With the drama surrounding Dr Kevin Smith, the alleged cult Pastor of the Pathways International Kingdom restoration ministries, who was arrested alongside many of his church members in Montego Bay, spiralling into a nationwide controversy it seems as if more persons who were a part of the organization have been coming out, revealing the dark side of their Religious affairs.
One former male member of the church who spoke to the Jamaica Observer told them that the Pastor was very keen on financial matters as he usually keep a service at the beginning of the year called “First Fruits”, for his congregants to hand over their first paycheck received for the year, as well as one at the end of the year entitled “Don’t carry it over” which is self-explanatory in the context of money.
The former male congregant who recently came out to reveal the secret dealings of the church said he had to go through the experience for years, and he would see where at the start of the year the Pastor would shame individuals if the money was not satisfactory to him.
In consequence along with being shamed, the former male member said he would tell the persons who did not satisfy his money demands that they would have brought down death on their households, which his followers blindly believed because they thought he was a miracle worker who they have seen heal the blind, deaf, dumb and even people not able to walk.
It was even reported that when the Pastor did not get what he asked of his followers, he would scare them to believe that persons were out to kill them.
The man who gave the most recent update on the hidden activities of the church said that at the “Don’t carry it over” service, Smith would tell his congregants specifically how much money he wanted with the man stating that in the year 2019 he witnessed persons being asked for $219, $319 and amounts up to as much as $2019 US dollars.
These amounts according to the pastor were made according to the ex male congregant as payment for blessings since they thought the Pastor had prophetic capabilities, which could help them out of adverse situations.
The former male member of the church even described the extremeness of the situation he and others endured, by letting the news know that it was a common thing for the Pastor to ask his followers to even take out loans to sow seeds in the church.
According to the former male congregant he was out of a job for some time but eventually got through with a work that paid him $30,000 for the first two weeks, which due to his belief at the time decided that he would give it to the pastor which Smith declined telling him to get his bills paid first.
Afterwards, the man said he began to settle in his Job, striking a two-week payment of $300,000 from the work which made him decide to want to give $20,000, but the Pastor was not satisfied and mentioned that his congregants should give him what he asks and not what they think they want to give him.
Afterwards, the former member said he was being requested to pay $100,000 every two weeks however he did not decide to pay the amount until he made $400,000 in one pay period which made him directly reach out to the Pastor to offer the $100,000. In response, the man said that Smith told him the amount was small to a man of his standards and there will be times when up to $2 million will need to be given.
Otherwise, the former male congregant said that Smith told the church he does not need their money since he was already rich in foreign currencies. All those tactics according to the man were utilized by the Pastor, to make his followers feel as if he was a genuine person and miracle worker.
