ALBANY COUNTY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- On the edge of a main road in Albany County, an idyllic white house has sat on a quiet, family-owned farm for the last 200 years. But behind the house, lies part of a religious group, that is almost completely unknown to the outside world -- and they hold an even darker secret.
To passersby, it's an ordinary property, but behind the home lies a church, that's anything but ordinary.
By outsiders, this church has many names, including the 2x2s, The Way, and The Truth. But inside, they deny those names, instead they said their group has no name -- 'The Church With No Name.'
Its a sect of Christianity that operates worldwide, with a presence here in Albany County. John Pikcilingis was born and raised in Albany County -- on the outside, his life seemed perfectly normal, but on the inside, he was part of the church with no name.
"You get the impression that it is a very good place, and since we weren't allowed to see outside too much, it was hard to make a good comparison," said John.
As a member of this mysterious religious sect for 55 years, John recalled spending much of his life in the shadows of the church.
"I was born into it so that became my truth from day one," said John.
It was a truth that had no name, no singular place of worship, and no official leaders. The 2x2's operate worldwide and claim to follow the new testament, but their practices are riddled with dozens of uncommon and unspoken rules.
"Females are expected to wear skirts and dresses, you have your hair up in a bun, not allowed to cut your hair, dye your hair, no makeup, no jewelry, I didn't even know how to wear makeup when I left the church four years ago, so that's been a steep learning curve," said Kari Hanks, also a former 2x2 member from Arizona.
Kari said she only left the church a couple years ago, and the list of rules she followed, goes on. Members are not allowed to watch TV, dance, play sports, or even celebrate holidays including Christmas. Cherie Kropp-Ehrig, a former 2x2 member who wrote a book on the church, said they believe their practices will save their souls.
“They believe that they’re the only church that's going to have people who will get to heaven and that you must be in that church if you want to have eternal life and all other churches are false," said Cherie. “And their members are sincere but they’re sincerely wrong."
Member of this religious group gather together for one weekend in August every year -- they call it a convention. These conventions take place across the world, one of them has been happening at a property in Albany County for over a century. John said he attended this annual meeting for about 55 years.
“For us as youths, we were looking forward to it because it was the place we could socialize with a lot of good friends," said John.
The conventions bring together members of the church from all over the world, but most come from local towns or neighboring states for a weekend of prayer and worship. NEWS10 visited that convention gathering, where the owners declined an on-camera interview but made a rare offer for us to stay and listen to prayer meetings.
NEWS10's Vanessa Blasi heard preachers talk about the spirit of God, trusting God, and even curiosity, saying members shouldn't have, "Not even curiosity, because there's poison there," and, "If anyone tells you there's another gospel, Jesus, don't believe it, it's so simple."
For thousands, these meetings can be a place for self discovery and finding peace, but for thousands of others like John, this worldwide secretive group has left them with something else.
"Well, its a cult, and cults are something that you can see from the outside, not from the inside," said John.
Behind enclosed tents, a secret has unraveled. The FBI launched a public investigation into this religious group this past February for widespread child sexual abuse allegations. The investigation is based out of Omaha, Nebraska. ABC News spoke to dozens of victims in at least 34 states so far.
"These were people we were hearing horrific abuse stories about, that we had grown up around having sleeping in our home," said Kari.
Inside the group, members are supposed to give up their houses every Sunday for prayer meetings. Ministers, who are of higher ranking, travel to those members' homes each week to practice this faith. Many believe this is where the problems start.
“The preachers living in the homes with people for a few days at a time makes it convenient to molest," said Cherie. “The manner in which their preachers go about homeless, giving away everything they have, taking just a suitcase, living with the member," said Cherie.
"They're shocking because these people, you put more trust in these people than you did your own parents, basically you know, that's how high you held these people," said John. "You held them on a pedestal."
Above the ministers, sit the overseers. Former members said Ray Hoffman is the overseer for the East Coast. We spoke with Ray about the allegations, something no media outlet has done before. He wouldn't go on camera, but in the statement below, he addressed them.
“They’re just allegations. They claim a great number and say it's a great crisis, which we agree with, but to us, we know of only a few and have little information, so we’re dealing with them. Most aren’t allowed to go to meetings. We are cooperating with the FBI," said Ray Hoffman in a statement.
Ray also confirmed a letter was sent out before the convention both this year and last. Part of the letter addressed these allegations.
“In light of recent events, we feel especially compelled to create a welcoming environment where all feel safe and at home," the letter stated. “If any kind of sexual abuse happens ….do not keep silent. Report it to the authorities (Call 911) immediately and inform a worker/owners of the property as soon as possible. Chat with your children before arriving about what to do if they feel uncomfortable at any time.”
Some former members believe this was not enough.
"Who knows how many are out there?" said Abbi Prussack, a former 2x2 member from Colorado.
Abbi left the church in her 20's alongside her husband -- calling it their 'little miracle'. She said they left before knowing anything about the allegations. Years later, Abbi and Kari started a support group on Facebook for former 2x2 members, called "Ex-2x2 Support Group." They said they never could've expected the profound impact.
“We've had people reach out to us and say, your group saved my life. So that's obviously a huge deal to us, and I think one of our main focuses is it doesn't matter what you believe now," said Kari. "We all have the common shared background of we were a 2x2 and that's what we share."
The Facebook group currently has over 5,000 members. For many former 2x2 members, leaving the church also meant leaving their loved ones behind.
"You walk away from something you feel is not right anymore, but you also walk away from all your life," said John.
All of the former members we spoke to said the decision to leave was both the best and hardest decision they've ever made.
"Very happy, best thing I ever did," said Cherie. "I thank God everyday that I left."
“I would say the hardest part probably was trying to figure out how to have a community that you felt close to starting from scratch as an adult," said Abbi.
"When you're brought up believing for 50 years, when you stop, where do you start again?" said John.
Now John said he's able to see the world in a different way.
"Now I look at the world as free, it's like it doesn't matter who you are or where you are, where you came from, where you’re going. Just if you’re a good person, I can be a good person, and we can smile together for a moment," said John.
While the FBI couldn't comment further on the investigation, in part of a statement to NEWS10 they said this is an international search.
“The FBI encourages reporting from anyone who thinks that they may be a victim, or from anyone who may have information on this investigation. We also encourage victims outside of the United States to contact the FBI," said Eugene Kowel, FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge.
Anyone with information should contact the FBI using their 2x2 information link.
