Two young missionaries of a recently established church say they want to set the record straight on reports of them being a cult church.

Sandra Leau and Josephine Beer, who flew into Samoa 3-4 months ago from New Zealand and are members of the New Heaven New Earth Church of Jesus, told Samoa Observer in an interview on Monday that there's been press coverage in recent months linking the Zion Christian Mission Centre with a church accused of being a cult in New Zealand.

They said the Zion Christian Mission Centre which is based at Lotopa is a part of the New Heaven New Earth Church of Jesus whose establishment was inspired by scripture, specifically the Book of Revelations Chapter 21.

“There has been talking about Zion Mission Center being a cult, we are separate from that because that is the name of our theological college, our doctrine is bible based,” said Ms. Leau.

Ms. Beer added that their church has one pastor and there is a "misunderstanding that their pastor is Jesus", which is why they needed to make a statement on the issue. 

“We have one pastor and there is a misunderstanding that the pastor is Jesus and we would like to debunk that and clarify that he is not Jesus himself," she said. "But the messenger that we believe is stated in Revelations Chapter 22 verse 8 who has seen and heard the testimony of the fulfilment of revelations."

The two missionaries believe that the problem of their church being viewed as a cult was probably due to a former pastor "portraying himself to be Jesus" and they urged the public in Samoa to check with their church in Lotopa before making assumptions. 

Ms. Leau added that it is important for the public to discuss issues like this in order for them to ascertain the facts.

“We really want to encourage Samoans that if they have questions, to come to our events where we are open to sharing and clarifying because that’s what is important, communicating and discussing. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion."

When asked if their church had an "aggressive approach" in their evangelisation programs, the two missionaries said "they had a passion" to preach the word of God, which is often misinterpreted. 

“We are very passionate about evangelism because we believe in salvation, why wouldn’t you be passionate if you believe in Heaven and Hell? People have their own opinions and they are entitled to how they view things,” Ms. Leau said. “We expect not to be the popular and favoured opinion but in contrast to that we can also definitely say that the Zion Mission Center has expanded regardless of the pandemic, despite the persecution. 

"If it wasn’t of God it should fail and there is a scripture in Acts that reads, if it’s of God it should prevail.”

In March this year, this newspaper published a story on the establishment of the Zion Christian Mission Centre in Samoa. The regional instructor of the church's theological school, Mareko Taafua convened a press conference to introduce the church and advised that they had their first bible class in late January this year with about 40–50 students who joined online and in person.

However, former members of Zion Christian Mission Centre in New Zealand have accused the church of being a cult and contacted the Samoa Observer in March 2023, alerting this newspaper to New Zealand media reports published between November and December 2022 based on the testimonies of the former church members. 

When this newspaper approached Mr. Taafua for comment to respond to allegations of his church being a cult, he said "the standard of truth" will always be the bible.

“We know the stories that are out there and what people are saying about us but the standard of truth is always going to be the bible," Mr. Taafua said. "A cult is an organization that spreads falsehood, and even in the time of the first coming the disciples, apostles, and martyrs were called cults.”