Chain of Command part 2

PRETEND

Javier Leiva

Society & Culture, True Crime, Technology

4.7 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2026

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Part one was about control. Part two is about the money. Behind the soul-winning and the sermons and the bylaws, the New Testament Christian Churches of America runs a very well-funded business. Tithing is tracked, enforced, and tied to your military paycheck. Fall behind and you go before the general board. Fall further behind and you lose your credentials. So where does the tithing money go? Church CEO Michael Kekel told his congregation they owed $25,000 a year in property taxes on the fellowship hall. But tax records tell a different story. The fellowship hall paid $9.65. The $25,000? That's the bill on a personal house in the name of Kekel's wife. In this episode: -Tracy Pelfrey, former NTCC member of 17 years -Bruce Smith, reporter, The Mountain News, who has covered NTCC for nearly two decades -Sarah DeJonghe, former Navy Seabee and NTCC ex-member -Archival recordings of R.W. Davis, founder of NTCC -Archival recordings of Michael Kekel, CEO of NTCC Next time on Pretend: Former members say that NTCC fosters a culture where adult men courting teenage girls isn't just tolerated — it's encouraged. That's next time. Listen to Part 3 now: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/pretendradio Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/pretend/id6443456985 If you or someone you know is currently serving in the military and feels pressured by a religious group or organization, you have options. The Military OneSource confidential helpline is available 24/7 at 1-800-342-9647. You can also reach out to your installation chaplain, who can provide confidential support across all faiths and no faith at all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	True Story Media.
0:07.5	Previously on Pretend, we introduced you to the New Testament Christian Churches of America,
0:17.3	a church that sets up shop outside military bases and recruits young service
0:23.6	members at their most vulnerable.
0:26.2	We heard from former members who say that the organization uses textbook cult tactics
0:30.8	like mind control, total isolation, financial control.
0:35.0	Tracy Pelfrey was one of those members. Here she is talking about the time
0:39.4	she turned herself over to God at a non-NTCC church.
0:45.3	I went to a church service with my brother and something happened that night. Something
0:52.6	really crazy happened and my life changed.
0:57.0	Tracy Pelfry was stationed in the Philippines in the 1980s. She was 25 when she was recruited by
1:05.0	NTCC. What I found was just a group of people that didn't put pressure on anybody. There was no pressure.
1:13.9	There was a lot of love and a lot of charity and a lot of reaching people and not like, let's go get them in church.
1:25.6	It wasn't about that. It was just about spreading the word.
1:30.4	Tracy says that growing up, she never wanted for anything. She grew up in an upper middle class home
1:35.5	with plenty of food, clothes. She had everything. But there was no love there. There was a lot of
1:41.3	abuse, verbal, physical abuse. And so to hear about this love,
1:48.9	unconditional love, I didn't know that. And I was surrounded now by new people who just liked me
1:57.9	and loved me just like as part of their fellowship of believers.
2:02.6	Tracy Pelfrey spent 17 years at NTCC, and she says that it wasn't always so culty.
2:11.6	I've been the staunch defender of the group. I'm uniquely qualified to understand both mindsets.
2:24.0	And I have compassion and understanding for those who are in.
	...

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