Terrified teenagers kidnapped at gunpoint during FAKE armed raid on church group... to 'teach them about persecution of Christian missionaries'

Leaders at Glad Tidings Assembly of God conducted fake raid to teach youth group about religious persecution of Christian missionaries



Terrified teenagers forced into van and taken to pastor's house, where they saw him being 'tortured'

One 'kidnapper' was off-duty cop who used real gun

Police now investigating incident after girl, 14, issued a complaint



A church tried to teach its youth group a lesson by staging a raid in which unsuspecting teens were ‘kidnapped’ at gunpoint, forced into a van and made to watch one of their pastors being assaulted in his house.

The 'lesson,' according to pastors at the Glad Tidings Assembly of God in Middletown, Pennsylvania, was meant to teach them about what Christian missionaries are subjected to in other parts of the world.

However, a t least one girl, 14, was bruised and battered after the object lesson, and has now filed a complaint with the police.

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Raided: Leaders at the Glad Tidings Assembly of God staged a raid during a youth group meeting last week, but failed to tell the teens it was staged

Bruised: The girl, 14, said she was hurt during the raid, displaying purple bruises on her arms and legs

The girl, who has asked to remain anonymous, described her terror to abc27.com: 'They pulled my chair out from underneath me, and then they told me to get on the ground,' she told the station.

'I had my hands behind my back. They said, `Just do as I say, and you won't be hurt.'’

The girl said she and about 17 other teens were taken to the pastor's house, where it appeared he was being assaulted, covered in what looked to be blood.

Eventually, she said, the adults in charge revealed it was a staged event.

One of the two ‘kidnappers’ was an off-duty police officer who was carrying a real gun, according to abc27.com.

However, the gun was unloaded at the time of the raid.

The girl was shocked that no one told her and the rest of the youth group the raid was only a drill. 'They heard me crying,' the girl said. 'Why not right then and there tell us it was a joke, when you see me crying?'

Glad Tidings Assembly of God’s pastor, John Lanza, told the Associated Press that the church is 'so saddened' that the girl was traumatized at the Wednesday evening youth meeting.

Kidnapped: The teens were shoved into these church vans and driven to the pastor's house

Learning exercise: Pastor John Lanza said the staged abduction was meant to show them what sort of persecution Christians face in other parts of the world

But he said his intent was never harmful – instead, it was designed to prepare them for what they might encounter as missionaries.

Lanza didn't disclose the names of those involved but said the mock kidnappers included an off-duty police officer and a retired Army captain.

'It was a youth event, to illustrate what others have encountered on a regular basis,' he said, adding that the focus of the lesson was 'the persecuted church' in other countries.

Lanza said there were about 17 students at the meeting and the mock kidnappers covered the students' heads, put them in a van and interrogated them.

Neither the students nor their parents were told about the raid beforehand, he said, though it was discussed with the parents of one youth who might have health issues.

Lanza said the church has conducted similar events at least twice before, adding that 'there was much thought given to the safety aspect.'

'If anyone was ever uncomfortable, they would be removed' from the exercise, Lanza said, though part of the idea was to shock the students with the experience.

In the future: Lanza says: 'I would find a way that we could continue to keep the shock value,' he said, 'but I would find a way to inform the parents (beforehand)'

Lower Swatara Township police Chief Richard Wiley declined to comment until an investigation into the raid is complete. The names of the mother and daughter who complained haven't been made public.

There could be consequences if the teens didn't know what was going to happen and didn't agree to be a part of the event, Dauphin County First Deputy District Attorney Fran Chardo said.

CRUSADERS FOR CHRIST: DOING GOD'S WORK IN WAR ZONES

One security expert told the Associated Press that role-playing training is sometimes conducted 'at the quasi-military level' for groups that are going to work in war zones. Daniel Karson, chairman of business intelligence and investigations at Kroll, a worldwide risk consulting company with headquarters in New York, said the idea of conflict zone training 'is to acclimate someone to a possible situation that might arise.' The training might involve everything from what items they should take to the country to a review of who they're meeting and security conditions there, he said.

Tom Copeland, who studies international affairs and terrorism at Geneva College, a Beaver Falls school that emphasizes a 'Christian worldview,' questioned the wisdom of submitting a youth group to a mock kidnapping.

'It just seems inappropriate for that age group. You would think there would be permission from the parents,' Copeland said, adding that he's never heard of anything like that happening at a church.

He said that while there have been highly publicized episodes of violence directed against Christian missionaries in other countries, it seems those countries' local religious groups are more at risk.

Lanza said members of the church have made numerous mission trips overseas and have learned to be cautious. He said they were planning a trip to Mexico but reviewed current news and advisories and decided it was unsafe.

Lanza said he 'would love to' apologize to the girl and her mother but feels he can't until the police investigation is done.



He said the church wants to keep doing the program but would make changes.

'I would find a way that we could continue to keep the shock value,' he said, 'but I would find a way to inform the parents (beforehand).'

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