'I don't want my kids growing up in a tyrannical society': Desperate father wants his wife to leave Gloriavale cult with their 10 kids - but says she is suffering from 'Stockholm Syndrome'
- John Ready, 40, was kicked out of the Gloriavale Christian Community in 2017
- His wife Purity and their ten children continue to live at the Haupiri compound
- Ready says his wife refuses to leave over fears that she will go to hell
- The isolated community follow a literal interpretation of the New Testament
A former Gloriavale member has spoken out against the religious cult as he continues his desperate quest to free his wife and children from the community.
John Ready, 40, was kicked out of the Gloriavale Christian Community in Haupiri, New Zealand, in 2017 after he was caught reading material that went against the church's views.
The isolated community of about 550 people follows a literal interpretation of the Bible's New Testament and spend their days doing unpaid work.
John Ready (right) 40, was kicked out of the Gloriavale Christian Community in Haupiri, New Zealand in 2017 after he was caught reading material that went against the church's views. He is now desperate to take his wife Purity (left) and ten children out
Since his departure, Ready has been desperately trying to get his wife Purity and their children to follow suit, but says the mum believes she will go to hell if she leaves.
'She is true to what she has been reared in, so I cannot blame her for her higher moral ground. It's like Stockholm syndrome,' he told the New Zealand Herald.
Despite his exit, Ready said it feels like hasn't fully escaped Gloriavale because his family is still living there.
He lives a 30-minute drive from the community, only seeing his children when their mum brings them to his four-bedroom home in Rotomanu on the South Island's west coast.
There, the kids get a taste of a relatively normal life, eating dinner together and going on family trips to the town swimming pool.
During the children's last visit, the dad said his youngest daughter Harmony, six, questioned why they couldn't stay at his home permanently.
Members of Gloriavale wear standardised clothing - women in long, blue dresses and often cover their hair with scarves, while men wear neckties, dark blue pants and light blue sleeved shirt
The community's Leader Neville Cooper set up Springbank Christian Community in 1965 but after the group increased in size, he bought a new property in 1991 and renamed the community Gloriavale
His separation from his wife even led him to miss the birth of his youngest son Andrew, who was conceived during one of Purity's visits.
'I want him to be free. I don't want my kids growing up in a tyrannical society', he said.
'I want them to have free choice, make decisions and learn from mistakes instead of someone else dictating to them. That's what I'm praying for'.
Ready was born and raised in Gloriavale after his parents, Clem and Sharon, moved to the compound when they were teenagers.
He met Purity, in 1998 when he was 20 and she was 18. He said their relationship was based on their true love for each other, rather than being arranged by the church group.
The pair had ten children, six girls and four boys: a 19-year-old girl who does not want to be identified, Charity, 17, Patience, 15, Jude, 13, Beth, 11, Uriah, eight, Harmony, six, Dawn, four, Nicky, two and three-month-old Andrew.
Ready is not the only member of his family to rebel against the church, revealing that his eldest daughter also left after she questioned one leader's treatment of a girl.
Hopeful Christian (left) formerly known as Neville Cooper, was the founder of Gloriavale Christian Community. He died in 2018
Old footage from a documentary shows a couple embracing while being carried to a consummation room where they are expected to lose their virginities
His daughter, who was 15 at the time, was called into sessions with the 'servants and shepherds' (SS) and was isolated for several months at a time.
Eventually, Ready was told to cut ties with her and to drop her off at a bus stop, but he took to stay with an aunt instead.
Gloriavale's treatment of his daughter ultimately led him to become upset with the community and he began to plan his escape.
Former members, called 'night raiders' sneaked into the Gloriavale, leaving behind contraband such as a copy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and cell phones.
The book was later discovered and Ready was fired and excommunicated, he told the publication.
Within his first months of freedom, he celebrated Christmas for the first time and learned basic skills such as budgeting and grocery shopping.
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And despite being told he was banned from returning until he repented, Ready would keep in contact with his family by sneaking into their hostel.
He embarked on his quest to remove them from Gloriavale, nearly reaching his goal when a friend offered to help by giving them a free trip to Great Barrier Island.
Fully-dressed children are pictured playing in the pool at Gloriavale
But days before Purity and the children were scheduled to leave, SS sent them to Nelson Creek and Ready was unable to locate his family.
Ready's friends, Kathryn and Marcus Tuck, who have become helpers of those looking to leave Gloriavale, have also tried their luck with Purity.
The couple visited the mum hoping to convince her to leave by explaining God wouldn't want her to abandon her husband.
The Tucks, instead, were banned from the community.
The couple told the publication Purity's situation was like 'battered wife syndrome'.
Gloriavale decline to comment when contacted by the New Zealand Herald who reported that its website states it does not respond to the media.
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