Sierra Leone, Africa

About The Family

The Family is an international Christian fellowship dedicated to sharing God’s Word and love with others. We in The Family seek to comfort, help and minister to those in need, endeavoring to follow the model of Jesus, who said His ministry was to “preach the Gospel to the poor … to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (The Gospel According to Saint Luke, chapter 4, verses 18 and 19).

There are approximately 10,000 full-time and associate adult volunteer members in The Family working out of over 1,100 centers or communities, situated in over 100 countries. Our members live with, and when possible are joined in their ministries by, their children. We are drawn from a multitude of nationalities, more than 90 at last count.

London, 1972

The Family’s History

The Family traces its origins to 1968 and Huntington Beach, California. It was there that our founder, David Berg, also known as “Father David” or “Moses David,” together with his wife and teenage children, began a ministry to the counterculture youth who flocked to that seaside town. Many of these experienced dramatic changes in their lives as they came to understand that there is a God and that they could have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ, God’s gift of Love.

The Family sees its prime task as that of bringing the message of God’s love to all. How successful have we been at this? As of October 2005 we have personally shared the Gospel message with over 276 million individuals, while billions have heard our message through the mass media. As a result, over 30 million people have personally prayed with our members to receive God’s love, forgiveness, and salvation. We have distributed over 938 million pieces of Gospel literature in 61 languages. A total of over 2 million videos (including DVD/CDs) and 11.5 million audio tapes and CDs in more than 20 languages have also been distributed.

Tokyo, Japan

The Family’s Outreach and Mission

The Family reaches out to help others in need. Compassion, as exemplified by the Good Samaritan Jesus spoke of*, goes far beyond mere sympathy: When it sees a needy situation it does something about it. Compassion puts love into action.

(* See the Gospel According to Saint Luke, chapter 10, verses 30 to 37.)

Throughout the world, Family members offer assistance in disaster-relief efforts and refugee camps. In recent years, The Family joined relief efforts following hurricanes Andrew and Iniki in the U.S.A.; floods in France, the U.S Midwest, Venezuela, and Mozambique; earthquakes in Maharastra, India, and Los Angeles, California, Japan and Taiwan; gas explosions in Guadalajara, Mexico; bomb blasts in Lima, Peru, and Bogota, Colombia; the Royal Plaza Hotel disaster in Korat, Thailand; and the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. Family members also help in refugee camps for victims of the civil war in the former Yugoslavia and Kosovo and distribute humanitarian and medical aid in Russia and other nations of the former Soviet Union.

Los Angeles, CA, USA

Life in The Family

Family communities, or “Homes” as they are commonly called, serve a number of purposes. They provide bases from which we conduct our outreach endeavors and Christian social work. They serve as living examples of the way we believe God intended for the peoples of the world to live; in harmony, cooperation and brotherly love.

Our Homes also provide safe, secure, stimulating, and supportive environments for our members and their children. Family Homes reflect the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of our membership, and have been likened by social scientists to a microcosm of the global community, yet without the tensions that often prevail in the world at large.

For more information visit: www.thefamily.org