Em Thomas was born and raised in the dogmatic Christian cult The Way International. The daughter of a Way Corps graduate and WOW ambassador, Em attended a fellowship in her home three nights per week, monthly branch meetings with other leadership families, and prolonged stays semi-annually at TWI headquarters. Em’s family was labeled “Mark and Avoid” (excommunicated) in 1998, after which they attended fellowship within a splinter group until 2000 when Em was 15 years old.
Em has two main goals for sharing her story: to connect with other survivors of cultic abuse, especially second or third-generation survivors of The Way International, and to bring attention to this once well-known organization that is still operating and doing harm to its members today. She hopes that by telling her truth, she can bring hope to folks who are still finding their way out.
In this revealing conversation, Em shares publicly for the very first time her story of abuse, homophobia, and coercive control as a member of The Way International. She explains to Rachel how she struggled with her identity and sexuality growing up in the very unsafe, and predatory environment of the church and how that experience primed her for abusive relationships and self-harm as a teenager. Together Rachel and Em analyze the harmful dogma of the church, its fraudulent and plagiarized teachings, and the abusive culture of control, secrecy, and excommunication.
Before You Go: Rachel addresses the importance of fortifying bodily autonomy in young children and explains how high-control organizations often intentionally work to erase the natural boundaries of self-determination and physical sovereignty to assert total control over their followers and weaken resistance to abuse.
Em can be found on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/markandavoid/
You can contact her via email at: iammarkandavoid@gmail.com
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