Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 36
Through our CAN contacts we continued to learn more and more about cults. We had
mistakenly assumed that most cults had gone by the wayside as the hippie generation grew
up, and we were amazed to learn that there were at least 3000 active cults in the United
States in 1991. While it is not easy sorting through all the different cults, my wife gradually
narrowed our choices down to one that seemed the most likely cult. The ―fingerprint‖ was a
composite of specific words or phrases, like ―God willing,‖ ―scriptural family,‖ and ―please
consider,‖ which were contained in our first three letters, and a sense of how the group was
very nomadic and tended to move from town to town rather than remain in one location.
CAN put us in contact with some former members of the suspected group and families
impacted by cults. Through conversations with them and their help in studying the letters,
it seemed highly probable that our son was with the Jim Roberts cult. I can‘t stress how
important those contacts were for us and how much we appreciated the help from former
members, as well as the other families who had a long running association with the group.
One of the former members was kind enough to send us an unfinished manuscript he was
writing, so we would have a better understanding of what our son was going through, if he
was with the Roberts group. Although several people pass through the group every year,
some stayed in the group for extended periods and we concentrated our search on those
who had been with the group for at least several years, so they could help us learn what we
were up against. In all cases, those who left the group after extended periods did so
because they eventually became disenchanted with Jim Roberts and walked away on their
own. In the early years of the group, there were some successful forced deprogrammings
however, we had not heard of any one being taken forcibly from the cult and successfully
deprogrammed in the past 15 years. The former members have only limited, if any, regrets
about the time spent in the group, and the major regret seems to be the lost contact with
family, not the scriptural life they led within the group. Many forged very close friendships
that still flourish today and they remain in contact with those friends. They have produced
a couple of newsletters about former members, have held a few reunions, and most recently
have implemented a former member Web site and two Internet discussion groups, one for
former JRG members and one for former JRG members and TRGPN families.
As we met, or talked to more and more of the former members, it became obvious that
these people were not your run of the mill ―down and outers.‖ These folks were generally
well educated, caring, and idealistic at the time they were recruited. Most were sincerely
seeking the best way to serve the Lord and were extremely vulnerable to Roberts‘ particular
brand of Christianity. The author of the manuscript was on the Dean‘s List when he was
recruited off the Harvard campus during his sophomore year. They specifically target the
best and the brightest, and recruit them with a promise of life without sin or responsibility
and a chance to earn eternal salvation. The end is near, and the only way to be saved is to
―forsake all‖ worldly ties, including their ―flesh‖ family, live the Spartan life of the Roberts
cult, and believe in the twisted version of the King James version of the bible as espoused
by Jim Roberts.
In July of ‗91 we learned of a way house in Portland, Oregon used by JRG members and
decided to include a stop there during our vacation that fall. After six months of speculation
and guessing, this visit proved to be the first confirmation of our son‘s affiliation with the
Roberts‘ group. When my wife approached the wife of one of the long-time (17 years)
group members, she commented on her British accent. The woman responded that she was
from South Africa. My wife then told her that our son had been an exchange student there,
and she replied she knew that, because our son had told her he had been an exchange
student to Capetown. The young lady subsequently produced a letter she had written to my
wife but hadn‘t yet mailed. In the letter she described what a wonderful boy our son was,
and how good he was with children and in witnessing to people.

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 37
One of the most difficult aspects of this cult to deal with is the absence of any legal recourse
or support for the families that suddenly find themselves involved with it. It seems like only
the affected families are interested in this particular group because they are not known to
be involved in any significant illegal activities. An exception was highlighted on ―Unsolved
Mysteries‖ in February of 1992 because a young mother joined the group and took her
seven-year-old son with her.
Since the father had been granted custody, the taking of the son was classified as a
kidnapping and the F. B. I. got involved. After two and one-half years of searching, the
case remained unsolved until the ―Unsolved Mysteries‖ segment, and then the case was
solved the next day because of tips from viewers. Obviously, the group is extremely elusive
and secretive. The vast majority of the parents have no such access to the traditional legal
channels and must rely entirely on help from other parents, former members, and
concerned citizens who will take the time to provide much needed information on the
whereabouts of the group. Without their help, the rest of us are virtually powerless and on
our own.
It is now 12 years since we first began to look into the Roberts Group, and we still have no
contact with our son. Other than a brief visit when my wife surprised him in Minneapolis in
2000, there has been no contact, and there have been no letters for over six years. As far
as the cult is concerned, there have been some minor cosmetic changes in the group, but
the core problems still exist, i.e., they continue to forsake families and Roberts continues to
deny any marriages within the group as he controls almost every other aspect of their lives.
The organization of the families and some cult experts in 1996 into what is now called
TRGPN has given us a tremendous support group that sustains us as we continue to strive
to release all of our kids from Roberts‘ control.
Part II: The Origin and History of the Jim Roberts Group—A.K.A., the Church, the
Brethren, the Garbage Eaters (James Foster)
In February of 1971, a young, nomadic, evangelist, drove into Missoula, Montana and
preached at the House of Jesus, a gathering place for those traveling around the country in
their search for Jesus. Jim Roberts, the nomadic evangelist, preached to the small group of
―Jesus Freaks,‖ saying,
I want to talk to you about the cross of Calvary.
I feel called upon to warn you of the wicked times we are living in.
I know it‘s going to rain fire and brimstone because God said so. Praise the Lord.
I believe the world will be found to blame.
I believe the mass multitudes will be found to blame because they flirted with the
world.
Praise God. Let us pray. Let us each one seek out an altar and praise his name.
(Barta, 1971)
Within a few weeks, Jim Roberts and another evangelist, James Butler, gathered a group of
―Jesus Freaks‖ around them and left for Berkeley, California, then the ―Jesus Freak‖ capital
of the U.S. On the way to Berkeley, a division occurred between Roberts and Butler, caused
by a difference in interpretation of some parts of Scripture. A line was drawn in the sand
with Roberts on one side and Butler on the other and the group split in two. Those following
Roberts became the first members of what is now called the ―The Jim Roberts Group‖
(personal communication with ex-member, Rick, who was there and went with Roberts).
Jim Roberts grew up in the Jersey section of Paducah, Kentucky. He was one of six children
and the only one to graduate from high school. He is remembered as a loner, yet he starred