El Paso megachurch forced minors into unpaid child labor to graduate
Over 15 years ago I graduated from a prominent private Christian academy tied to one of El Paso’s biggest non-denominational megachurches. The academy closed around 2018.
To earn a diploma, every minor student was required to complete 50+ hours of “mandatory volunteering.”
It wasn’t optional — no hours meant no graduation.
We were underage kids forced to clean church facilities, set up and tear down large events, usher, work nursery/childcare, and perform other tasks that directly benefited the church’s operations for free.
This wasn’t volunteering or spiritual formation.
It was coerced underage labor.
After graduation I was deeply indoctrinated. It caused years of shame, self-hate, isolation, and fury. It took a long time to break free and heal from the manipulation.
When I finally reached out as an adult to the church’s senior/founding pastor to express my disappointment and ask for accountability, he blocked me instead of responding.
I’ve seen that their current youth volunteering is now truly voluntary (a positive change), but that doesn’t erase what they did to us as minors.
To parents in El Paso considering their youth programs, children’s ministry, or any school-like programs connected to this megachurch:
Ask very direct questions about any “service hours.” Make sure it’s 100% optional with zero pressure, consequences, or ties to participation/graduation. No kid should be used as free labor.
I’m not looking for money or revenge — just transparency and acknowledgment from leadership that using underage students this way was wrong.
Has anyone else who went through their academy or youth programs experienced the same underage labor requirements? Stories welcome, even anonymously.
TL;DR: Major El Paso megachurch forced minors into unpaid child labor via its Christian academy to support church operations. When I confronted the senior pastor later, he blocked me.