I thought I lived a normal life at 40, I realized I was in a notorious cult-like church and ran away

Ryan Carey had no idea that his seemingly normal upbringing in a sleepy suburb about an hour from Melbourne was anything but typical.His parents were members of a notorious and secretive Pentecostal cult-like church that preached doomsday prophecies and controlled every aspect of its followers’ lives.His father was its founder Noel Hollins’ right-hand man.As a kid, Carey was largely isolated from society, which he was taught was plagued by evil and controlled by the devil.Instead of sports and video games, his free time was spent dutifully preparing for the looming end of the world.He knew no different, having been born into the Geelong Revival Centre.Six years ago, Carey, now 46, fled a lifetime of brainwashing and coercion and was shunned by his former church “brothers and sisters” as a result.He has recently begun sharing his experiences inside the “damaging and dangerous” sect, and shining a light on its “evil” leader.Hollins ran the Geelong Revival Centre for 65 years, preaching about an imminent Armageddon and brainwashing his followers into believing he was one of God’s apostles and that his was the “one true church”.He loomed large – literally, standing at two metres tall and possessing a booming baritone voice, and spiritually, ruling with an unwavering iron fist.But rather than merely sharing fringe interpretations of Christianity, those who escaped his clutches over the years say Hollins was a power-hungry monster who destroyed their lives.As a kid, Carey spent a minimum of eight hours a week worshipping inside the nondescript headquarters of the cult-like church.“Every six weeks, we’d spend 11 hours straight praying and listening to [sermons], no eating.There was a two-and-a-half week camp at the end of the year.”Followers were forbidden from celebrating Christmas and birthdays were a modest affair, if marked at all, so there wasn’t a lot of joy to be found.“He preached a lot of hate and fear,” Carey said.

“He hated...