Nothing new. Pastors steal churches whenever they come in and alienate the original members and force them to leave.
There are certain church circles where you hear it said that it's not unusual for most of the original congregation to leave. In their circles they are usually right! Ever wondered why?
No building involved here but consider this example:
"I would like to give you a brief update on the situation in Xxxxxxxxx. As you may remember we went through a major pruning and are down to 2 families. As we considered what we should do, it was plain to us that most of our time had been spent trying to obtain unity and instruct members of the group that were already there. We hadn't spent any time reaching out to the community with the gospel.
I recently spent 10 days in Xxxxxxxxx laboring and meeting with the families there. After prayer and investigation we have decided to proceed with our efforts as a missionary church plant. The explicit purpose will be to shine the gospel into the community. "
Don't waste time on those expendable saints you used to boast about!
Don't bother feeding and pastoring the flock of God that called you!
The pastor has another "gospel" and can manufacture some more church members... and also change community a couple more times