The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps (abbreviated ACMTC; also known as the Holy Tribal Nation, the Free Love Ministries, or the Life Force Team) is a

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

Christian fundamentalist Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British an ...

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part ...

. The ministry, founded in 1981 by James and Deborah Green (sometimes collectively referred to as ''the Generals''; James is often called ''General James'' and sometimes ''Jim''; Deborah is referred to as ''General Deborah'', formerly ''Lila''), still retains its

military structure Military organization (American English , AE) or military organisation (British English , BE) is the structuring of the armed forces of a State (polity), state so as to offer such military capability as a military policy, national defense pol ...

, partially based on the original pattern of the

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

. ACMTC's starting location was

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, and it finally settled east of the rural town of Fence Lake, in

Cibola County, New Mexico Cibola County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,172. Its county seat is Grants. It is New Mexico's youngest county, and the third youngest county in the United States, created on June ...

, south of

Gallup Gallup may refer to: * Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll * Gallup (surname), a surname *Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States ** Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New ...

. In August 2017, Deborah Green and her son-in-law Peter Green were arrested on charges of sexual abuse of children. Peter Green, a manager at the ministry's Fence Lake location, was charged with 100 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child, while Deborah Green faced charges of child abuse, negligent abuse and criminal sexual penetration. Deborah Green's son Joshua Green was also arrested and charged with failure to register the birth of his son. Four other members of the ministry in New Mexico, Amos River, Victoria River, Ruth River and Timothy River, were also arrested in August 2017 on felony charges of failure to register the births of their 11 children. The ACMTC went under investigation by the Children, Youth and Families Department of New Mexico. In September 2018, Deborah Green was sentenced to 72 years in prison after being convicted of child rape, kidnapping and child abuse. She was later released on January 28, 2022, following a complete dismissal of her charges. On April 21, 2025, the New Mexico Supreme Court reinstated her child abuse conviction, finding that evidence "directly implicated Defendant in the commission of the crime." James Green pleaded no contest to child abuse charges and in December 2018 was sentenced to ten years in prison. , the

New Mexico Corrections Department The New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD; ) is a state agency of New Mexico, headquartered in unincorporated area, unincorporated Santa Fe County, New Mexico, Santa Fe County, near Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe. It the department operates co ...

lists James Green as released to probation/parole with Offender ID# 526955.

Background

James Green

James Green was born in 1945 and was raised in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. As a teenager, he hitchhiked to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

where he later became involved in a

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

lifestyle and the 1960s revolution, and met Deborah.

Montana prayer

During the Greens' time with the Bear Tribe in California, they went to scout out land in

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. The Greens underwent in 1971 a process which they defined as "Conversion to Christianity" - since, as they regarded it in the aftermath, they had not been true Christians before.

Kentucky

James and Deborah moved to Kentucky where they started attending a local church. James soon began training for a ministerial position. He trained for four years under a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

. After a missionary journey through Central America, the Greens ended up in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Salvation Army, Miami

In the late 1970s, James and Deborah worked at the large Miami

center, participating in inner-city mission work. ACMTC may have taken its name from a sermon by Salvation Army co-founder Catherine Booth titled "Aggressive Christianity".

Ministry

Free Love Ministries / Life Force Team

In the early 1980s, the Greens moved into a house in Sacramento, California. The Greens' public ministry started out as the Greens taking people in, as well as printing and distributing

Gospel tracts A tract is a literary work and, in current usage, usually religious in nature. The notion of what constitutes a tract has changed over time. By the early part of the 21st century, a tract referred to a brief pamphlet used for religious and pol ...

. ACMTC eventually secured more houses and started using the name "Free Love Ministries".

Lawsuit

In 1988, Maura Schmierer and several others filed a lawsuit against Free Love Ministries for abusive treatment, asking for 20 million dollars in

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...

. The Greens lost the case by not appearing in court and went on the run from the law. The court ordered ACMTC to pay Schmierer $1.02 million. After losing the lawsuit, all buildings they owned were seized by the court. The ministry destroyed the buildings, left Sacramento and settled in

Klamath Falls, Oregon Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city ...

, and added another ministry name, "Death Force Team".
Jodi Hernandez. Bay area NBC Report on the Greens. In 1993, ACMTC secured an old school building in Berino, and established another camp in

Gallup, New Mexico Gallup is a city in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States, with a population of 21,899 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A substantial percentage of its population is Native Americans in the United States, Native American, wi ...

Beliefs and practices

The group was founded as a Christian communal group when it was founded as Free Love Ministries.

Primary beliefs

In their 1987 "Responsibilities of Command" officer's manual, the ministry states its beliefs:

We Believe: In the divine inspiration of the Bible (2nd Tim. 3:16). That in the One God there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost (1 John 5:7). That Jesus Christ is the Lord God Almighty, Creator of all things (John 1:1-3, 14, 29-34; Rev. 1:5, 6) In the virgin birth (Luke 1:26-35) That Jesus Christ died for our sins (Hebrews 9:15, 22, 28). In the baptism of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in tongues (Acts 2:4). All the supernatural gifts (healing, miracles, deliverance, tongues etc.), and practicing them (1 Cor. 12).

The ministry also states its spiritual beliefs that can be found in some of the earliest writings done in 1986 by James Green,

(1) His grace is demonstrated that we might be free from captivity, but this freedom is to be used for and unto His ultimate intention. (2) God always asks that which is impossible to the natural man in order that His people will be dependent upon divine, spiritual resources. (3) God designs all things to function properly under His control. He is not content to merely set us free, but longs to "turn our capacity"; that is, He longs to bring us back into His captivity. (4) Man must either submit to God's purpose or become captive to some other law. God's plan will not allow us to live long in liberty apart from law. (5) God's pattern is not spurts of consecration and dedication, but a consistent walk leading into a continuous unfolding revelation of His plan and purpose.

Criminal prosecution

In September 2018, Deborah Green was sentenced to 72 years in prison after being convicted of "kidnapping, criminal sexual penetration of a minor and child abuse", and James Green pleaded no contest to child abuse charges and in December 2018 was sentenced to ten years in prison. Other leaders accused of the same crimes are awaiting trial. In June 2021, Sarah Greene, the daughter of Deborah and Jim, detailed how she escaped her mother's cult in 1999. Sarah was instrumental in helping to put her parents in jail. Deborah was released on January 28, 2022, following a complete dismissal of her charges, though the judge said that her case could be brought back to trial. On April 21, 2025, the New Mexico Supreme Court reinstated Deborah Green's child abuse conviction, stating that the lower court's decision "was incompatible with a finding of actual innocence. Far from exonerative in nature, the district court's unchallenged causation finding directly implicated Defendant in the commission of the crime." James Green pleaded no contest to child abuse charges and in December 2018 was sentenced to ten years in prison. , the

lists James Green as released to probation/parole with Offender ID# 526955.

In the media

Aggressive Christianity Missionary Training Corps has been described as a cult. Apologetics Index says of the group:

While it presents itself as a Christian movement it has a number of un-biblical and extra-biblical teachings, including several that militate against the Bible’s teachings on grace. It has an elitist view of itself and its members. It encourages unreasonable corporal punishment for children, and reported prevents members from seeking medical aid.

In 1989, Jodi Hernandez was part of a group of newspeople that reported on the Aggressive Christians from March to September through KOVR-TV, CBS channel 13

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

. In December 1999, Darren White, former secretary of the Department of Public Safety for

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, and then reporter for KRQE, CBS channel 13,

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, reported on the Greens. On November 4, 2005, Jim Maniaci, of the Gallup Independent's Cibola County Bureau in

Grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

, reported that a co-leader of a religious group was jailed on an aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charge. In June 2006, Annie McCormick of KRQE, CBS channel 13, Albuquerque, also investigated the Greens with reports from former members and families. In April 2012, the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

featured the accounts of Maura Schmierer, and of her daughter Rebekah, of their experiences with the group.Kiger, Patrick J
"I Escaped a Cult – Inside the Greens"
. National Geographic Channel TVblogs. April 9, 2012. Season 2, episode 4 of ''Dangerous Persuasions'' on Investigation Discovery Channel tells Maura Schmierer's story.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Aggressive Christianity Missionary Training Corps
Christian organizations established in 1981 Christian missions Christian denominations founded in the United States Christian fundamentalism Fundamentalist denominations Religious belief systems founded in the United States