A Pentecostal bishop is urging Christians to only join churches which are part of a family of churches such as Churches Together in England.

Bishop Dr Joe Aldred was speaking after a BBC Panorama programme showed a pastor at a UK branch of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) reciting what appeared to be so-called 'strong prayers' to rid a boy of a demon.

The church, a registered charity with 35 branches in the UK, is also accused of harassing and pressurizing members to donate regardless of financial circumstances.

Bishop Aldred told Premier that the church, which claims to have 10,000 members across the country, appears to "cut people off from their families from their wider context," so that church leaders become "their singular point of authoritative reference for their lives."

From what he's heard from congregants, the church prioritizes "the needs of the person which become secondary to their drive to get money," enabled by the umbrella theology of a "prosperity gospel," in which the more you give to God, the more material wealth you will receive.

"One person has contacted me since the programme was aired last night, to say they went to a church service and they collected offerings five times. We heard in the documentary last night, this idea that you must 'give your all' — this ambiguous terminology could mean giving your all to God or giving your all in terms of giving up all the money that you have to God because it all belongs to him. So it's worrying on a number of levels."

One member of UCKG told the programme she "felt like a sinner" for buying some chips for herself when she was hungry, and feared "something bad was gonna happen."

The gentle, lowly, and loving character of Christ found in the gospels should always be the benchmark for leaders, according to Aldred.

"It's very clear that Jesus styled himself as the Good Shepherd. But if you find yourself in a space where your Shepherd is not that good shepherd, in terms of what they are demanding of you, and the way you are being treated, then you need to move from that pasture and bring yourself to the better shepherds."

Bishop Aldred, who spent 18 years as the Principal Officer for Pentecostal, Charismatic and Multicultural Relations at Churches Together in England, insists that churches that lack accountability from a wider body of fellow churches are often dangerous.

"A good guide is to find out whether churches belong to the family of churches. I worked for many years with Churches Together in England; there are other bodies like the Evangelical Alliance and many other regional and local ecumenical bodies.

"I would say to people never belong to a church that does not attach itself to a wider body of Christians because you only get to Christian truth, actually, in the end through ecumenical relations, through churches comparing notes, comparing activities, and behaviors. So if you are in a church that is isolationist, both in themselves and seeks to isolate you from your family and friends, then I would say seek another place to express your worship to God."