The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps (ACMTC), which has also been known as The Foundation, Free Love Ministries, Holy Tribal Nation, and Life Force Team, was founded in 1981 by James Green and Lila (Deborah) Green.
James Green was born in Kentucky in 1945 and hitchhiked to California as a teenager, where he met Lila Carter. The two were deeply immersed in the 1960s counterculture and got involved with the Bear Tribe, a back-to-the-land commune in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. The Bear Tribe practiced corrupted versions of Native American spiritual practices and members wore loincloths and howled at the moon.
After leaving the Bear Tribe, the Greens moved to Montana, where in 1971 they underwent a joint conversion to Christianity. They moved to Kentucky, where James began four years of ministerial training under a local pastor. They next traveled to Central America as missionaries before getting involved with the Salvation Army in Florida. They would later adapt the Salvation Army’s military-style hierarchy to their own ministry.
The Greens established Free Love Ministries in Sacramento, California, in 1981. Though the group had a communal living style similar to that of other counterculture-born Christian ministries, Free Love Ministries was rigidly run. The Greens called themselves the “Generals,” and their followers — attracted through the Greens’ radio broadcasts and distribution of tracts — were required to wear uniforms and follow orders. The Greens preached a literal interpretation of the Bible, and the Southern Poverty Law Center would later declare the ACMTC a hate group because of the Greens’ preachings against Muslims and the LGBTQ+ community.
Lila Green, who had adopted the name “Deborah” after the judge and military leader described in the Book of Judges, was the dominant figure of the group, more zealous than her husband and believed to receive direct communications from God. A lawsuit filed by former members in 1988 claiming aggressive treatment by the “Generals” resulted in a $1.02 million judgment against the group, and the Greens and their remaining followers went on the run, destroying the Sacramento properties and relocating to Oregon and later New Mexico.
Former members accuse the ACMTC of forcing them to fast, imposing physical punishment, and refusing followers to receive medical care. The small group lived mostly under the radar until 2017, when both of the Generals, as well as several other members, were arrested on charges of child sexual abuse and related offenses. James Green pleaded no contest to child abuse charges and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Deborah Green was convicted of child rape, kidnapping, and child abuse and sentenced to 72 years in prison in 2018, but the charges against her were later dismissed and she was released in 2022. James Green was released in 2023.
Key Sources:
Associated Press. (2018, October 20). Leader of New Mexico religious sect set to plead guilty.
Harris, C. (2017, August 24). Leader of Military-Style Christian sect in New Mexico accused of sexually abusing young girl. People.
Hesse, J., & Hesse, J. (2017, July 23). Cops accuse Christian Commune of abusing and raping children. VICE.
Hill, H. (2021, June 8). The Oracle’s Daughter: Sarah Green escaped her mother’s cult 22 years ago. She still thinks about those she left behind. The Cut.
Williams, D. (1995, June 25). “Soldiers of God” have New Mexico town abuzz. El Paso Times.
Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religious Movements 