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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

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 — Info about "Mama Maria", current leader of The Family. Includes photos & 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.	Video Archives — TV coverage of The Family and other video. Merry Berg — Info about "Mene", granddaughter of David Berg.	Berg on Incest — Positions on Incest. FBI — Contact information for FBI investigations on The Family.

Categories

Beliefs and Practices Beliefs — Beliefs held by The Family Spirit World — Beliefs about the "spiritual realm" and "spirit helpers" Practices — Practices in The Family Abuse — Abuse that occured in The Family Secrecy — Secrecy within The Family Finances — Finances within The Family Education — Education within The Family History and Events History Timeline — Articles that contain lists of events for a particular year Legal Action — Information on any legal action currently or previously taken against The Family International Deaths — People who were current or former members at the time of their death Suicides — People who were current or former members at the time they committed suicide People Current and Former Members — Information about people who are or have been members of the Family Abusers — Collecting information about abusers Leaders — Here you will find the pages for the leaders of The Family Pseudonyms — Pseudonyms used by Family members Non-Members — People who never were members of The Family but are involved in some way Documents and Articles Documents — Documents about The Family International Legal Name Changes — Documents of court orders for legal name changes Testimony — An archive of testimony relating to The Family James Penn — Articles by James Penn Press — An archive of press relating to The Family from around the globe

Multimedia Archives Video Archives — Archive of TV coverage of The Family, and other video found on this site Photo Archives — Archive of photos found on this site Family Leaders — Photos of Karen Zerby, Steven Kelly, COs and other Family Leaders WS Members — Photos of Family members working in Creations and World Services FCF Directors — Photos of Directors and Staff of the Family Care Foundation Deceased Members — Photos of former members who have passed away Current and Former Members — Photos of current and former Family members Family Media — An archive of multimedia published by The Family Family Videos — Videos published by The Family Family Music and Audio — Audio published by The Family Family Publications — Publications by The Family Family Art — Includes scans of Family publications and images contained therein Plagiarism — Plagiarism in Family media Operations Places — Articles that connect events to places Family Centers — Information about Family homes Fronts — Organizations behind which The Family has operated or currently operates Miscellaneous Glossary — An index of definitions for terminology particular to The Family References Links — Here you will find external links categorized All Categories — Alphabetical listing

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 puts full-time and fellow members at just over 11,200 in over 100 countries (around 4,000 adult full-time members and 4,000 children). 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. The following are a few examples (note: some may no longer be active):

• World Services — location of WS centers are closely guarded secrets; they can be contacted through a Post Office box in Zurich, Switzerland that has been open for over two decades, with the mail handled by the European regional office (EURCRO)
• Family Missions Foundation in Zug, Switzerland
• Heaven's Magic
• Sunny-Side Up Entertainment, LLC. in USA
• Fellowship of Independent Christian Churches
• Donate Car for Charity in Spring Valley, California, USA
• Teaching, Education and More (TEAM) Foundation in Dallas, Texas, USA (EIN 75-2790783)
• East European Christian Correspondence Center in Hungary (previously the "MM Home")
• Asia Vision in Thailand
• Los Angeles Missionary Base (LAMB)
• Blue Bird Family Foundation in Hungary
• Golden Sunrise Productions Co., Ltd. in Taiwan
• Spiritual Retreat and Missionary Training Program (SRMTP) in USA
• Mission Support and Humanitarian Services Program (MSHSP)
• Immediate Disaster Relief in India
• New Horizons – Student Interchange in India
• Action In Focus in Nairobi, Kenya
• Helping Hands
• Mexcity Mission (formerly called Milk for Many)
• KidzVids International, based in Humble, Texas, USA
• The Extra Mile
• The Family Singers (they have performed at the White House for Christmas on several occasions)

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:

• Activated
• The Wine Press
• Treasure Attic
• Kiddie Viddie
• Cherub Wings
• Countdown to Armageddon

Active areas

Areas where The Family International have remained active for many years and are generally active today include:

• Tateyama, Japan
• Budapest, Hungary
• Lima, Peru
• Bangkok, Thailand
• Washington, D.C., USA

Leadership

The leadership of The Family International is headed by:

• Karen Elva Zerby

- spiritual leader of The Family International

- American

- legally changed her name to Katherine Rianna Smith, 4-Nov-1997

- Aliases: Maria David, Maria Berg, Maria Fontaine, Mama Maria and Queen Maria

• Steven Douglas Kelly

- head-leader of The Family International

- American

- legally changed his name to Christopher Smith

- Aliases: Peter Amsterdam or King Peter

• Samuel Charles Perfilio

- senior leader under Karen Zerby and Steven Kelly (less officially Grant Montgomery)

- American

- legally changed his name to Kevin Anthony Brown, 29-Sep-1993

- Aliases: Matthew or John PI