Church of Wells

Not to be confused with Church of Wales.
Church of Wells
Church building in 2020
ClassificationNew Christian religious movement
OrientationFundamentalist Christian
TheologyRevivalist
ModeratorSean Morris, Jake Gardner, Ryan Ringnald
RegionWells, Texas
Origin2011
Wells, Texas
Members90
Other name(s)Church of Arlington
You Must Be Born Again (YMBBA) Ministries (both formerly)
Official websitethechurchofwells.com

The Church of Wells (formerly the Church of Arlington, or You Must Be Born Again (YMBBA) Ministries) is an American religious group considered by some to be a cult[1] located in Wells, Texas. The group is led by Sean Morris, Jacob Gardner, and Ryan Ringnald, former street preachers who are all in their early thirties. It has approximately ninety members,[2] many being young adults and children.

In 2004, Morris and Ringnald met as roommates at Baylor University. Both students met and made friends with Gardner as regulars of Antioch Community Church in Waco, Texas.[3] After attending Antioch Waco for several years, they left and founded the Church of Wells in 2011.[4]

The church and its members have been involved in several controversies such as the delayed reporting of a three-day-old infant's death. Many church members have engaged in disorderly and disruptive behavior such as disrupting a Lakewood Church service, which has led to some criminal charges and convictions. They believe this is consistent with biblical persecution. Accounts of individuals abandoning their families and former way of life, such as Catherine Grove, have led to the idea that the church could be an emerging cult. One man claimed he was kidnapped and drugged by the church; his story aired on the talk show Dr. Phil. In addition, one of the church's "side businesses", a sawmill, has faced numerous complaints and citations by OSHA due to unsafe working conditions and use of child labor.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference autogenerated2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ February 2014 0, Sonia Smith (January 10, 2014). "Sinners in the Hands". Texas Monthly. Retrieved February 23, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "The Younger Years of the Church Elders | Texas Monthly". March 11, 2014. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  4. ^ "Searching for Souls in Wells, Texas". The Texas Observer. November 26, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2020.