25 VOLUME 5 |ISSUE 3 |2014
The Move of God, which is also known as The Move, was
founded by a former Baptist preacher in the 1960s in
Florida. During his ministry, Sam Fife was a charismatic
leader. It was a time of unrest in the country, with
seething racial tensions and an increasingly unpopular
Vietnam War. Sam seemed able to offer a sense of
security, a place to belong, for people across the United
States and Canada, and eventually in other countries
around the world.
The basis of Sam Fife’s doctrine was that God had set
some individuals inside the church system, first as
apostles, then as prophets, and after that in a three-fold
ministry. This configuration made up what Sam called the
five-fold ministry that he taught would one day govern
the world under God’s direction (Sam Fife’s sermon, God’s
School of Divine Government, is available in its entirety at
ima.cc/godsschool.php).
In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Sam began to gather his
followers into the wilderness to prepare for this transition
and end of the world. In a matter of just a few years,
Fife’s followers had moved onto farms in Alaska, Canada,
and South America. Sporting a large array of military
equipment from Quonset huts to military cots, beds, and
ham radios, Fife’s followers utilized his methods to build
an empire. By 1974, the movement was boasting up to
40,000 followers from all walks of life.
When Sam Fife died in a plane crash in 1979, Move Elders,
primarily led by C. E. Buddy Cobb, took over his ministry.
Today, The Move of God exists in the form of nonprofit
organizations and churches scattered across the world.
They still have a strong following and still teach the same
doctrines passed on by Sam Fife (see ima.cc/messages.
php).
Although The Move still has supporters, several hundred
people have participated in a Yahoo group in which
they have written thousands of messages detailing their
experiences (https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/
sam_fife/info). Supporters relay positive experiences
many child survivors, along with some adults who left on
their own, describe a more sinister scene.
By Angela “Vennie” Kocsis
My time at Ware
was filled with...
humiliation.
The Move of God, which is also known as The Move, was
founded by a former Baptist preacher in the 1960s in
Florida. During his ministry, Sam Fife was a charismatic
leader. It was a time of unrest in the country, with
seething racial tensions and an increasingly unpopular
Vietnam War. Sam seemed able to offer a sense of
security, a place to belong, for people across the United
States and Canada, and eventually in other countries
around the world.
The basis of Sam Fife’s doctrine was that God had set
some individuals inside the church system, first as
apostles, then as prophets, and after that in a three-fold
ministry. This configuration made up what Sam called the
five-fold ministry that he taught would one day govern
the world under God’s direction (Sam Fife’s sermon, God’s
School of Divine Government, is available in its entirety at
ima.cc/godsschool.php).
In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Sam began to gather his
followers into the wilderness to prepare for this transition
and end of the world. In a matter of just a few years,
Fife’s followers had moved onto farms in Alaska, Canada,
and South America. Sporting a large array of military
equipment from Quonset huts to military cots, beds, and
ham radios, Fife’s followers utilized his methods to build
an empire. By 1974, the movement was boasting up to
40,000 followers from all walks of life.
When Sam Fife died in a plane crash in 1979, Move Elders,
primarily led by C. E. Buddy Cobb, took over his ministry.
Today, The Move of God exists in the form of nonprofit
organizations and churches scattered across the world.
They still have a strong following and still teach the same
doctrines passed on by Sam Fife (see ima.cc/messages.
php).
Although The Move still has supporters, several hundred
people have participated in a Yahoo group in which
they have written thousands of messages detailing their
experiences (https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/
sam_fife/info). Supporters relay positive experiences
many child survivors, along with some adults who left on
their own, describe a more sinister scene.
By Angela “Vennie” Kocsis
My time at Ware
was filled with...
humiliation.
