History of the Family International

From its inception in 1968, the Family International [the Family]-formerly known as the Children of God-has had a colorful history. As our members circled the globe with the Gospel message in literature, song, and educational multimedia productions, the Family has faced the challenges of building a self-supporting autonomous Christian fellowship, while homeschooling our children, reaching out to the needy in active humanitarian aid and disaster relief, and preaching the Gospel in over 100 nations.

The Family has met with much controversy from its very beginnings, when its zealous "hippie" members picketed with large signs, decried the evils of war and injustice, and called for a return to the faith and lifestyle of the early Christians. The uncompromising tone of the missives written by our founder David Brandt Berg and the unconventional methods of preaching and demonstrating the Gospel have drawn much attention from the media and the academic community around the world.

Following is a brief history of the movement and the early events surrounding its people who have devoted their lives as missionaries to carry the Good News to their fellow man.

Our Founder, David Brandt Berg (1919-1994)
David Brandt Berg was the founder and leader of the Family. Working outside of mainstream denominations, he recruited, trained, and inspired thousands of predominantly young adults, many of whom had no former interest in denominational Christianity or in becoming full-time "missionaries." Publicly known as "Moses David" and later as "Father David," and endearingly called "Uncle Dave," "Mo," or "Dad" by Family members, he was born in 1919 in Oakland, California, to Hjalmer and Virginia Berg.

David had a rich Christian heritage. Many of his forefathers as well as both of his parents were deeply committed Christians who challenged the status quo of their day. His maternal forefathers were German Jews who converted to Christianity in the mid-18^th century, and subsequently joined the Dunkards. State persecution of this offshoot of the Lutheran Church led the Brandt family to migrate to America in 1745.

David's grandfather, author and lecturer Dr. John Lincoln Brandt (1860-1946), also underwent a dramatic conversion in his mid-20s and became a Methodist circuit rider, and later a leader of the Campbellite movement (now known as the Churches of Christ and the Disciples of Christ), building and pastoring 50 churches throughout America (and one in Australia). David's mother and father were also pastors and evangelists, but were expelled from the Disciples of Christ for testifying of Virginia's divine healing, which was contrary to that denomination's dogma. (See Virginia's book, The Hem of His Garment, about her healing.) They later served with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, though often operating as independent pastors and evangelists. His mother, Virginia Brandt Berg (1886-1968), was one of the outstanding female evangelists of her time. David spent much of his childhood and teen years in evangelistic service with his parents.

David later became an ordained Christian and Missionary Alliance minister. During his years as a pastor and evangelist, he became increasingly convinced of the ineffectiveness of much of the organized traditional churches of his day, which he termed "churchianity." He finally reached the conclusion that "the true Church are the genuine Christian believers in God who follow Jesus-the born-again, saved Body of Christ-not a building or a denomination or a religion" ("Church," par. 3).

Birth of Our Movement: The Children of God
During the mid-1960s, David began traveling with his wife and four teenaged children in evangelistic work. They started a small witnessing outreach that went by the name "Teens for Christ."

In early 1968 at the invitation of his elderly mother, David and his family journeyed to Huntington Beach, California, a seaside town that had become a gathering place for thousands of dropped out hippies and surfers. It was here, amongst the counterculture youth of the '60s, that he found his calling, and the famed "Jesus Revolution" came into being that was to sweep through Southern California and the rest of the United States.

David, his wife and children, and others they had won to the Lord reached out to the radical youth at Huntington Beach and were soon receiving large numbers of them at a Christian coffee shop they were given use of, called the Light Club. The message of Jesus without organized religion appealed to the radical hippies who were rebelling against the Establishment. Scores of the hippies experienced dramatic changes as they came to believe in Jesus and receive Him, and many forsook lives centered on drugs and alcohol to join David and his family in their evangelistic efforts.

David began teaching Bible classes at the Light Club in a revolutionary language and fashion that these nonconformist youth could relate to. This was to become his trademark. He particularly sparked their interest as he taught them the biblical prophecies describing the events directly preceding Jesus' Second Coming. The message that we are now living in the Time of the End according to God's Word was to become a central theme of the movement's witness to the world.

In 1969, as the original group expanded and began traveling in a large convoy of vehicles and campers across the U.S., witnessing to young people throughout the country, a Camden, New Jersey newspaper reporter in a local article dubbed them "Moses and the Children of God." The terms were popularized by the press and soon adopted by the group. Another reporter from NBC's program First Tuesday, after attending a rally, described the Children of God (COG) movement as "wandering, passionate, bearers of the Word." A Newsweek reporter wrote, "I realized that the COG were doing something for these kids that money just couldn't buy."

The Children of God continued as an active missionary movement, and during our first decade many of our members migrated out of the U.S. to establish mission posts throughout the world. By 1977 there were 741 Children of God communities in 73 countries. During this period, members distributed 306 million pieces of Gospel literature and led 1.5 million people to Christ.

In Europe and South America the Children of God became famous as our music gained popularity and bands landed recording contracts and big-stage performances, particularly in France and Brazil. From radical rock-style songs denouncing the hypocrisy of the Establishment to heart-touching folk ballads about God's love, original music became an important part of our movement's outreach and culture.

The End of an Era
The Children of God abruptly ended as an organizational entity in February 1978. Reports of serious misconduct, financial mismanagement, and abuse of their positions by a number of the established leaders caused David (now often called Father David) to dismiss all leadership and to declare the general dissolution of the then existing COG structure. He had entrusted and delegated the organizational leadership of the Children of God to others, and many of them had misused their authority. This radical shift was known as the "Reorganization Nationalization Revolution" (RNR). In all, over 300 leaders were summarily dismissed. A third of the total membership chose to leave the movement, and those who desired to serve the Lord together with Father David became part of the reorganized movement, dubbed "the Family of Love," and later, simply "the Family." David and his wife Maria reorganized and trained the top leadership, and each community was required to elect new shepherds. In an effort to reduce dependence on American leadership, one member of each community's pastoral management was required to be a national of the country in which they resided.

"The Family of Love"
In reaction to the heavy-handed style of the former COG leadership, the Family of Love era was characterized by much looser supervision of its members and communities, as well as far fewer set standards of conduct. Each community was self-governing and largely autonomous. Any new leadership was freely elected by all members of their community and confirmed by a vote every six months. New leadership were named "servants" to emphasize that their role was to be one of service to those who elected them. They were not to become authoritarian rulers or "lords over God's heritage," as many of the previous overseers had unfortunately become, but they were to be kind, concerned servants and "examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:3 NKJV).

In the ensuing vacuum left by the loss of the previous overseers, the move from close oversight by existing shepherds, and the departure of one-third of the membership, there initially existed a period of great independence, lack of direct supervision, and a general reluctance to cooperate and communicate between communities. However, Family members did retain their missionary zeal, remaining fervent in their desire to keep evangelizing the world. With the previously restrictive influences and local policies lifted, members found themselves with much more liberty to follow the Lord according to their personal faith and convictions, which had been David's original intent.

"The Law of Love"
Just prior to this period of Family history, upon much pondering of the Scriptures, Father David articulated the theological standpoint that loving God first and foremost, and then our fellow man, is the ultimate fulfillment and completion of biblical law, including the Ten Commandments. As explained in Matthew 22:37-40 (NKJ), "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

During this time David published many more missives that established the Family's theological standpoint regarding the nature of human sexuality, in which he expressed that sexuality was a God-ordained, pure, and needful wonder of God's creation, when practiced as God intended. He reached the conclusion that sexuality is not inherently evil in God's eyes, and that loving heterosexual relations between consenting adults, even outside of formal marriage, are permissible as long as others immediately affected by these actions are not hurt.

As would be expected, these viewpoints were very much at odds with the sexually conservative stance of most Christian denominations.¹

"Flirty Fishing"
In part as a response to the sexual liberality of the early '70s, Father David presented a more intimate and personal, voluntary form of evangelism, which became known as "Flirty Fishing" or "FFing." He offered in his writings the challenging proposal that since Jesus is the physical manifestation and embodiment of God's love for humanity, then we as Christians are in turn responsible to be living samples to others of God's great all-encompassing love.

Although sex and love are not necessarily directly linked, sex was nevertheless seen as an undeniable human need, and one that much of humanity equates with love. Therefore, Father David proposed that the boundaries of expressing God's love to others could at times go beyond just showing kindness and doing good deeds. He suggested that for those who were in dire need of physical love and affection, even sex could be used as evidence to them of the Lord's love. "If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?" (James 2:15-16 NKJV).

The motivation, guiding principle, and reasoning behind the FFing ministry was that through this sacrificial proof of love, some would better accept and understand God's great love for them. The goal was that they would come to believe in and receive God's own loving gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus, who gave His life for them. By this unorthodox method David felt many would find the Lord's love and salvation, who never would have otherwise.

Linking the spiritual love of God with the physical manifestation of that love in this very intimate form of personal witnessing was not understood or well received by mainstream Christianity, where "sexuality" and "God" are seldom if ever associated. One might even get the erroneous impression from some religious circles that sex is of the Devil, and not God's idea or design at all.

Although this sexual liberality expressed in the writings of Father David sent shock waves through the media and religious institutions around the world, many people, most of whom would never attend church, were reached and won to Christ through this open, humbly honest, and intimately human approach to witnessing. FFing proved to be tremendously fruitful and was effectively used as an outreach ministry in the Family for close to ten years. As a result, over 100,000 received God's gift of salvation through Jesus, and some chose to live the life of a disciple and missionary.

In 1987 the Family discontinued FFing to emphasize other means of ministering the Word of God to others, as well as to take advantage of opportunities to reach more people than the very personalized ministry of FFing allowed. At that time as well, the plague of AIDS had begun its rampage through the world-another indication that it was time to reconsider Family policy of allowing sexual interaction outside our communities.

Although we no longer practice FFing, we believe the scriptural principles behind the ministry remain sound.

New Ministries
In November 1978, those who opposed new religious movements (NRMs) attempted to capitalize on the Jonestown tragedy to incite the public and the media to adopt very hostile attitudes toward all NRMs. With much of the media fueling public outrage and fears, extreme prejudice and animosity toward NRMs were the order of the day. In response to this, in January 1979 Father David published a series of Letters entitled "Nationalize, Reorganize, Security-wise." In these Letters he proposed a number of steps the Family could take in order to adapt to current conditions. He proposed that members integrate more into their local community and shed any methods or mannerisms from their hippie beginnings that could be misunderstood or misconstrued. One of those steps was to further decentralize the large Family communities into smaller ones ("Homes").

This also spurred members on to new forms of ministering and outreach in addition to street distribution of literature, which had previously been one of our main methods of outreach. Some members explored mass media approaches to witnessing, both on radio and television. One radio ministry, called Music with Meaning (MWM) in English, and its Spanish, Portuguese, and French counterparts, was promoted and given free air time by hundreds of radio stations worldwide. MWM enjoyed enormous success, eliciting favorable responses from the public, especially in some countries hitherto closed to the Gospel, such as China. In the Philippines, a children's television series of puppet characters called The Luvetts, developed by Family members, won that country's National Catholic Children's Award.

Also in the early '80s, many members and communities departed from the developed nations of the West, opening new outreaches in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the Far East. By the mid-'80s, communities of musicians began to produce inspirational music cassettes for public distribution. Family artists and writers created full-color posters with Gospel messages. Video production and distribution opened up a whole new method of reaching and ministering to people. Literature creation and distribution became a full-time ministry in itself, involving a great deal of work to translate, print, and distribute materials in many different languages and countries.

Focus on Our Children
In the mid and late '80s, as the overall membership of the Family matured and became more child and family centered, much of the focus of the movement shifted to childcare and education. This is very evident today in the content of the current public distribution tapes, CDs, videos, and books. Much effort was made to ensure that each community was truly a home and to educate members regarding the proper care, training, and education of their children. A vast array of educational materials for adults, teens, and children was produced, including books, magazines, booklets, newsletters, book summaries, and reprints, as well as a series of educational videos for use in each community. New education programs for all ages of children were introduced to expand homeschooling programs. Parents were encouraged to spend quality time daily with their children and to set aside one day each week from missionary activities for parents and children to have fellowship and recreation together. Overall, higher childcare and home standards were established for all Family communities.

Throughout the Family's history, the majority of Family members have opted to homeschool their children, and much effort has been made to help provide the necessary materials to do so. In 1988, to further address the needs of Family children and teenagers, David presented what he called "The School Vision," in which he encouraged Family members to place a greater emphasis on the schooling of the children. Members were encouraged to establish small local boarding schools or day schools as centers to more effectively educate their children and provide them the opportunity to have more interaction with others their own age.

This trend continued until 1995 with the advent of The Love Charter (explained in the following section), as the Family moved away from larger, institutional-style communities toward smaller co-op Homes, due to management difficulties and the need to provide the more personal environment that smaller Homes afford. Over the past decade the Family has devoted much time and resources to ensuring that children residing within its communities receive a high standard of care, protection, education, and recreation. The objective is to foster a profound respect for the children and to be sure the children are properly educated, cared for, socialized, and prepared for life. Attention to their proper care and upbringing is not only an integral part of the Family's religious belief and practice, but is central to its communal existence.

The Family's Love Charter
In 1995 the Family adopted a governing charter, which codified the beliefs, rights, and responsibilities of full-time Family members. The primary purpose of the Charter is to provide a well-defined and easy-to-understand broad governing structure. Within this structure, ample opportunity is provided for Family members to follow what they believe is God's will for them personally and to freely operate according to their own initiative.

Shortly before his death in late 1994, David studied and approved a draft of the document. Each aspect of the Charter is based on his writings and teachings, and references to his nearly 3,000 published Letters written over the previous three decades accompany most sections of the document. Although the Charter itself was new, the doctrines and principles upon which it was based were not. Existing beliefs and practices regarded as essential were drawn from the tens of thousands of pages of Family literature and formalized into one document. The Love Charter provides easy reference to the most important principles and rules of the Family that were previously scattered throughout the movement's literature.²

A Work in Progress
During the first 30 years of the Family's history, through various ways and means of witnessing-including TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines-Family members reached a combined audience of over 67 billion people. Thus many have heard about and from the Family and have heard their message of God's love and salvation many times over. This figure includes those reached by the distribution of over 800 million pieces of Gospel literature in 163 nations, and also the nearly 26 million people who have received Jesus as their Savior.

In 1999 Family members designed an extensive correspondence program to provide a Bible-based study course for the many people the Family reaches daily with the Gospel message. Known as "the Activated program," it centers on a monthly magazine subscription program and includes a course of Bible studies, other books and materials, locally held social and inspirational events, and personal counseling and teaching. The goal is to bring new converts along in their faith in Jesus and His Word, so that they experience a connection with the Lord that will guide, sustain, and empower them.

The Family has undergone many changes and improvements throughout its history, all while establishing an international cooperative missionary work from scratch, and will doubtless continue to undergo many more changes. Although the methods of witnessing and the leadership structure have undergone many modifications, the basic message remains unchanged: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16 KJV).

Unchanged and fundamental to the movement is the Family's personal zeal for witnessing the Gospel of salvation through Jesus to all the world, even at the price at times of persecution and personal sacrifice if necessary, following Jesus' injunction to "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15 KJV).

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Footnotes
¹ For further details see the Family's policy statement, "God's Law of Love-The Guiding Principle of the Family International."

² For more information on The Love Charter see the policy statement, "The Family's Governing Charter."

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Works Cited
Family, The. Love Charter, The. Bangkok: World Services, 1998.

Berg, David. "The Church System." Good News, Aug. 1974.

Berg, Virginia. The Hem of His Garment. Dallas: World Services, 1970.

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What Is the Family International?
The Family International (formerly known as the Children of God) is a fellowship of Christian communities with members in over 100 countries. Our current membership numbers about 8,500 full-time members and 7,000 associates.

The Family has four main objectives:

1. To share with others the life-giving message of love, hope, and salvation found in God's Word, conveying the joys of knowing Jesus as a personal Savior.
2. To ensure that each of our children receives a godly upbringing in the best possible environment we can provide.
3. To produce and distribute a wide selection of devotional, inspirational, and educational materials.
4. To actively assist the needy through producing and performing inspirational, dramatic, and musical benefits; serving as volunteers in disaster relief; and seeking ways to provide comfort and material assistance for the disadvantaged.

If you have any questions or comments, we invite you to contact us at one of the following addresses:

Web site: www.thefamily.org

The Family International
PMB 102
2020 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20006-1846
USA

Call in the USA at:
1 (800) 4-A-FAMILY [1 (800) 423-3264], or
1 (202) 298-0838
E-mail: publicaffairs@thefamily.org

The Family International
Maxet House
Liverpool Road
Luton, LU1 1RS
England
E-mail: info@thefamilyeurope.org

Copyright © 2004 by The Family International