Ep.22 The Brethren (The Road Ministry)

Founded in 1971 by Jimmie T. Roberts, The Brethren, also called The Road Ministry or the “Garbage Eaters”, became one of the most secretive cult movements in America. Roberts demanded that followers abandon their families, possessions, and even their identities to live as nomads, scavenging for food and sleeping in fields while preaching an apocalyptic gospel. For decades, the group drifted across the highways and small towns of the United States, nearly invisible yet leaving behind broken families and haunting survivor testimonies. In this episode of Hidden Cults, we trace the rise of Roberts from a disillusioned Southern preacher to the leader of a wandering flock. We examine how members were recruited, the hardships of life on the road, the growing paranoia that kept them hidden, and the cracks that eventually emerged as media exposure and family rescues shed light on their secretive world. Survivor voices reveal the price of radical obedience and what remains of The Brethren today.

Part 1 – A Prophet on the Road
Part 2 – Forsaking All
Part 3 – The Garbage Eaters
Part 4 – Hidden in Plain Sight
Part 5 – Cracks in the Camp
Part 6 – A Road Still Traveled

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