Voted Most Likely To Join A Cult – Visiting the 12 Tribes Commune

written 1.30.26 Readtime: 12m

https://twelvetribes.org/

Social Changes Require Social Changes

No, I wasn’t really voted most likely to join a cult. It’s just a joke… 😉 But I have developed an interest in communal living for around the last decade and I’ve visited several places of shared living and yes, I have been insulted a time or two by being accused of joining or follow a cult. Cults are dangerous, don’t get me wrong, but so is the idea that living communally or intentionally …or alternatively, is dangerous.¹

Times are changing and change is necessary, but sometimes change is simply just reverencing the ideal quiet, simple life and recognizing tradition doesn’t always get it wrong.

For millennia, humans have primarily lived in multi-generational²,³, communal or close-knit communities. It’s only with the increase of technology that humans have become more and more isolated resulting in more and more loneliness⁴. This to the point that in 2023, the US Surgeon General declared the epidemic of loneliness and isolation a public health crisis. After traveling the country and hearing stories people began telling him “they felt isolated, invisible, and insignificant.”⁵

(Please bear with the quotes for a moment in attempt to address real needs that often need official reference or skip to next section:)

“Research shows that Americans, who have become less engaged with worship houses, community organizations and even their own family members in recent decades, have steadily reported an increase in feelings of loneliness. The number of single households has also doubled over the last 60 years.”

– PBS, Loneliness poses health risks as deadly as smoking, U.S. surgeon general says⁶

“Given the profound consequences of loneliness and isolation, we have an opportunity, and an obligation, to make the same investments in addressing social connection that we have made in addressing tobacco use, obesity, and the addiction crisis.”

“If we fail to do so, we will pay an ever-increasing price in the form of our individual and collective health and well-being. And we will continue to splinter and divide until we can no longer stand as a community or a country. Instead of coming together to take on the great challenges before us, we will further retreat to our corners—angry, sick, and alone”

“We are called to build a movement to mend the social fabric of our nation. It will take all of us—individuals and families, schools and workplaces, health care and public health systems, technology companies, governments, faith organizations, and communities—working together to destigmatize loneliness and change our cultural and policy response to it. It will require reimagining the structures, policies, and programs that shape a community to best support the development of healthy relationships.”

– Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, 2023, The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community⁷

“The History of the Coliving Movement traces back to ancient times, when coliving was a common form of housing. People lived in tribal villages, spiritual ashrams, boarding houses, residential hotels, and communal kibbutzim. In more recent times, this style of living has grown in popularity and has become a viable solution to housing affordability issues.”

-Ecoliving.co / The History of The Coliving Movement⁸

Looking for Alternate Living Solutions & Better Quality of Life

I never intended to live alone after my husband passed when my son was a newborn. I knew I’d be better off in compatible company, but every desirable opportunity fell through. I had an opportunity to be a live-in for a friend of mine who also had a baby. It would have been the perfect setup if they hadn’t lost one income just before our final agreement.

There were a lot of changes happening in my personal life, religiously, economically, socially, healthwise, but there were also larger changes happening with national security and cultural trends becoming more hostile, and of course, COVID, but that didn’t phase me nearly as much as it did for people who, quite frankly, weren’t already used to the struggle.

But it wasn’t just about struggle, it about a dream, this deep-seeded belief that life could be so much better if we actually lived out what we believe to be good instead of idealizing it and that I could live somewhere that embodied my values, not just for myself, but for generations after me that would live by higher standards than our modern, fast-tracked, throw-away world and create more eco-friendly and socially-friendly spaces.

Somewhere that I could raise my son in the exact lifestyle that I really believed in -where God and family came first, where I didn’t have to compromise my values just to keep a job or get a paycheck, where I could practice religion without social stigma or ostracization, where I could spend more time doing the creative things I loved with people I wanted to live life with.

Where I could bank on clean, healthy eating even when inconvenienced, where we could have friends and a social life while still working in a garden or on a farm, living in harmony with nature, but not having to bear the burden of doing it alone.

Somewhere I could find a compatible mate and my child grow up with a better chance of finding the same among people who shared similarly held beliefs. Where I could grow old and be expected to be taken better care of than I’d seen in hospitals and nursing homes.

Somewhere I could make a bigger difference to help the homeless, refugees and contribute more to society without feeling like a burden due to my limitations.

Somewhere ideal, but real. Certainly not everyone’s ideal, but the one my conscience would be happy to live with.

“Most scholars treat these verses [Acts 2:44, 4:32-35] as a far-off ideal, placing those first disciples up in the heavens where mere mortals like ourselves can never go. Others look down their noses on the simplicity of their common life, calling it primitive, saying the church has evolved past such hare-brained escapades.”

“The alarming thing about either of these responses is that they effectively place the life of the first disciples in the casket of idealism. An ideal is an interesting concept with no reality attached to it, existing in the imagination only.”

– Fascination, A 12 Tribes Freepaper, How the Church Began…the Shift from REAL to IDEAL

Of course, everyone said “you’ll never find that. you’re going backwards.” Etc. But, being the social rebel and idealist that I am, that by no means stopped me. I swore I didn’t care if I was 99yrs old when I found what I was looking for, I was going to find it.

Through a series of quality of life evaluations, I had convinced myself that there must be a better way and the best way to live getting the most needs met seemed to be solved in communal living. So, after failing to convince family and friends, I started looking further out and the more I looked, the more amazed I became.

Visiting the 12 Tribes Commune

By the time my son was a toddler, my ex boyfriend broke no-contact to tell me, much to his own amazement, that he’d found what I was looking for. I think it was something along the lines of “I thought you were crazy, but these people are Sabbath-keepers and everything.” He was really excited for me, but still wasn’t interested in visiting. So I went alone.

The first “cult” I visited was the 12 Tribes community. A Hebrew-Christian commune where members live in similarity to the original disciples who “had all things in common.”

Acts 2:44-45 (New American Standard Bible)

44 And all the believers [a]were together and had all things in common; 45 and they would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need.

Today, as in those days, people are so interested in looking out for themselves, sometimes out of necessity, often simply out of selfishness, wanting to gain more than others. It’s refreshing to see people who are genuinely willing to live for others in some of the most sacrificial ways, giving up their lives for each other.

In the 12 Tribes commune, hospitality is top-notch, they welcome visitors to “stay as long as you like” (granted you are willing to contribute in some way), but those serious about living the lifestyle and becoming official members pledge their allegiance, not just to God, but to each other, as serious as marriage vows.

“Is there a way to repair and heal our relationships, or do we have to throw them away and look for something better? What would it be worth to you to live in a place where relationships can be restored instead of disposed of?” – pg 15, Fascination, 12 Tribes Freepaper

They give up everything from “the world”, leaving behind their old life to start anew. Some come with a few belongings of choice, or with material offerings to share, but all leave the life they’ve known. Some leave (or donate to sell) their cars, houses, boats, land, businesses. Some even leave their families and friends. Some come off the street as homeless, some come from rich and wealthy lifestyles.

In one of their “Freepapers,” they describe the purpose of living together:

“[Acts 2:44] goes on to describe how they were of one heart and soul, and that there was not a needy person among them, for they gave up all their possessions to meet the needs of their spiritual brothers and sisters. Some people say this was only for back then, but we’ve been living this way for over [50] years. You can come and see for yourself…” – Fascination, A Twelve Tribes Freepaper

What makes such different brands of people, from all backgrounds, find solace at a place like this to the point they’re willing to leave everything behind?

They have a story about a pearl… The Pearl of Great Price. It’s based on the Biblical scriptures of Matthew 13:44-46 and John 12:25.

“The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then, in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” -Matthew 13:44-46

“Whoever loves his life will lose it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” =John 12:25

The 12 Tribes believe that these scriptures compels them to forsake all, not just for each other, but for the “Kingdom of God.”

“[Acts 14:22] That was the Good News of the Kingdom, and they received it as good news. It gave them hope, strengthening and confirming them…If one understands the parables in Matthew 13:44-46, he will see that …The find was so wonderfully and overwhelmingly super-abundant that what he had to give up was nothing in comparison…Community life is only a torture chamber to those who do not see the treasure as a cause of rejoicing and profound joy…Whatever people consider valuable is where their heart’s energy goes. All their time and energy is spent on what is most valueable to them. Knowing the value of the pearl or the hidden treasure causes them to give no consideration to its cost from then on, until the Kingdom comes.” – Fascination, pg. 5, 12 Tribes Freepapers

There are plenty of people who have negative things to say about the 12 Tribes Community. You can find online blogs or videos dedicated to “exposing” the 12 Tribes, but in my research and in my experience, I have nothing bad to say about them. I would not convince anyone it’s for everyone, but the people most negative are the ones who seem to have this idea that

They welcomed us in from day one and every other time we’ve visited. I’m very sensitive and easily put off by feeling pressured into anything, so I can say, in my experience, I did not feel pressured and certainly not manipulated in any way to join them or do anything I wasn’t comfortable with, but I also know how to make my own decisions.

People who aren’t the best decision-makers in general or easily guilted into people-pleasing may be more subject to believing they’ve become trapped in something they can’t get out of.

There’s also faith. Faith to believe you can leave one place for another if it doesn’t work out. I almost had that faith, and I regret that I didn’t, but I still have faith that everything can be learned from and everything will work out one way or another.

What I did find was something I’ll never forget and that changed my life forever, regardless of not staying there long term (for reasons I’ll explain in future articles). I found love, joy, happiness, kindness, generosity, care and genuine ability to be heard and listened to, reasoned with…treated with compassion… empowerment, unity…did I say love?

As much love as one can receive.

I found a place where somehow people have learned to live together in a world where divorce and broken homes and broken communities are perishing “together.” To me, that’s a miracle.

It’s not a glamorous life or one without troubles, but there’s something special being had there.

If you’ve never paid them a visit, more than likely, there’s one not too far from you since they have a network of over 50 villages throughout the US and some overseas. You can find them through their online map. —–> Here

Just don’t get sucked into the cuuuuulllltttt….!!! **ends with dramatic exit** ^_^

And now, time for a little Tom Petty…

In future articles I’ll share more detailed experiences of my 12 Tribes visits as well as other places I’ve visited around sustainable community concepts!

Gratefully blessed by the 12 Tribes,

iam:ForeverBlessed

https://daily.jstor.org/when-communes-dont-fail/ ↩︎
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3090139/ ↩︎
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2010/03/18/the-return-of-the-multi-generational-family-household/ ↩︎
https://civicscience.com/the-state-of-loneliness-in-america-the-role-of-relationships-and-technology-in-isolation/ ↩︎
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf ↩︎
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/loneliness-poses-health-risks-as-deadly-as-smoking-u-s-surgeon-general-says ↩︎
The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the
Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community ↩︎
https://eccoliving.co/the-history-of-the-coliving-movement/ ↩︎

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