About this archive
Potter’s House Cult documents what Christian Fellowship Ministries doesn’t make public, so members, former members and their families can check the record and decide for themselves.
Who we are
This archive was started in 2018 by former members of Christian Fellowship Ministries, the organization founded by Wayman Mitchell in Prescott, Arizona. Its churches go by The Potter’s House, The Door, Victory Chapel, Lighthouse and other names.
Most of us spent decades inside. We saw the same patterns repeat in different countries and different churches, and we saw how little of it was ever written down where outsiders could find it. This site is our answer: one place where the record is kept.
What we document
- Experiences. First-hand accounts from former members and their families.
- History. Letters, membership contracts and internal documents.
- Media. Newspaper reports, broadcasts and court coverage, from the 1980s to today.
- Theology. The teaching on authority, obedience and leaving, held up against Scripture.
How we work
One wrong fact costs more trust than ten right ones earn. These standards apply to everything we publish.
- Every claim has a source. A document, a news report, a court record or a named witness. Where possible we show the original.
- Allegations are called allegations. Court outcomes are reported exactly, including acquittals.
- We critique a system, not a faith. We write about an organization’s structure and documented conduct, never about the Christian faith itself.
- Private people stay private. We don’t publish identifiable minors, and we don’t publish photos of private individuals without consent.
- Errors are corrected openly. A correction is added to the article as a dated note.
If you are a current member
We have no quarrel with you. Many of us sat where you sit, for years. Our concern is an organization and the way it has treated people, not you and not your faith.
You may have been taught that reading criticism of your church is rebellion. Scripture warns against rebellion against God. It does not forbid asking questions about a church or its leaders.
Nothing here asks you to leave. Read the documents, check the sources and think about what you read. A question many former members once asked themselves: am I defending Christianity, or am I defending the organization?
Independent, and not a help desk
No church, sponsor or interest group pays for this archive or shapes what it publishes. The site doesn’t take messages or collect stories. Former members talk with each other in the community on Reddit and Facebook.