Summary of some of the more serious allegations against Dave:
Prophesied to Jim that he was cursed for not tithing enough, then profited $30,000 directly. Because of a very serious back injury, Jim could not work and had very expensive medical bills. Dave was aware of all of this. Jim could not afford to give away that sum of money, but he did it because he believed he was cursed. (Thirty Pieces of Silver and The Kidney Donor’s Story)
Spiritually coerced Quinn and Grace (pseudonym) into getting married, then lied about it and slandered Quinn to protect himself (Quinn’s Testimony)
Made a major economic prophecy in 2015 that proved false, and never took responsibility (The Coin of This Realm).
Fostered a system of fake accountability. He did this by claiming multiple organizations had oversight of Friday night, when they did not. He also claimed that the Monday Night men’s leadership group provided oversight. Yet there were multiple occasions that someone confronted Dave about an issue and he relayed a twisted version of the story to the Monday Night group. (The Peerless Papa Dave and Inside the Inner Circle)
Told Jessica he wished God had not made him a jerk, blaming God for his lack of kindness, a fruit of the Spirit. (The Peerless Papa Dave)
Told Cara he wished the church allowed polygamy so he could take her as a second wife. (Cara’s Testimony)
Made an inappropriate, sexually charged comment to Cara. When she called him on it, he deflected by slandering her father. (Cara’s Testimony)
Prophesied in late 2000’s that Kathy would die and God would give a woman from Belarus to Dave as his new wife. Proposed to the woman, who was already engaged to someone else. (Cara’s Testimony)
Advised a woman who had cheated on her husband not to disclose the offense to him (Inside the Inner Circle)
Procedure
If you have questions on the process we used to hold Dave accountable, see FAQ, starting with the third question down.
A Note on Unshared Testimonies
We are aware of other stories (including severe cases) that have not been included on this website. The victims have various reasons for not wanting to share their stories. We want to warn both current and former members that this isn’t the full extent of the harm caused by Dave Cottrell. There are a few additional trends that we want to warn readers about.
Incompetent Marriage Counseling
Dave and Kathy offer counseling to couples before marriage and afterwards, often claiming that they can save marriages. Their lack of training, certification, and oversight means that they are often unable to provide appropriate counsel. A major problem is that Dave does not separate his identity as prophet and counselor. Sometimes instead of offering advice, he will tell people that he has heard from God on what they should do. Dave also has a way of blurring the lines. He may not outright claim to have heard from God, but instead make a statement in an intense, forceful way, where the recipient is unsure whether Dave is speaking prophetically. This is problematic because it undermines people’s autonomy and ability to make independent decisions, potentially leading to manipulation and a lack of genuine consent. We have heard stories of:
Dave and Kathy encouraging couples to marry despite major issues in the relationship.
Telling couples they must remain married despite one spouse's egregious sin. While there are varying views in the church about proper grounds for divorce, we have heard of Dave imposing his view in an attempt to control people’s decisions.
Dave claiming divine revelation that particular people either should or should not pursue one another in a romantic relationship.
Showing favoritism towards one spouse.
Because of the private nature of relationships, these stories are not generally shared.
A feature of Dave’s counseling is to keep married couples together, no matter what. Dave has married many couples in the past twenty years. He brags that the couples he marries do not divorce. Because of this, we believe that Dave with Kathy’s participation, will do whatever is necessary to keep a couple together including disregarding and minimizing the harms caused by one partner.
We recognize that reading these stories may cause other couples to question how their marriage may have been impacted by Dave and Kathy’s counsel. We would encourage anyone asking these types of questions or couples who are struggling in their marriage to seek out counsel from a professional licensed therapist.
Surrogate Fatherhood
Dave has said that he does not push the idea of him being a “Papa” on people. Yet he has clearly identified himself with this title by using it as a Facebook name and signing emails with it. More importantly, Dave has aggressively inserted himself into some young women’s lives as a surrogate father figure. Some men accept Dave as a “Papa” figure, but we have not heard a story where Dave pushed a man to accept his surrogate fatherhood. This behavior is harmful as it can lead to emotional dependency, power imbalance, and devaluation of an individual’s family of origin. We’ve also observed the opposite trend where he will reject and sideline some men.
Questioning of Salvation
A unique harm that occurs in spiritual abuse, is for the victim to have their eternal salvation questioned. Multiple victims have shared that when they confronted Dave, Dave questioned their standing with God, their spiritual maturity, and/or whether they were saved. This is usually done in a backhanded way rather than direct. This type of personal attack can be terrifying for a Christian, especially when delivered by a leader who claims to be a prophet. While there are times where it is appropriate for a leader to discuss salvation with a person, it is never appropriate to do so as a way to defend oneself when confronted. We want to assure anyone who questions Dave, that doing so does not mean that you are questioning God nor does it have any impact on your salvation.
How You Can Help
One of the worst experiences associated with spiritual abuse is telling your story to trusted friends and yet finding they do not believe you, or partly or fully blame you for what happened. When more stories are shared, patterns are corroborated and each individual testimony becomes more credible in the public eye. If you have been harmed by Dave, you can share your story with us. Sharing can help prevent Dave from victimizing others. You may contact us using the form on the About page.