The Church of Scientology’s Mission of Houston at 2727 Fondren Rd.
Google Street View
A viral trend of trying to get inside Scientology churches, also known as “speed-running” and classically called “breaking and entering,” is sweeping social media. High-profile stunts of teens trying to see inside the temples of America’s strangest “religion” have been pulled in Los Angeles, leading to condemnation from the Church of Scientology. Now, the trend has made its way to Houston.
Video posted on Monday to several Instagram accounts shows a group of roughly a dozen people who appear to be teenagers and young adults attempting to gain entrance to the Church of Scientology’s Mission of Houston at 2727 Fondren Road. One video shows people wearing masks, balaclavas and costumes descending on the building. A person wearing what seems to be a goblin mask pulls on the door to no avail. Another wears an inflatable green alien costume.
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Then, two men bang and pull on the door as another masked man wearing a high-visibility vest with the word “SECURITY” written across the back helps. The sound of glass shattering can be heard as the door bursts open and a Scientology Mission employee pops out and shouts expletives at the would-be raiders, who run away.
The Church of Scientology’s Mission of Houston couldn’t be reached on early Monday afternoon. But in a statement to Chron, David Bloomberg, a spokesman for the national Church of Scientology, broadly condemned the Scientology “speed-running” videos as a disruptive trend.
“Church facilities are peaceful spaces designed to welcome parishioners, visitors and members of the public. Turning them into targets for viral stunts is not journalism, protest or civic activity,” Bloomberg said. “It is trespass, harassment and disruption of religious facilities.”
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It is unclear how much damage was caused to the building, or if police were called. Bloomberg told Chron that the Houston Police Department was investigating the matter. The Houston Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment to confirm or deny any investigation.
Chron reached out to one of the people who posted about the raid, but did not hear back by publication time. Nobody seems to have been hurt, and in all, it was a pretty low-level affair. Several Instagram commenters were disappointed at how poorly the Scientology raid had gone.
“Folded under no pressure smh,” one account wrote.
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“Put masks on and everything just to run away as soon as the doors opened,” another said.
Some viewers joked that, unlike the California Scientology raids and “deep runs,” which saw teens actually get inside and fairly deep into the Scientology temples, the Houston raid was quickly aborted due to Texas’ lax gun laws.
“In Texas they can shoot tho,” Instagram user 2doorcrownvic said.
The Church of Scientology “mother church” is located off Fountain Avenue on April 23, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices developed by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard.
Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag
The failed Houston raid comes amid a trend of TikTokers trying to gain entry to Scientology’s religious centers. Last month, a group including a man dressed as Jesus Christ attempted to gain entry to a Scientology building on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. One member of that group hit a Fortnite dance during their escape while security guards armed with fire extinguishers gave chase. Ah, to be young again.
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What is “speed-running”?
The trend, variously referred to as “speed-running,” “deep-running” and “raiding,” attempts to treat entering Scientology’s various churches and temples around the country as almost like a dungeon crawl in a video game. “Speed-running” is a hobby where technically proficient gamers try to finish their favorite games as fast as possible using different exploits, and the Scientology raiders try to do the same, but with real buildings. Videos of raid attempts, which have racked up millions of views online, joke about encountering “bosses” like real-life Scientologist celebrities such as Tom Cruise or John Travolta. Like a rogue-like video game where the maps are procedurally-generated, each attempt tries to go a little further in the hopes of divining something about Scientology. Again, when I was this age, we were just eating cinnamon on camera.
For its part, the Church of Scientology has not been stoked about rowdy teens trying to bust into their property, calling the speedrun attempts “hate crimes” in a Los Angeles Times story about the trend. In their statement to Chron, the Church of Scientology said that it is happy to welcome “lawful visitors” interested in Scientology.
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“[The Church of Scientology” does not welcome mobs forcing entry, damaging property, disrupting religious spaces or endangering people for views,” the Church of Scientology told Chron.
Few things in American life remain as mysterious as Scientology. The religion, started in 1953 by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, has been called a cult by many, including former members. Texas has never been a hotbed of Scientology activity. The Houston mission only opened in 2019, and there are missions in Austin, Irving, San Antonio and Harlingen, Texas.