An exposé based on leaked sermon footage and testimonies from the Church of God Restoration, a sect whose leaders claim authority surpassing the biblical apostles — and total control over every facet of members' lives.
The Self-Appointed Twelve Since its founding in 1989, the Church of God Restoration has operated under a leadership structure that its own members describe as apostolic. A body of men — and at least one woman — have appointed themselves as the twelve apostles of the end times. At the apex sits Chief Apostle D. Ray Tinsman, headquartered in Greenville, Ohio, a town the church's leadership revealed to members in February 2021 to be the literal New Jerusalem prophesied in the Book of Revelation.
"Jerusalem is not Greenville. Greenville is not Jerusalem," one leader explained from the pulpit. "But Jerusalem is in Greenville among men."
The claim is not metaphorical. The church teaches that Greenville serves as the spiritual capital of the world, that Tinsman sits at its head, and that all direction for the global church issues exclusively from that location. As Tinsman himself put it: "You don't try to take a little direction over here and learn a little bit here and a little bit here. No — you learn everything from here."
The apostles surrounding Tinsman include Henry Hildebrandt, who oversees the Canadian congregation based in Elmer, Ontario; Stephen Hargrave; Addison Everett; Ernest Bennion Jr.; Elizabeth Oppel; and a number of designated prophets, including John Hildebrand. Together, they have constructed a theological framework that places themselves between every member and salvation itself.
"If He Don't Say It, We Don't Believe It" The most striking feature of the Church of God Restoration's teachings is the degree to which Tinsman has been exalted — often with his apparent endorsement. In a sermon delivered by Apostle Addison Everett, Tinsman was declared to be a "perfect human being," greater than every disciple of Jesus and the most significant person to ever walk the earth, save Christ alone.
"Stop thinking of Paul the apostle as greater than brother Ray," Everett told the congregation. "Stop it. You're wrong. There's someone in this room whose ministry is greater, whose prophetic significance is greater, than James, John, Peter, and yes — Paul the apostle."
The list of figures Tinsman supposedly surpasses extends to Moses, Isaiah, the minor prophets, and John the Baptist. The conclusion Everett drew was absolute: "If he don't say it, we don't believe it. If he says no, the answer is no. If he says yes, the answer is yes."
Tinsman, rather than correcting this theology, rose to affirm it. "Because of the things that brother Addison preached tonight," he said, "it seems like it would only be proper for me to get up and say that I believe that. Amen." He went further, cautioning the congregation that anyone troubled by the exaltation of a human being was, in his words, "ignorant." Those concerned about "some level of loftiness or human exaltation" were dismissed as "tremendously ignorant" — even if they could still be saved.
In a message delivered in Durango, Mexico, Tinsman identified himself as the angel described in Revelation 10. He assured the congregation that he was a kind man, but offered a caveat that laid bare the church's logic of control: "If I was as mean as a snake, you'd still have to follow me to go to heaven."
The Gatekeeper of Salvation Salvation, within the Church of God Restoration, is not mediated through Christ alone. It is mediated through Tinsman. One church preacher declared that anyone wishing to enter heaven must first be "measured" by Tinsman's arm to determine whether they would fit through the gate. "If you want to go to heaven," the preacher said, "you have to allow brother Ray to come to you with his arm and measure you to make sure that you make it through the gate."
Another preacher, John Hildebrand, stated plainly that those who follow Tinsman's words are "directly connected to God." Elizabeth Oppel, another apostle, compared Tinsman to Moses and warned members that if they were not subservient to him, they were "slaves to somebody" — and if that somebody was not Tinsman, then they were simply "a slave."
The church teaches that Tinsman and the apostles possess the authority to forgive sins. Tinsman himself recounted a moment during prayer when, he claimed, God instructed him to tell a congregant their sins were forgiven. When Tinsman hesitated, he said God insisted: "Tell them. Tell them that their sins are forgiven." The implication was clear — forgiveness flows through the apostle, not through the individual's own repentance before God.
Henry Hildebrandt was similarly described as a figure through whom forgiveness must be sought. One sermon warned that those rebelling against the church would have to "come by brother Henry Hildebrandt" and ask him whether they could be forgiven.
The Power to Condemn If the apostles can grant salvation, they can also revoke it. Church leadership confirmed that members can lose their salvation — and the threshold is staggering in its mundanity. A member who calls an ambulance during a medical emergency and visits a hospital may return to church the following Sunday stripped of their standing. An ordained minister experiencing a heart attack who seeks medical care could find himself "no longer a minister, no longer a brother" upon his return.
Tinsman has also claimed that the apostles possess the authority to add to scripture. When asked directly whether an apostle could write scripture, he answered without hesitation: "Yeah. Yes, sir."
Control Over the Everyday The church's authority extends well beyond theology. Members are subject to a web of regulations governing the most intimate and ordinary aspects of life:
Clothing: Men are required to button their shirts entirely to the collar. Women's undergarment colors are dictated by leadership. Marital intimacy: The frequency with which a husband and wife may be physically intimate is determined by church leaders. Attendance: Members are not permitted to miss church services. Travel and decisions: Members must seek permission from leaders before going on vacation or making significant personal decisions. Vehicles: Members are told what color cars they may drive — restricted to white, gray, black, and similar shades. Finances: Many members of Hildebrandt's congregation in Elmer, Ontario, have signed over their homes and businesses to the church. The degree of financial control is extensive. The leadership has demonstrated what critics describe as a desire for "full financial control," with members transferring property and business ownership to the institution itself.
Leaving Means Prostitution Departure from the Church of God Restoration carries its own theological penalty. Stephen Hargrave told members that leaving the church is equivalent to prostituting oneself — "willingly selling yourself to a system of prostitution." A number of men who questioned the church's teachings have been separated from their families. Several former members report ongoing harassment by church leaders, with some relocating entirely in an effort to escape it.
The church reserves particular venom for those who publicly question or expose its practices. One leader, recognized within the church as a prophet, referred to such individuals as "swine" and "dogs" — comparing them to the Pharisees who scrutinized Jesus, and dismissing their concerns as the trampling of sacred things underfoot.
Meanwhile, the church maintains a public-facing presence through online service videos, while keeping its most controlling teachings concealed from newcomers. These doctrines are revealed only after a person has officially joined the community.
Recruitment and Expansion The Church of God Restoration markets itself aggressively. Leaders have visited other congregations in an effort to recruit new members. The church teaches that the end of time is imminent, and that the nations will soon "flow in" to their movement. One apostle declared that God needed to "rid us of unbelievers in our midst to make room for the many that will flow into it."
In a striking display of the church's vision of its future, a preacher claimed that even Bill Gates would one day bow before Tinsman. Apostle Ernest Bennion Jr. was shown kneeling at Tinsman's feet, asking, "What must I do to be saved?" — a gesture that encapsulates the church's theology in a single image: salvation is not found at the foot of the cross, but at the feet of a man in Greenville, Ohio.
A Pattern Since 1989 False teaching and the systemic control of members have characterized the sect since its inception in 1989, according to the testimonies and leaked footage compiled in the source video. The apostles compare themselves to biblical figures, claim authority over salvation and damnation, dictate the color of their members' underwear, and demand that followers seek permission before taking a vacation.
Whether the Church of God Restoration constitutes a cult is a question each observer must weigh against the evidence. The leaders claim to be the one true church of the end times. They claim their chief apostle is greater than Moses. They claim the authority to add to scripture. They claim the power to forgive sins and to strip salvation away — even from a man dying of a heart attack who dared to call an ambulance.
They ask only one thing in return: total, unquestioning obedience.
"You that are weary, troubled, concerned — come rest. Lay down your burdens. Get behind me."
Those are the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28. In the Church of God Restoration, they are the words of Ray Tinsman.
This article is based on a transcript of a documentary video exposing the teachings and practices of the Church of God Restoration. The video features recorded sermons and statements from church leaders, including Chief Apostle D. Ray Tinsman, Henry Hildebrandt, Stephen Hargrave, Addison Everett, Elizabeth Oppel, and others.
