Over recent months the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has been running what can only be described as a coordinated public relations campaign. Their website and social media accounts have been actively pushing a narrative of how pleasant Brethren members are to live and work alongside. On their Facebook account they are paying to promote videos from non-members who portray the PBCC in a positive light.
Brethren Exposed investigated further — and uncovered an antisocial and distinctly unchristian element to their social media operation, where questions are ignored, critics are silenced, comments are deleted and users are blocked.
The Website: A Well-Crafted Promotional Tool
The PBCC website is broadly similar to other corporate websites, focused on highlighting positive community impact with an emphasis on charity work, education and business. Videos portray family life. Testimonials from neighbours and business colleagues emphasise their apparent normality. There is a whole section on the Brethren "way of life" covering beliefs, networks, marriage and funerals.
Unusually for a self-described Christian sect, there are also subsections on dining and alcohol. The alcohol section is particularly notable. Drinking is permitted within the Brethren — and in recent years a number of road traffic accidents involving PBCC members driving under the influence, in New Zealand, Australia, the USA and the UK, have made headlines. The website does not mention that UBT, the Brethren's central commercial operation, runs a company called Vendimia which supplies luxury whisky brands, other spirits and wines. Nor does it mention that Qantas reportedly stocks additional alcohol when the Brethren charter A380s for group travel.
The Dining section attempts to justify the doctrine of separation — that Brethren will only "break bread" with those in fellowship — by comparing it to other religious dietary practices. There is a meaningful difference between not eating a bacon sandwich or observing Ramadan, and refusing to share a meal with your own children or parents because they questioned Bruce Hales. We smiled slightly at the admission that eating on planes is permitted for "practical reasons."
There is a link to OneSchool Global but no explanation of why those in fellowship are unable to become doctors, nurses, firefighters, professional sportspeople, lawyers, civil servants, teachers, politicians or police officers. The RRT charity work features prominently, with no mention that less than 2% of PBCC charitable income goes to support the RRT and non-Brethren causes.
Overall, the website is well designed and carefully crafted. It virtue signals throughout. The social media operation, however, takes it to an entirely different level.
The "Our Neighbours" Campaign — and Its Risks
The PBCC maintain presences on Facebook and YouTube. Since the end of May 2025 they have been running a campaign called "Our Neighbours" — a series of 30 to 45 second videos in which neighbours and business partners speak warmly about the PBCC. It is a well-designed and genuinely clever PR strategy.
But the Facebook strategy carries risks. During our investigation, the PBCC Facebook admin — likely a third-party agency — shared a video post from a former member. The video appeared professionally produced and scripted, and it praised the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. When the post was open for comments, Open & Candid added one.
Shortly after, with several comments now visible from various users, the PBCC switched off the ability to comment on the shared post entirely. It also disabled the ability for Open & Candid to reply to their own response. How very Christian.
The Deleted Comment
Switching off comments was not where it ended. A comment added by Damian Hastie prior to comments being disabled was deleted by the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. He and others were then blocked from viewing their page altogether. The deleted comment read:
Over the period of our investigation we also witnessed posts and comments being deleted by the Rapid Relief Team and OneSchool Global. The pattern is consistent: the PBCC does not engage with questions that challenge their PR narrative or that they find difficult to answer. They simply remove them.
The Core Hypocrisy
"Members cannot use Facebook. The PBCC pays to promote content on Facebook. One word came to mind throughout this investigation."
Brethren Exposed Editorial — July 2025The central issue is one of straightforward hypocrisy. Even while we were conducting this investigation, a "Head Office" communication was issued to Brethren members reminding them not to use Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram or Pinterest. This is the standard position: social media is frowned upon for members.
Questions Sent to the PBCC
Open & Candid wrote to the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church with two questions following this investigation. No response was received.
The silence is its own answer. A Christian church with nothing to hide does not delete questions, block critics and refuse to engage with the public on its own social media platforms. What the PBCC has built is not a community outreach operation. It is a content control operation with comments turned off.
Would your Christian values stretch to sharing stories of other leavers, maybe ones who haven't received financial support and have lived with more values and morals in their life?"