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Revision as of 03:46, 18 May 2005
Welcome to xFamily.org, a collaboratively edited encyclopedia about The Family/Children of God group.
Due to the secrecy that shrouds many of The Family's activities we work together to collate and divulge information.
The position of this website is neither for or against The Family as it is a collaborative work that is aimed at supporting contributions from diverse individuals. Individuals contributing to this project might have taken up a favorable or unfavorable position on The Family but through peer review we maintain objectivity. If you have a factual correction to make, feel free to contact us. While we may not agree with the facts as you see them we will take your suggestion into consideration and present the information here as fairly as possible.
Featured Pages
| Today: Ben Farnsworth | Previous | New Articles — Most recently created articles. |
 xFamily Forum — A place to request and contribute information as well as find out what our latest research is on. |
 Karen Zerby updated — Info about "Mama Maria", current leader of The Family. Includes photos and voice recordings. |
 Ricky Rodriguez video — Full video created by Ricky Rodriguez before his murder – suicide. (See also: Transcript) |
 Ricky Rodriguez Memorial — Video, photos and more from Ricky's Memorial on March 26th 2005. |
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Categories
Beliefs and Practices
History and Events
People
Documents and Articles
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Multimedia Archives
Operations
Miscellaneous
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Children of God/The Family
The Children of God (COG), later known as The Family of Love, The Family and now The Family International, is a new religious movement that started in 1968 in Huntington Beach, California, USA. It sprung from the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Criticism
The group has been often and heavily criticized by the press, the anti-cult movement, and the Christian countercult movement. In 1972, an organization called FREECOG was founded by concerned family members of followers to "free" them from their involvement in the group.
Statistics
According to the Children of God, there were 130 communes or "colonies" in 15 countries in 1972. In 1993, 7,000 of the 10,000 members were under 18 years of age. Recent statistics by The Family International put full-time and fellow members at just over 10,200 in over 100 countries (around 3,800 adult full-time members and 6,400 children under 18). Some estimates have placed the total number of people that have passed through the group at 35,000.
Programs, projects, and productions
The Family International (as the group calls itself today) has various programs through which it operates. The main ones include Family Care Foundation (FCF), Aurora Production AG, and Activated Ministries. However, the group has many other local foundations and projects in various countries throughout the world. For more information, please see Category:Fronts.
Aurora Production AG
Aurora Production AG, based in Zug, Switzerland, is the copyright holder and owner of all of The Family International's revenue-producing productions. These include publications, music, and videos (i.e. Countdown to Armageddon and Treasure Attic). Although ultimate control over this company is in Steven Kelly's hands, on paper the following people are listed as running this company [1]:
- Claes Furusjö (Director; Johanneshov, Sweden; former WS finance manager)
- Richard Müller
- Barbara-Maria Buzzi
- Ernst Steiner (Hünibach, Switzerland) (Alias: Byron)
- Michael Andrew Darley (Houston, Texas)
- Alconsa Finanz AG (Auditor)
Family Missions Foundation
Family Missions Foundation, based in Zug, Switzerland [2], receives and processes the tithes of members. The board has many of the same names as for Aurora Production AG. The two key people are:
- Christopher Smith (aka Steven Kelly; registered in Luzern, Switzerland)
- Thomas Mestyanek (registered in Los Angeles, USA; also Finance Manager of The Family International)
Activated Ministries
A Family International–operated charitable foundation in Escondido, California (EIN 33-0857142). All the Directors are Family International members. Thomas Hack, a high-ranking Family International officer and former director of FCF, is the President. Activated Ministries is a licensed distributor of Aurora products worldwide, including the magazines Activated and The Wine Press, both of which promote Family International beliefs and practices. It is The Family International's largest outreach operation. Activated Ministries openly acknowledges its support of The Family International and links to The Family International website. Activated Ministries has also made at least one cash donation to FCF. [3] [4]
Productions
Family productions include the following:
Active areas
Areas where The Family International have remained active for many years and are generally active today include:
Leadership
The leadership of The Family International is headed by the following individuals. Please see the links for additional information.
