Roughly two and half weeks ago, many students discovered a peculiar flyer sitting on the windshields of their vehicles.
The top of the pamphlet read “Alamo Christian Ministries Worldwide Newsletter.”
Like most evangelical literature, the pamphlet was filled with Bible verses and testimonies from members within the ministry.
Gabbie Reeves, a floor supervisor in the Trojan Center and a Troy University alumna, was one of the first to discover the pamphlets on the windshield of her car. Reeves was familiar with the foundation and expressed her outrage in a Facebook post.
“I'm severely angry,” Reeves said. “All the people at the university have a special place in my heart because I take care of them every day.
“I don't want our students to fall for something like this. I know I'm strong enough to know what is going on, but I'm sure there are a lot of people on campus who could fall for this.
Cults like Alamo Christian Ministries prey on weak people. There are students here who feel like they don’t have a place to go, and I fear for them the most.”
Tony and Susan Alamo founded the Alamo Christian Foundation in 1969 in Hollywood, California. The ministry’s objective was to spread the gospel, specifically targeting the youth of the hippie movement, according to The Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
The Alamos eventually moved their ministry to Dyer, Arkansas, where the foundation branched off into numerous business ventures. The organization became ensnared in numerous legal disputes, such as labor violations, cult-like practices and abuse allegations.
Susan died in 1982. After her death, Tony claimed she would rise from the dead and kept her body on display for months before entombing her corpse, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
In the 2019 documentary, Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo, due to his wife’s death, Tony reached his breaking point and began his descent to pedophilia. In July 2009, Tony was convicted on ten 10 counts of child sexual abuse, including transporting minors across state lines for sexual purposes.
During this time, Tony began taking child wives, the youngest being 8 years old. He was sentenced to 175 years in federal prison in November 2009.
While radical evangelism is not suitable for most, Baptist Campus Ministries Minister Brad Besinger, broke down the ways he and his students at the BCM share the gospel.
“What we try to do is have a presence on campus,” Bensinger said. “We’ll set up tables on the quad and ask students questions to get them thinking about different topics in Christianity.
“We like to hear about their pasts, and hopefully that will open the door for us to share the good news of Christ.
We also have a small group that goes out once a week to try to meet people and ask them about their faith background. Hopefully in that process, we can share what we’ve come to understand about Jesus Christ. We don't force it on anybody, but we want to make it available.”
Bensinger also explained how students could get involved with the BCM and other campus ministries alike.
“We invite all students to come over and check things out,” Bensinger said. “Our building is open all day long.
“Students can hang out and do whatever. We have meetings Tuesday nights where we host Bible studies and small groups.
Christian or not, we want you to come ask questions and get involved. We want our atmosphere to be welcoming, no matter what your background is.”
Chief of the Troy University Police Department, George Beaudry, shared his thoughts on the pamphlets and whether they posed a threat to the safety of Troy’s student body.
“I truly don't believe that this type of flyer is something our students should be concerned about for their personal safety,” Beaudry said. “This possibly looks like a recruiting run.
“Normally, this is not the kind of thing where we're going to see someone get snatched from campus and indoctrinated. The message from our police department is to be smart about this kind of stuff.
If you choose to go down this road, just be smart about it. When people do get sucked into these types of things, there are some negative outcomes that can occur.”
Also mentioned in Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo, Tony Alamo died in prison in May of 2017, his followers still exist and are trying to actively recruit new members.
If students feel uncomfortable or threatened by pamphlets or advertisements placed on their vehicles, they are encouraged to call Troy University Police Department’s non-emergency number, (334) 670-3215.