Theresa Sidebotham

Whenever abuse in Ethnos360 is discussed, Theresa Sidebotham is inevitably a topic of conversation. Her role with Ethnos360, particularly as it relates to abuse, is significant. Officially, Theresa Sidebotham is the coordinator of IHART, which purports to be a "process" commissioned by Ethnos360 that uses independent investigators. In reality, IHART is a trademark owned by Ethnos360, and it is run by Theresa Sidebotham, an attorney who has demonstrated her interest lies in representing, defending, and protecting the organization above all.

Theresa Sidebotham is an adult missionary kid. Ethnos360 loves to suggest that her MK status means she is an advocate for MKs, but her track record says otherwise.

Some of Theresa Sidebotham's early public statements related to missionary kids can be found in a white paper she coauthored called Are Protestant Ministries a New Market? It depicts MKs as confused liars and conveys an overall mistrust of victims of abuse. In my opinion, this paper is a master class in casting abuse survivors as money-hungry villains and Christian institutions as victims. A video recap is available here.

According to the "Historical Reviews" page on Ethnos360's website, IHART began in 2010, and Theresa Sidebotham was hired to coordinate it shortly thereafter. Ethnos360, then New Tribes Mission, MKs quickly sounded the alarm on this decision, but leadership ignored their concerns.

On the "Investigations" page, there are several links to first-hand experiences with Theresa Sidebotham's IHART investigations and investigations she oversaw for other organizations through her law firm, Telios Law. These experiences include an Ethnos360 MK who came away from the investigation feeling like Ethnos360 only revictimized MKs during the process; an MK who participated as a panel member for an investigation, saw behind the scenes, and considered the entire investigation to be a waste of time with the end goal of protecting the organization rather than truth and transparency; an investigative journalist who participated in an investigation with Theresa Sidebotham and Telios Law and regretted it; and a description of Theresa Sidebotham's investigation for the ACNA that is characterized as a failure and unprofessional.

On the "Reports" page, you will find reports from the IHART investigations coordinated by Theresa Sidebotham as well as a couple that weren't. There is a stark difference between the reports by Theresa Sidebotham and the other reports. I recently compared a GRACE report and a Theresa Sidebotham IHART report and included a video discussion and a visual side-by-side video comparison of the two. The IHART investigation reports produced under Theresa Sidebotham are vague, refuse to give names, and are filled with explanations, background, and excuses rather than substance.

All in all, I have yet to hear from a missionary kid who wasn't disappointed in the results of Theresa Sidebotham's work for Ethnos360. Even in the last couple of years, MKs report Theresa Sidebotham representing IHART as a completely separate entity, unrelated to Ethnos360. The deception only compounds the harm. It is heartbreaking for a missionary kid to choose to protect an institution and betray other MKs, but that is the path Theresa Sidebotham and Ethnos360 have chosen. Please proceed with caution.

Photo: telioslaw.com