“I escaped my grandfather's sex cult”

For Faith Jones, growing up in a cult was a birthright. As a former member of the Children of God, she was born into a world where sexual abuse and oppression were a way of life. At 23 she found the courage to leave the only life she had ever known

I was born into the Family, a religious movement founded in Huntington Beach, California, in 1968 by my grandfather David Brandt Berg, with help from his four children, including my father, Hosea. It was known as the Children of God in its early days and was often referred to as a cult by outsiders.

With its aggressive proselytising tactics and its demand that all its members serve as full-time missionaries, its live-in disciples quickly grew to over 10,000, an average it maintained for over four decades, and spread worldwide to 170 countries. With people leaving and joining, I’d estimate over 60,000 people passed through the group as full-time members during its 50 years in existence. But its missionary activities reached millions more, and hundreds of thousands of converts.

The group’s more radical practices led to police raids and negative press in many countries, with accusations of kidnapping, prostitution, and child abuse; my grandfather was on Interpol’s wanted list for decades.

In 2010, it disbanded its communes, releasing into mainstream society thousands of people who’d never held a job or finished school. According to its official website, it continues as “an online Christian community of 1450 committed to sharing the message of God’s love with people around the globe”. I left the Family in 2000 and do not have firsthand knowledge of its official practices or beliefs since that time. I can only tell my story.