The pledge

In the early days of New Tribes Mission, now Ethnos360, the founders made a pledge. Ethnos360 describes it as "a pledge that would outline their God-given task." This pledge is proudly displayed on their website with the title, "What Makes Us Who We Are?" and included in the books "The Story of New Tribes Mission" and "Founded, The Heritage of Ethnos360."

With the benefit of hindsight, I think this pledge is the origin of the decades of abuse and cover-ups that would follow and allegedly continue to this day. The text of the pledge reads:

We hereby pledge ourselves:

• A. To work for the completion of the Bride of Christ until death.

• B. To measure all of our effort in the light of this task.

• C. To refrain from doing even the good things if they do not contribute to the most important thing: namely, reaching the last unevangelized [people group] in our generation.

• D. To do nothing that would hinder or detract or render us powerless in the accomplishment of this goal.

Upon first reading, this may come across as a group of passionate people with a dedication to a specific goal, and I believe they were, but the consequences of an organizational culture built on this foundation are unfathomably tragic. It's seen in the Fanda report, where they describe children being told not to tell their parents they were being abused because people would not be saved or families being told not to talk about an abusive dorm parent because they would ruin his ministry. The stories are endless, but the origin is clear. When you "measure all of our effort in the light of this task," "refrain from doing even the good things if they do not contribute to the most important thing," and "do nothing that would hinder or detract or render us powerless," missionary kids inevitably get left behind. Missionary kids are inevitably harmed.

In "The Story of New Tribes Mission," Paul Fleming, the founder, is quoted (page 152), "...what will we do with the children? Their schooling has been a real problem...we realized we would be far more efficient if there were those who would give themselves to take all of the children and release both the wives and the husbands for a more complete and fruitful ministry." Missionary kids have seemingly always been considered a problem to be solved, a hindrance to Ethnos360's goals. Child protection, holding abusers accountable, and the general health and well-being of MKs haven't been a priority because one task is the priority.

Ask any MK who has experienced abuse or harm under the care of Ethnos360 to read this pledge, and they will viscerally understand the consequences because they lived them.