House church movement described as a sect – investigated by the FBI for abuse

Right now, a movement that has no official name, but that was previously registered with the Swedish Tax Agency under the name Christians in Sweden, is being shaken by revelations of a large number of sexual abuses in several countries.

Dagen has spoken with former members, who describe the fellowship as a sect, and with representatives of the movement in Sweden.

In June 2022, a man named Dean Bruer dies in a hotel room in Oregon in the northwestern United States. The 67-year-old has no family of his own and at first the death does not attract much attention. But nine months later, the “members” of a Christian group that lacks written doctrines, an official name, and a clear organizational structure are informed that Dean Bruer committed repeated sexual abuses.

Evidence of this is said to have been found on Dean Bruer’s mobile phone and laptop.

“Dean was a sexual perpetrator. We never respect or defend such completely inappropriate behavior among us. There is a very strong consensus among us that the only thing we can do, for obvious reasons, is to be transparent with all of you, even though this is very difficult,” the message reads.

The letter is signed by Doyle Smith, who is responsible for the group’s activities in the U.S. states of Idaho and Oregon.

The cell phone was not handed over

But the need for transparency described in the letter turns out not to apply to the local police department. According to the AP news agency, it is only after two women with a background in the group contact Doyle Smith and put pressure on him that he hands over the laptop to the police. By that time, however, the browser search history had been cleared, the Apple ID changed, and files moved from the Dropbox account.

Artikeln på svenska: Husförsamlingsrörelse beskrivs som en sekt – utreds av FBI för övergrepp

“What web history was on the laptop that someone did not want others to know about?” detective Jeffrey Burlew notes in a police report, according to AP.

At the same time, Dean Bruer’s cell phone is never handed over to the police, and the function that makes it possible to locate the phone is turned off.

Since no evidence of a crime can be found, the investigation is ultimately closed. Private investigator Cynthia Liles – and many others who have left the group and who have long warned about sexual abuse within the movement – refuse, however, to give up, and the revelation about Dean Bruer becomes a catalyst for the struggle.

They take the initiative to set up a so-called hotline (a phone number where individuals can call anonymously to report abuse) and a website where abuse can also be reported. In addition, several Facebook groups are started.

In February 2024, the United States federal law enforcement agency, the FBI, announces that an investigation has been launched – it is still ongoing today, and at the moment the group is also being investigated in several other countries, including Canada and New Zealand.

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The second half of the 19th century is an eventful period in the British Isles. The holiness movement, built on the teaching of the priest and founder of Methodism John Wesley, is celebrating major successes while there are also considerable tensions. In 1896, for example, the evangelist William Irvine (1863–1947) arrives from Scotland to Ireland, and it does not take long before he begins to preach that true preachers can neither have a home nor receive a salary, something that many find very provocative.

He also places great emphasis on the story in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus sends out the disciples two by two. According to William Irvine, this is the only correct way to spread the gospel – something that still characterizes the international movement whose Swedish branch was registered as Christians in Sweden from 1992 to 2001. These preachers, who are called workers, are also expected to live in celibacy. Other distinctive features of the movement include a reluctance to create formal hierarchy and structure, to use written/printed material (with the exception of the Bible and hymnbooks), to register with public authorities, and not least to have any established name.

The latter, incidentally, causes quite a bit of trouble when the movement is to be described. Internally, the term “fellowship” is often used, but there are also several other designations, including: The Truth and The Way. Among outsiders and former members, Two by Twos, or 2x2, referring to how the preachers travel, is commonly used, but this has never been accepted by those who are active in the movement.

The movement came to Sweden in the early 1900s when a number of foreign workers were active in various parts of the country.

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On Sunday, February 15, 2026, about twenty people gather in a premises in Skärholmen in southern Stockholm, where Dagen is also present. In the days before, Gordon Chambers, who is responsible for the work in Sweden, and his colleague Davis Sorenson have walked around the area handing out flyers with an invitation to “An hour with the Bible.”

Twice each week, on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, those who are part of the fellowship gather in each other’s homes for Bible studies and worship services, so-called fellowship meetings. But the gatherings on Sunday evenings, called public or evangelical meetings, are open to everyone.

Davis Sorenson extends a welcome and then a song is sung from the book that has been handed out (some have brought their own copies). “O, let us look to Jesus, for he has walked the road that leads us on to glory, yes, he has reached the goal!”, the gathered join in. After a prayer another song is sung before Davis Sorenson shares a reflection based on the parable of the seed that falls into the ground from Matthew 13. Davis Sorenson alternates between Swedish and English. 

Then the first verse of the well-known song Tell me the story of Jesus is sung – as with the previous songs it is done completely a cappella, but a few people add harmonies. Then it is Gordon Chambers’ turn to share a reflection from Acts 10, which describes the meeting between Peter and Cornelius. Unlike Davis Sorenson, Gordon Chambers speaks only in Swedish, but after the two final verses of Tell me the story of Jesus have been sung, he prays a short prayer in English and ends the gathering by welcoming everyone back next Sunday.

“We will be here for two more weeks. Then we might move to Åland for a while,” he says.

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For decades, former members in various countries have claimed that the movement is a sect, partly because many are born into it, that virtually all marriages take place within the movement, and that most gatherings are aimed only at “members.” Many also say that it is difficult to voice criticism and that people who have left the movement are not allowed to have contact with those who remain.

There have also long been allegations of sexual abuse – something that authorities and various media outlets seriously began to notice after the widely reported death in Oregon in 2022.

Critics claim that a fundamental problem is that the workers often live in the homes of people who are part of the fellowship and who, in good faith, open their homes. There, in secret, sexual abuse can be committed. According to critics, workers have over the years been moved around to cover up abuse – the fact that Dean Bruer was active in at least seven countries and even more regions during his lifetime is, according to critics, one example of exactly this.

Broken ties

Dagen has been in contact with a number of former members who have good insight into the movement’s activities in Sweden and the other Scandinavian countries. None of them want to speak on the record, but anonymously they give a not very positive picture of the international movement:

“If you go against the church, if you say something against the church, then you are excommunicated in pretty much the same way as the Mormons. They cut the ties quickly and your family often turns their back on you,” says a former active member who does not hesitate to describe the fellowship as a sect.

Another person nuances the picture a bit and says there is a big difference in how families act.

“It is true that some break off contact just like Jehovah’s Witnesses. But not all, and personally I still have good contact with parts of my family.”

“A very exclusive group”

One person who has actually gone public with his criticism is 79-year-old Edgar Massey. Like many others, he was born into the movement and in the 1990s he had a central role in Sweden. But on a blog he has described how he was excluded in 2001 after questioning, among other things, how sexual abuse was handled and how money was reported. In 2011 his daughter was also interviewed in Aftonbladet about growing up in the movement, which she consistently described as a sect. In the article she said that she had been “robbed” of her childhood.

When the people Dagen has been in contact with describe what made them start questioning their own context, there is a common thread – contact with the outside world.

“We are a very exclusive group. If you don’t come to our church and listen to our preachers and meet our people, you are considered lost. Only we are going to heaven. But when I got older I met some wonderful Christian people and I thought that it’s impossible that they are not going to heaven,” one person says.

“We have been raised to believe that the world is a scary place and that you should not mingle with the world or worldly people. For that reason our view of the world is very narrow,” the person continues.

Felt guilty

Another person says that in their twenties they were told by a friend that this friend had been subjected to sexual abuse while growing up.

“At that time my attitude was basically ‘move on with life.’ But when I became a parent several years later I could no longer keep those thoughts away. I felt guilty about how I had thought before and started to raise the problems with workers, but the reaction was that we should not talk about it,” the person tells Dagen.

The person believes there is an obvious explanation as to why sexual abuse is such a major taboo:

“The culture of us being the right and perfect way means that there cannot be anything wrong. And if there is still something wrong we have to pretend that nothing is happening.”

The person adds that the requirement of celibacy reinforces the culture of silence.

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One and a half weeks after the gathering in Skärholmen, I meet Gordon Chambers and Davis Sorenson again. Both of them grew up in the movement, but while 57-year-old Gordon moved from Ireland to Sweden at the end of the 1990s, 31-year-old Davis came here from Finland last year. Today they make up one of the two worker couples in Sweden (the other consists of two women).

In line with the movement’s interpretation of Jesus’ teaching on missionary work, Gordon and Davis are often on the road. Davis has been keeping statistics ever since he started as an evangelist a little over two years ago and so far he has moved about 140 times between more than 50 unique locations.

One of the first questions during the interview is how they want the movement to be referred to.

“We talk about our fellowship, our congregation, when we talk about each other,” Davis says.

“But when someone else is going to talk about us, it becomes difficult,” he continues.

Gordon adds that “fellow believers” is sometimes used to describe other people in the fellowship. He explains the lack of a formal name by saying that “there is no name given in the Bible.”

“Some might think we do not have a name because we want to keep the whole thing a bit secret. But that is not the reason. We just do not feel at peace about taking a name.”

When asked if there is any recurring misconception about the fellowship, Gordon still answers that it is that “we are a bit secretive.”

“We absolutely do not want to be that.”

At the same time, it is hard to completely shake the feeling that there is still something secretive about the fellowship. “It would be interesting to hear how you got hold of me!!” Gordon wrote, for example, in his first message after Dagen contacted him.

Previously registered

According to Gordon, the fact that the Swedish branch of the fellowship was previously registered with the Swedish Tax Agency is due to purely practical reasons, but he does not mourn that Christians in Sweden ceased to exist 25 years ago.

“Even if some things would be easier if we were registered today, I do not, considering how Jesus’ simple disciples went out, want to be registered unless I have to.”

The former “members” that Dagen has been in contact with have, as mentioned earlier, emphasized that the fellowship has an exclusive view of itself: they are the ones who have the right doctrine and who can count on a heavenly eternity.

How do you actually view people who are part of other churches and who call themselves Christians?

“We see the way we go out as the right way,” Gordon answers.

“We try to follow the pattern that we read about, what Jesus did from the beginning. And if it was perfect then, why wouldn’t it be perfect today as well?”

“We have our convictions, which are personal of course, and it’s not our place to judge someone else’s conviction, that’s between them and God. But we feel that we have a strong conviction specifically about what it says in the Bible and how you should live your life because of what it says in the Bible,” Davis says.

Not saved as a group

Regarding the earlier question about whether there is any recurring misconception about the fellowship, Gordon adds that “there may be some who say that we judge others.”

“But we don’t.”

At the same time, Gordon and Davis emphasize that no one is saved as part of a group, but that it is something that happens between God and a person.

“But when you have come to faith, we think that you will want fellowship with others who have had a similar experience,” Gordon says.

And then you think that the fellowship you have to offer is the best?

“We aim for what we see in the Bible and want to do it in the right way,” Gordon replies.

And with that we move on to the topic of sexual abuse within the fellowship.

“Unfortunately, several among us have strayed quite far from the pattern,” says Gordon.

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In mid-February, the British BBC reported that Cynthia Liles and her colleagues had received just over 1,100 allegations of sexual abuse. Cynthia Liles, who is in contact with the FBI, told the BBC at the same time that roughly 75 convictions have been handed down so far.

Dagen has also been in contact with Cynthia Liles and her colleagues, and according to their records at least five accused foreign workers visited Sweden in the years 2000–2007. One worker who has confessed to child sex offenses also visited Sweden as recently as 2017.

None of those Dagen has been in contact with state that they have heard of any concrete suspicions of sexual abuse in Sweden.

“But I believe it has happened. And I know that abuse has occurred in Scandinavia, especially in Norway,” says one of the former members to Dagen.

How much do you talk about the sexual abuse cases that have become public in the United States and in other countries?

“Sometimes someone has mentioned it in our meetings. But outside our meetings we have talked about it a great deal; it is something we have lost a lot of sleep over,” says Davis, adding that many in Sweden have connections to the United States or other countries where the widely reported crimes have taken place.

“We know both victims and people who have chosen to stop being part of our fellowship because of it. So it is something that has been very much on our minds over the past two or three years.”

Would you say that almost everyone in the fellowship is affected by it in some way?

“Yes, almost everyone,” Davis replies.

There is also a clear link between Dean Bruer and Sweden. In the memorial text that was published in the United States after the American’s death, reference was made, among other things, to a greeting from Sweden where it was described that the name Dean Bruer reminded them of the Swedish expression “din broder” (“your brother”).

A recurring demand from people who are critical of how sexual abuse has been handled within the fellowship is that there should be written and transparent documentation for how abuse is to be dealt with.

Do you have an action plan here in Sweden, and have you talked about how you who have leadership roles should act if similar accusations arise here?

“Yes, we have talked about it. If it concerns, for example, a child, you go to social services, otherwise to the police. The written plan we have is not very detailed and does not spell out exactly what should be done in every type of case; the main thing is that we take it to the authorities as quickly as possible,” Davis says.

According to Gordon, the issue has among other things been discussed ahead of the fellowship’s annual summer conference in Sweden, when families with children have been specifically involved. Gordon says that they “want to promote an open dialogue,” and he explains that information about revelations abroad has also been posted on noticeboards during the conferences together with their action plan.

“There we have expressed that we are very disappointed about what has happened and that we distance ourselves from everything.”

In one way, the ongoing crisis within the fellowship has led to several concrete changes. Before visits by workers and members from abroad, for example, the leadership in Sweden now checks with those responsible in other countries whether there are any suspicions against the visitors. In addition, the leadership in Sweden now asks all foreign preachers to complete some form of child protection training before they arrive in Sweden.

“We ourselves have taken a Swedish course called Barnafrid and an American one called MinistrySafe, and I have also taken a course in Ireland,” says Gordon.

Today it is easy to search the internet to see whether any worker has been accused of sexual abuse. Do you also make use of this option before foreign visits?

“I sometimes check online, but it is difficult to trust some information, especially anonymous accusations. We expect an honest answer when we put the question to those responsible in other countries about suspicions concerning visitors,” Gordon replies.

The people Dagen has been in contact with – and many other critics as well – believe that the tradition of workers staying in private homes is a major reason why sexual abuse has been able to occur. One person compares it with abuse that has been exposed in other religious groups and notes that there are similarities.

“But what is unique about the 2x2 fellowship is that the work depends on the generosity of its members, living together with them as a lifestyle,” the person tells Dagen.

“What could possibly go wrong..?” the person continues sarcastically.

Davis tells Dagen that so far it has not become more difficult to be invited to stay in people’s homes in Sweden.

“But I have heard that some in the US no longer want visitors.”

“I know of a family with children in Ireland who do not want our traveling preachers staying with them. But they usually do not come to our meetings very much either; they have withdrawn because of all this,” Gordon adds.

Do you have any explanation for why sexual abuse seems to have been such a big problem in your circles?

“The conditions have been there, that is perhaps the simplest explanation I have. There have been opportunities and sometimes it has been swept under the rug. People have hushed it up, unfortunately,” says Davis.

Gordon mentions that the sexual abuse has been made possible by the fact that some workers—who often enjoy great trust in the fellowship—have, for unclear reasons, chosen to depart from the principle of traveling in pairs.

But shouldn’t everyone who opens their home to these preachers be able to trust that they will not abuse that trust?

“Yes, yes, yes,” Davis and Gordon reply.

“And what has happened and what has come to light has damaged that trust,” Gordon adds.

Can lead to something good

One of the former members that Dagen has spoken with says that the revelation of Dean Bruer’s sexual abuse opened a door and that people suddenly started talking about abuse in the fellowship that had been silenced “for many, many, many years.”

“The church has shaped us not to report, not to say anything and to tolerate quite a lot.”

The person is not impressed, however, with how those responsible for the movement in different countries have handled the crisis. They describe the steps that have been taken as “minimal.”

According to Davis and Gordon, there is no doubt that the ongoing police investigations can lead to something good. Davis refers to Romans 13 and Titus 3, where it speaks about submitting to authorities, rulers, and government agencies.

“Authorities have power for a reason, and they are the ones we should go to. It is best for everyone. It is best for society. It is best for the victims. It is best for our congregation and it is best for the perpetrator, who gets a chance to repent. We believe that God is the righteous judge and that he will judge everything correctly. But if things can be judged correctly already in this life, that is even better.”