4xvCjtpe5I3fX7WS5NfGKn?si=ddc93d180d2d4e4d You can always see more of Our Journey at https://www.instagram.com/ourjourneypod/ https://www.facebook.com/ourjourneypodcast https://www.ourjourneypodcast.com/

Kelsey was an intern from 2010-2012. Her second year she was on probation for 7 months for having a "lesbian spirit". Her episode is really raw and we get to process with her how the things that happened at GO Ministries Intl affected her even after leaving.

Josh and Krista are a married couple that dated before, during, and after their time in GO Ministries. Josh did a podcast episode that released last December and I recommend going back and listening to it if you haven't already because we do refer to some details he shared in that podcast. This episode really shows how the rules in GO really toyed with peoples lives.

Sarah was a GMI Intern from 2012-2014, their first years in Louisiana. She is a Type 1 diabetic which means her pancreas doesn't make enough insulin. During the internship she was put in multiple dangerous situations, at least one of which caused complications with her diabetes and put her near death. Our Journey is produced by Nekoda Renken Hosted by Mercedes J Special thanks to Rikki for running our social media. Don't forget to check us out on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok! If you'd like to help please tell Our Journey, please subscribe and rate our podcast!

That's right, 2.0!! This is episode is different from our usual format. As our first repeat guest, Carissa comes on to discuss Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan. We discuss what makes a cult, how GO Ministries International qualifies as a cult, and how we are processing all of this. Carissa was an intern from 2011-2014 and then a volunteer/staff from 2016 until being kicked out in 2017. Carissa and our host, Mercedes, joined GMI the same year. Also mentioned in this podcast: GOMinistries.net

Although Nate and I attended GO Ministries for two of the same years, we never really knew each other. His story is unique for multiple reasons. In this episode you'll hear him talk about his experience at GO while being on the Autism Spectrum, his experience in two different cults, and his stories of sexual assault and bullying. Don't worry, it's not all serious. He has some comical stories to share as well!

I know it's been a while but WE ARE BACK with more stories of Our Journey in a cult called GO Ministries International. We kick off this season of new stories with one of the sweetest women I know, Shelina. You will hear lots of giggling in this episode as it really just felt like two friends getting together and talking things out, which is exactly as it should be. Come back every other Tuesday for new episodes and visit our website for more info: www.OurJourneyPodcast.com

Jade was my roommate for a while my first year at GO Ministries. You'll hear me cry during the intro because after listening to this podcast I realized that because we both had to hide who we really were in order to fit the GO mold, we spent so much time together and never really knew each other. This session is heartbreaking because Jade is genuinely one of the sweetest people I know, and she was treated so poorly by GO Ministries leadership that it still has lasting effects a decade later.

This is our first anonymous podcast. There’s many reasons that someone might want to do an anonymous podcast, and at the beginning she explains her own reasonings. No matter if a name is attached or not, I think it is incredibly brave for someone to share their journey on a public podcast.  Our guest today was in GO Ministries for one year, Josh and Laci’s first year in leadership. It is hard to fathom some of the stuff that interns were made to do.  As always, please take care while listening.  

Today we will be hearing from Carissa. She joined GO Ministries the same year I did. Her story is extremely unique for many reasons, one being that she interned for 3 years, graduated and moved to Brazil to do mission work, then later came back to help the ministry as a “volunteer” and eventual staff member before being kicked out. She’s very open and honest with us about her journey and I am so thankful that she was willing to share her wild ride us. 

In this episode we hear from Josh L (not to be confused with Josh Bredahl who runs the ministry). He was an intern and staff member for a total of 4 years and left just a year before I joined. What's crazy is that as an intern, I didn't know about him even though he wrote a lot of the skits we learned. Josh's episode is unique because he tells us what it felt like to be a leader and the inner conflict that I believe a lot of the leaders must have dealt with. He also gets real with us while talking about difficulties after leaving GO Ministries International. I'm so thankful he shared his journey!

*This podcast does contain swear words* Jamieson is married to Merie who did our very first podcast interview! I recommend going back and listening to Merie's episode to hear more about their journey together. Jamieson's journey is unique from some of our past episodes because she was a "road kid". This means that she saw the Revival Tour Team at her church while she was still in school and really connected with them. Even as an intern that never traveled, I knew about Jamieson and her family! Her internship started just weeks after I left. It's so crazy to hear about how things were just a couple years after my own experience. Thank you, Jamieson, for sharing your journey!

Christina came to GO Ministries during my second year and stayed two years after I left, leaving in 2016. I love that Christina lives in the same state as me and also does media work, running her own company. She gets real with us in this podcast. She is also very careful to not share another interns story, but even without knowing all the details, it's easy to tell that what happened to her was manipulative and should not have happened. I'm glad that we could hear about her journey!

Shelbie graduated from GO Ministries in 2018, just two years ago. Her story is extremely unique as she had left GO for a year and a half and then went back. This episode does have some mature content and a possible trigger for survivors or sexual assault.

Tyler was a 3rd year intern when I joined GO Ministries International in 2011. We both left at the same time two years later. Tyler has a very unique way of looking at the world so his experience at and view of GO is different than some of the rest. I always viewed him as the smart guy. So, how does a smart guy get duped by a cult?

My name's Mercedes, and I joined a cult. Listen as my friend, Garrett, talks about her experience in the same cult. His view may be a little different because he is still on good terms with the leaders of GO Ministries International and just came to terms with what the experience was a few weeks ago.

My name's Mercedes, and I joined a cult. Listen as my friend, Leah, talks about her experience in the same cult. She talks about what it was like, why she stayed, and some of what she went through while there.

Welcome to "Our Journey" I'm your host, Mercedes. One time, I accidentally joined a cult. And now I'm here with my friends and ex-cult members to tell you about it!

Hello and welcome to “Our Journey” the podcast where you hear from those affected by GO Ministries International, the good, the bad, and the downright cult-like. Today we here from Merie, a past GO Ministries International intern and leader between 2009 and 2015. This is our first glimpse into the interworking of the Ministry. Our hope is to not only promote healing in other past interns who may have experienced similar pains and think that they are alone. We also are wanting to raise awareness so that no other interns are subjected to the same abuse by leadership.