Who Needs Education?
A taste of an educational experience in Ethnos360
Being raised in Ethnos360 (formerly New Tribes Mission), a high-control religious group, has devastated countless lives—especially those of missionary children, who were treated as little more than accessories to their parents’ ministry. Nowhere is this disregard more apparent than in their approach to education.
For decades, Ethnos360 refused to allow missionaries to homeschool their children if a boarding school was available on their field or in a nearby country. This policy forced children into the care of unqualified, and often sadistic, adults entrusted with their safety, schooling, and well-being. The result? Generations of traumatized survivors across the globe. This isn’t speculation—it’s a documented reality.
My story began at age seven or eight, when my family left our hometown—and the extended family that had rooted us for generations. What followed was a relentless cycle of uprooting and educational disintegration. By the time I reached my final school at the start of my sophomore year, I’d already attended eight to ten different schools. The leadership’s blatant disregard for academic continuity—moving families on a whim, ignoring school-year schedules—made it clear: my education meant nothing to them.
Was this negligence born of apathy, or something darker? Did they deliberately isolate us from extended family—our potential support systems—to pressure us into joining Ethnos360 after graduation? The push to enroll at New Tribes Bible Institute was intense, especially for those of us stripped of any alternative anchors.
~ThreeWillows
