The Bodies Behind the Bus is a podcast centering on the voices of spiritual abuse survivors. We began with stories out of the Acts 29 network and have branched into many organizations since our launch. We are the discarded few. We have been abused, gaslit, ignored, slandered, deceived, intentionally hurt, and betrayed. Our stories were manipulated and our voices were stolen. We were left alone with all the confusion, grief, hurt, and pain but today we begin to reclaim our stories and find our voices once again because we matter, and being a body behind the bus is not the gospel.
Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
Amanda’s Story / YWAM / NIKO
#48 trending · Christianity
In this episode, we continue our Youth With A Mission (YWAM) series with Amanda. At 18, a back injury ended her basketball dreams, so she joined a YWAM program hoping to
Oct 15 1 h 57 min
Sarah's Story / YWAM / Pt. 2
Sarah's story continues. She returns to a Youth With A Mission (YWAM) base in the States, where a car accident leaves her hurt and exhausted. Instead of rest, she fa
Oct 6 1 h 04 min
Sarah's Story / YWAM / Pt. 1
Sarah joined Youth With A Mission (YWAM) at 22 and did her training school in Samoa. In this episode, she shares what happened on outreach in the Solomon Islands, where a
Oct 5 56 min
Jamie's Story / YWAM / Canada
Jamie joins Youth With A Mission (YWAM) at 17 and stays 25 years, from 1994 to 2020. Jamie describes how YWAM's Founders Circle holds authority without accountabilit
Sep 25 1 h 22 min
Skyla's Story / YWAM Kona, HI
Skyla shares her story of serving on a team called End Bible Poverty Now at Youth With A Mission's (YWAM) Kona campus in Hawaii, where she pushed leadership to suppo
Sep 17 1 h 40 min
Shelby's Story / YWAM / Switzerland / Pt. 2
Shelby returns to finish her story of leaving Youth With A Mission (YWAM) after almost 20 years. Two friends she trusted rise to lead her base, and when she raises concer
Sep 11 1 h 37 min
Shelby's Story / YWAM / Switzerland / Pt. 1
Shelby joins us to share her story of almost 20 years with Youth With A Mission (YWAM), a Christian missions group with bases in nearly every country. She signs up at 24
Sep 10 1 h 31 min
Intro To Stories From YWAM: Loren Cunningham And The Seven Mountain Mandate (Updated)
In this episode, Jay and Johnna introduce a new series featuring first hand stories from Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Before the storytellers share what happened to them,
Sep 8 37 min
ATBS "American Dominion: The Rise and Radicalization of a New Christendom" w/ Keri Ladner
Keri Ladner is the author of American Dominion: The Rise and Radicalization of a New Christendom. Her book traces the roots of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and Dom
Aug 19 51 min
Bel's Story / Sydney Anglican Diocese
Bel joins us from Australia to share her story of growing up in a church in the Sydney Anglican Diocese. When she was six, she nearly died in an accident at church. Soon
Jul 22 1 h 24 min
Jane's Story / Chi Alpha / Assemblies of God
In this episode, our storyteller Jane shares her years inside Chi Alpha, the college campus ministry of the Assemblies of God (AG). What began as a warm, welcoming commun
Jul 1 57 min
Michelle’s Story / IN
Michelle shares her story of serving on staff at a church in Indiana, where subtle control, blurred pastoral authority, financial pressure, and spiritual manipulation slo
May 8 1 h 25 min
Katie’s Story / The Austin Stone
Katie shares her story of growing up in a highly controlled religious environment, entering a young marriage shaped by strict gender roles, and spending years overseas as
Apr 17 1 h 43 min
Katherine's Story / Austin Stone Church
Katherine shares her journey from a young missionary sent overseas to confronting the realities of faith, sacrifice, and survival. Raised in the church and driven by a de
Apr 3 1 h 07 min
Dominique's Story / The Austin Stone
Dominique shares her experience at The Austin Stone, where she became deeply involved in church life, missions, and leadership development as a young woman. In this episo
Mar 19 1 h 20 min
Alicia's Story / OH
Alicia served for years as both a volunteer leader and staff member at a growing non-denominational church in Ohio. After becoming deeply involved in ministry and church
Mar 5 1 h 35 min
Julia’s Story / PA
In this episode of Bodies Behind the Bus, Julia shares her story of becoming involved in an Acts 29 affiliated church plant that gradually shifted from hopeful beginnings
Feb 12 1 h 24 min
ATBS: w/ Ciji Wagner
In this episode of Bodies Behind the Bus, we’re joined by Ciji, founder of Louder Than Silence, an organization providing free, trauma-specific care and community for sur
Jan 16 1 h 01 min
Convo w/ Christy & Joshua Pt 3
In the final episode of this three-part series, Christy and Joshua come together to reflect on the shared impact of spiritual abuse and the long road toward truth and hea
Dec 19 2025 1 h 31 min
Christy's Story / Anaheim, CA Pt 2
In Episode 2 of this three-part series, Christy shares her story of spiritual harm, silence, and survival within church systems that protected power over people. She refl
Dec 18 2025 1 h 34 min
Chart trend
Position in the Christianity chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#100#198AugSepOct
#29
all-time peak
4
days in the top 50 since Jun 2025
Chart positions
Where Bodies Behind The Bus ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 16, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
So grateful for your willingness to hold institutions and leaders accountable by name, your education on the harmful effects of lots of normalized teaching and your heart to listen to the hurting.
torieJc · Sep 2026
I appreciate this pod - these stories are hard and absolutely necessary to hear. Thank you for the thoughtful way you elevate these storytellers and share the stories so that the truth is out there. Keep it up!
TurkeyTilly · Apr 2026
Grateful for the work of this crew to provide a platform for survivors who want to speak their stories out loud. Not only is it powerful hearing survivors, it’s powerful seeing the dots connect and patterns of tactics emerge across religious abuse situations, so in a way it’s educational too.
KTMM22 · Apr 2026
Such an eye-opening (ear-opening?) podcast. Grateful for podcasts like this that share real church stories compassionately, especially in today’s culture war/celebrity/Christian Nationalist climate.
cissalittle · Oct 2025
As a counselor and member of this church community, I began listening to this podcast hoping to gain insight into what was happening within my own church and congregation. Unfortunately, the hosts’ approach felt more agenda-driven than balanced. Their commentary often overshadowed the substance of the stories, giving the impression of pushing a specific narrative rather than allowing facts and experiences to speak for themselves. While the topic is serious and deserves careful, nuanced reporting, I didn’t feel that the hosts presented authentic, verifiable stories of abuse or created a fair space for multiple perspectives. Their tone and framing ultimately undermined the credibility of the podcast and left me with more questions than clarity.
Whitneysin · Sep 2025
Are there abuses in evangelical and conservative churches that need to be exposed and addressed? Absolutely. But this podcast is not undertaking that noble task from any remote place of objectivity, truthfulness, or for the good of the church. The hosts have a clear ex-Christian, liberal, and deconstructionist agenda that comes out in frequent monologues interpreting things according to that liberal lens, and in such a way that they frequently misrepresent, distort, or unfairly interpret the evidences of abuse they’re claiming to expose. If you’re looking for a factual, helpful, and edifying podcast seeking to call the church to health and faithfulness - this isn’t it.
Ryangriffingeorge · Sep 2025
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Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Bodies Behind The Bus, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
