Established in St. Louis in 1969, the church was a Pentecostal splinter group that promoted a strict doctrine, former church leaders and parishioners say. It promised salvation only to those the clergy deemed free of sin and condemned evils such as television and birthday parties. During services, men and women sat on opposite sides of the room. The women wore long dresses and no makeup, and they rarely cut their hair. The men were buttoned up, tucked in, clean-shaven. Jewelry was forbidden save for wedding rings. This wasn’t a creed with obvious broad appeal. But in the armed forces, the former members say, the church identified a fertile source of converts; its founders went door to door near military bases, proselytizing to lonely young troops. Soon, New Testament Christian Churches (NTCC) had dozens of satellites across the country and abroad, full of soldiers.