Moderator’s Note: “Chase” contacted me because he was concerned that this blog was not helpful but instead might be causing division. He graduated in 2009 and loves TM. He wanted to share his “positive” story. Trust me, its worth reading. Stay kind in the comments. Although the Honor Academy is tough, hard, and needless to […]
I have been following your blog with much excitement since my wife (HA alumni-99) told me about it several months ago. Although I never attended the Honor Academy, I religiously attended ATF’s through out high school and also went on two TM mission trips. In fact, I talked my wife into going to the Honor
My second year, I started out on the Ministry team. It was great; it was the family I had always longed – for something real. But halfway into that program, they basically told me that I was not working hard enough so I was kicked off. Basically, I felt they were telling me that I
Brandi’s Story: Part 2 Read More »
Moderator’s Note: “Brandi” prefers to retain her anonymity, but I am allowed to tell you that this story took place within the last few years. Two years before coming to the Honor Academy, I was saved from wiccanism at an Acquire the Fire. I didn’t know what to do with my life so I ended
Brandi’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
(Moderator’s Note: This story and the comments below briefly, and with minimal detail, mentions rape.) Life After the Honor Academy: Once home, I received one phone call from a guy friend to see how I was doing, then nothing. It was as if I never existed to TM or any of my friends. I was
Kate’s Story: Part 3 Read More »
I started the Honor Academy in January 1997 just after Teen Mania moved to Garden Valley. Things started out on the wrong foot from the get go. I was under Kim W’s supervision and she seemed to take an instant dislike to me. I later learned that this was partly because Kim was best friends
Kate’s Story: Part 2 Read More »
I, like so many others, was introduced to Teen Mania at an ATF. I went on my first Global Expeditions Mission Trip the following summer to Russia (’93), I was 13. For the first time I felt like I had a place were I just fit in. In many ways TM became my family. I
Kate’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
I have been reading through the RA site here and there, and in the beginning, I will be honest, my thoughts were something like, “Well, good for them. They are hurting and finding a way to work through it.” But I felt disconnected. It has been 15 years since I was part of TM, before
(2021 Moderator’s Note: Allie’s Story is part of The Vault, a series of drafts that were discovered in a backup file from 2011. These posts were not published for some reason but are now being published. If this is your story and do not want your story to remain published, please email me at recoveringalumni
When I arrived at the HA, I was placed in a room with Alex, a life saver at this point. My so called ACA showed up a week late and was promptly dismissed. I don’t even remember his name or even his face. During my first week we had corporate exercise. We didn’t have an
Mark’s Story: Part 2 (Global Expeditions Review) Read More »
I attended ATFs in Denver since 1996. The first time I went to ATF it was amazing, the preaching, the music, it was so wonderful. I wondered how someone could ever be that kind of Christian. I grew up in a Southern Baptist background. I went every year waiting until I could attend the HA.
Mark’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
The other major thing I got confronted about constantly was “rebellion.” Any opposing thought or belief not preached to us by our leaders was considered “rebellion.” Had I actually believed everything that people were confronting me about, I would have ended up hanging myself in the Back 40. Thank God (literally) there is grace. Without
Mariana’s Story: Part 3 Read More »
During Gauntlet Week, we had numerous interviews and personality tests. I didn’t know at the time that behind every curtain the Directors of Oz were hiding out listening to our conversations Big Brother-style so they could determine who they wanted for their team for our “ministry placements” (i.e. free youth labor). I had been majoring
Mariana’s Story: Part 2 Read More »
FYI: This story is a 3 part story. I was a sophomore in college when I was called to the Honor Academy. I was living with 4 guys and 2 other girls in a house we dubbed “The Real World.” The majority of us had never met and had found out through a friend-of-a-friend about the rooms
Mariana’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
I hold no ill will toward Teen Mania and have come to terms with my experience, forgiven people, and moved on. However, I feel like I need to share my experience with the board of directors in order potentially improve the Honor Academy as a whole and spare others from a similar experience. My experience
Note from RA: I expect to hear back from the Board of Directors today. If I do, I will post a full update tomorrow morning. When I first started reading about the experiences at TM I was a little skeptical. It led me to think about my experiences at TM. I was a January intern
Somehow with the second semester, all hell broke loose. I hadn’t realized how lonely I would become as the second semester worse on. Many of the people I really confided in had graduated at the end of my first semester. I began to feel very out of place. The powers that be moved me to
Shannon’s Story: Part 2 Read More »
First of all, I’d like to get it straight that I don’t hate Teen Mania. I don’t consider it a cult. I don’t regret having been a part of it. I don’t love Teen Mania. I don’t put it on a pedestal of spiritual perfection. I regret a lot of my choices during the internship
Shannon’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
I was never in the Honor Academy. Honestly, I don’t think they would ever have let me in. But my experiences with Teen Mania have really colored the way I look at missions today, how I view TM, and the HA. I went on a GE trip to New Zealand. It was a terrible experience
ESOAL came and went, and time carried on. I still got up for corporate, went to classes, did my homework, went to my ministry placement, had my quiet times, met with my accountability partner…completed all of my duties as the “perfect intern”; however that feeling that something wasn’t quite right still plagued me. It was
Ashley’s Story: Part 2 Read More »
Editor’s Note: This is the 2nd story of sexual assault I’ve been told in the past 2 weeks. If you have a similar story, this is a safe place to share it. You may remain anonymous.I graduated HA in August of 2004. I was 17 and was sexually assaulted during my Unreached People Group LTE. I
My big problems are the long lasting physical effects I have had from the internship. Ear trouble – I had an ear infection that went untreated for two weeks because I couldn’t get anyone to take me to a doctor. I have hearing loss in that ear. Ovarian Cyst – I experience this for the first time
Stephanie’s Story: Part 2 Read More »
I just want to start off by saying that the Honor Academy was not the worst moments of my life…I’m not bashing it or badmouthing it in any way, I’m just bringing to light that there are those of us (myself and my husband included) that had a very difficult time growing and maintaining our
Ashley’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
(2021 Moderator’s Note: Allie’s Story is part of The Vault, a series of drafts that were discovered in a backup file from 2011. These posts were not published for some reason but are now being published. If you are Bobby and do not want your story to remain published, please email me at recoveringalumni at
I had a mixed experience at the Honor Academy. I did not leave hating Teen Mania or the HA. In fact, during a time of struggle in my life I went back to volunteer for a month during that summer. I found some clarity while there, but it also showed me that some problems I
Stephanie’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
