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Bodies Behind The Bus

Bodies Behind The Bus

Bodies Behind The Bus 136 Episodes Sep 17, 2026

Bodies Behind The Bus is a podcast that features the voices of spiritual abuse survivors. It began with stories from the Acts 29 network and has since expanded to include accounts from many other organizations. The show explores experiences of abuse, gaslighting, manipulation, and betrayal within religious contexts. Survivors share how their stories were stolen and their voices suppressed, and the podcast aims to help them reclaim their narratives. It emphasizes that being discarded or harmed is not the gospel.

Episodes

Skyla's Story / YWAM Kona, HI
Skyla's Story / YWAM Kona, HI Sep 17, 2026 6022 Skyla shares her story of serving on a team called End Bible Poverty Now at Youth With A Mission's (YWAM) Kona campus in Hawaii, where she pushed leadership to support outreach to deaf communities. When she raised the issue, she was accused of being rude for crying and told she needed more discipleship. Skyla describes being tested, gaslit, and slowly pushed off her team, all while a separate
Shelby's Story / YWAM / Switzerland / Pt. 2
Shelby's Story / YWAM / Switzerland / Pt. 2 Sep 11, 2026 5826 Shelby returns to finish her story of leaving Youth With A Mission (YWAM) after almost 20 years. Two friends she trusted rise to lead her base, and when she raises concerns about how they treat people, she is accused of attacking them. She is pushed off a program she built, then invited onto their leadership team to quiet her down instead. She takes a sabbatical during the pandemic and starts nami
Shelby's Story / YWAM / Switzerland / Pt. 1
Shelby's Story / YWAM / Switzerland / Pt. 1 Sep 10, 2026 5473 Shelby joins us to share her story of almost 20 years with Youth With A Mission (YWAM), a Christian missions group with bases in nearly every country. She signs up at 24 to earn a counseling degree, hoping to help missionaries get better care. Instead, she is pushed to share painful secrets with strangers, watches a visiting speaker ask young women to sit on his lap for healing, and lives under a
Intro To Stories From YWAM: Loren Cunningham And The Seven Mountain Mandate (Updated)
Intro To Stories From YWAM: Loren Cunningham And The Seven Mountain Mandate (Updated) Sep 8, 2026 2252 In this episode, Jay and Johnna introduce a new series featuring first hand stories from Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Before the storytellers share what happened to them, we take a step back and look at the roots. We cover who Loren Cunningham was, the Assemblies of God upbringing that shaped him, and how YWAM grew from a beach vision into a network of thousands of bases around the world with no c
ATBS "American Dominion: The Rise and Radicalization of a New Christendom" w/ Keri Ladner
ATBS "American Dominion: The Rise and Radicalization of a New Christendom" w/ Keri Ladner Aug 19, 2026 3073 Keri Ladner is the author of American Dominion: The Rise and Radicalization of a New Christendom. Her book traces the roots of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and Dominion theology in the United States. She began her research while studying the Columbine shooting and how it was later used to build the martyr myths tied to this movement. Ladner also writes about these topics on Substack.America
Bel's Story / Sydney Anglican Diocese
Bel's Story / Sydney Anglican Diocese Jul 22, 2026 5081 Bel joins us from Australia to share her story of growing up in a church in the Sydney Anglican Diocese. When she was six, she nearly died in an accident at church. Soon after, her family moved to a new church led by a man we call Rev T. He called himself a counselor and claimed he could help people no doctor could. Bel describes a community shaped by control, fear, and the constant feeling of bei
Jane's Story / Chi Alpha / Assemblies of God
Jane's Story / Chi Alpha / Assemblies of God Jul 1, 2026 3457 In this episode, our storyteller Jane shares her years inside Chi Alpha, the college campus ministry of the Assemblies of God (AG). What began as a warm, welcoming community slowly turned into something else. Jane describes the pressure to lead, the strict rules over her time, friendships, money, and even her food and health, and the spiritual control that kept her silent for years.She walks us th
Michelle’s Story / IN
Michelle’s Story / IN May 8, 2026 5119 Michelle shares her story of serving on staff at a church in Indiana, where subtle control, blurred pastoral authority, financial pressure, and spiritual manipulation slowly became clear over time. Her story names the confusion of being labeled, silenced, and pushed to question herself while navigating deep personal and family crisis. Through telling the truth, Michelle begins reclaiming the voice
Katie’s Story / The Austin Stone
Katie’s Story / The Austin Stone Apr 17, 2026 6204 Katie shares her story of growing up in a highly controlled religious environment, entering a young marriage shaped by strict gender roles, and spending years overseas as a missionary. Through the pressures of ministry, isolation, and motherhood, she began to recognize patterns of emotional and spiritual harm in her life. This episode follows her journey of unraveling those beliefs, finding her vo
Katherine's Story / Austin Stone Church
Katherine's Story / Austin Stone Church Apr 3, 2026 4056 Katherine shares her journey from a young missionary sent overseas to confronting the realities of faith, sacrifice, and survival. Raised in the church and driven by a deep sense of purpose, she and her husband moved to the Middle East in their early twenties, navigating cultural barriers, personal risk, and the complexities of mission work. After experiencing trauma, health crises, and the unrave
Dominique's Story / The Austin Stone
Dominique's Story / The Austin Stone Mar 19, 2026 4817 Dominique shares her experience at The Austin Stone, where she became deeply involved in church life, missions, and leadership development as a young woman. In this episode, she reflects on the pressure, isolation, racial dynamics, and harmful church culture she encountered, and why telling the truth about those experiences matters.Support the show
Alicia's Story / OH
Alicia's Story / OH Mar 5, 2026 5759 Alicia served for years as both a volunteer leader and staff member at a growing non-denominational church in Ohio. After becoming deeply involved in ministry and church leadership, she began noticing troubling patterns within the church’s culture and leadership structure. In this episode, Alicia courageously shares her story and reflects on the impact spiritual manipulation can have on individual

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