The Children of God

Soul-Saving Mission of Commune

Ellenville’s Children of God

By Wade Burkhart, The Sunday Freeman, Kingston, N.Y.

December 19, 1971, North America

Every day is like Christmas, a day of thanksgiving, joy, praise and dedication to Christ, say the Children of God. When Christmas comes, it is more a holiday party than the holiday of holidays.

The Children of God are an evangelical, fundamentalist sect of young people, dedicated to preaching the Gospel and saving souls. According to Mike Ainis, and group Spokesman, the commune in Ellenville is one of about 30 or 35 in the United States. There are four other settlements in Canada, and four more in Europe.

From 60 to 70 people reside in the Ellenville commune. It is a family-type atmosphere with everything held in concert. Their moral code is strict (no drugs, intoxicants, premarital sex) marriage is sacred and revered, and the saving of souls is everyone’s mission.

There will be some special activates for Christ’s birthday. They intend to have a tree and decorations, and perhaps some simple gifts. David Cook, the leader of the Ellenville group, said Children of God communes always had a large amount of clothing donated to them, and they returned much of it to the needy at Christmas time. This year, the girls of the commune are working on the clothes, boxing them after making the necessary repairs. Cook said they would probably consult local police departments to see who were the neediest and where the clothes would to the most good.

Cook and local churches had asked Children of God representatives to speak to their youth groups, and this would be done. He said they may also do some caroling.

No additional effort will be made in the evangelical area. Cook said they could not do more than is being done by the members. One the day this interview was conducted, a group of seven was being dispatched to Europe, and a group of 15 was being readied for dispatch to Boston.

A day in the life of a Child of God begins about 8 am according to their schedule. The morning is devoted to study and labor, until breakfast, which is served at 11 am or noon. The evening meal is served at 6 pm and there is usually a light snack before lights out at midnight or 1 am. Much of the day is devoted to Biblical study, the work that must be done around the commune. There is time out for singing and dancing, and frequent individual and group praying.

The labor to be done around he commune is divided up among “tribes.” There are 12 tribes, each bearing the mane of one of the 12 tribes of Israel, each specializing in a particular type of work such as cooking, sewing, carpentry or mechanics.

Children of God member George Gibbs, who said the group saved him from a life of idleness, bumming around, and occasional drug use, saw the family-style way of living was a means of attracting people to their way of life. Gibbs said the emphasis was not on hard-sell preaching, but on “being an example of what Jesus did for us.” The group has a saying “What you do speaks louder than what you say,” said Gibbs, and the Children of God seek to share their salvation by example.

“To be saved you first have to be a sinner,” Gibbs said, “and we are all sinners.” The Children of God seek t provide a sample of God’s love. “A lot of people don’t believe unless they see like Thomas,” according to Anis, “and we provide a testimony of Jesus.”

The group in Ellenville is now living in an old resort-type bungalow colony on Cape Avenue which has been leased by them from the Renaissance Project. Cook said the terms of the lease were to pay for the mortgage and taxes. The group has done a great deal of renovation, both interior and exterior, painting, pipe-laying, and general improvement of the property.

They were living in two small houses in the Cragsmoor area, but they had no water in the winter.

Some group members were going along Cape Avenue to by an old bus to convert to one of their “Prophet Wagons” when they saw the Renaissance property. They inquired about it, took it over, and moved in about two and a half months ago.

Ainis said the Ellenville site would probably be converted to a training center for those to be dispatched on witness teams, teams going out to spread the Word.

The “Prophet Wagon’s” are old busses, converted to mobile coffee houses by the group’s mechanics and carpenters. The send the vehicles to large gatherings of youths, such as pop festivals. THE Prophet Wagons have stoves, and provide meals, some shelter and a place to talk and spread the Word.

The Ellenville group has been concentration on New York City, but intends to do more work in local areas and colleges.

Ainis said other communes failed because they had nothing to bind them together. He said the Children of God were succeeding because they were all bound together by their common belief in Christ, and love for each other.

According to Ainis, urgency has been added to their evangelical mission by their belief that Christ is coming, and Coming soon: they see the world as being in “the last days” and the prophetic signs such as “wars and rumors of wars” rampant everywhere.