We Survived a Cult | Pr. John & Susan Bevilacqua | The Upgrade w Joe Adevai #003

Pastor Joe and Alicia sit down with two of their closest friends and earliest mentors in the faith, Pastor John and Susan Bevilacqua. Susan shares her story of growing up with an alcoholic mother, being kidnapped and raped as a teenager, and finding Jesus in a hippie storefront in Baltimore. John opens up about nearly dying three times before age 22, dealing drugs at Villanova, and getting radically saved at 3 AM in a run-down house with no furniture. What brought them together? A cult called the Church of Bible Understanding, where they spent nearly a decade living in lofts, working at Burger King, giving away every paycheck, and witnessing on the streets of Alphabet City. They eventually broke free, got married within a month, and never looked back on God, only on the cult. Now 36 years of friendship later, they share how faithfulness, real community, and refusing to let shame win have carried them through it all. If you've ever felt like your view of God was distorted, this one's for you.