Where is the Founder of Twelve Tribes Today?

ID’s ‘People Magazine Investigates: The Secrets of the Twelve Tribes Cult’ features interviews with former members of the church and provides a platform for the various allegations they have raised. Many of them described the group as operating in a cult-like manner. One of the key figures connected to its formation is Marsha Spriggs, who was present at the very beginning of the movement and helped lead it alongside her husband, Gene Spriggs, the other founder and longtime leader of the group.

Marsha Spriggs’ Alleged Affair Made Many Question the Practices of the Church

Marsha Spriggs grew up in California and reportedly had an atheist and fairly liberal upbringing. She had enrolled in college but later dropped out during the wave, which came to be known as the Jesus Movement. It is a Christian revival movement in the late 1960s and 1970s that attracted many young people searching for spiritual meaning with its evangelical Christianity and countercultural lifestyles. Around this time, while living in a small village community, she met Gene Spriggs for the first time. She eventually converted to Christianity before the two married in 1972. After their marriage, the couple settled in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where they started a youth ministry known as the Light Brigade. It operated out of a small coffee shop called The Lighthouse and focused on working with teenagers.

During this period, they lived communally with a group of followers, and in exchange for housing, many of the members worked at a restaurant they opened called the Yellow Deli. Marsha and Gene founded their own church, the Vine Christian Community Church, around 1975. Over time, they gradually expanded the movement, establishing communities and opening restaurants called the Yellow Deli in various locations across the United States. The group later grew internationally as well. Marsha has often been described as someone who co-led the organization and played an active role in major decisions alongside Gene. From her perspective within the community, she supported what many have alleged was a patriarchal structure within the group, along with other alleged practices that former members later described as abusive.

Over the years, the organization also faced scrutiny from authorities. For example, in 1984, the Vermont State Police conducted a raid connected to allegations surrounding the group. However, no charges were ultimately filed following the investigation. Marsha later changed her name to Ha-Emeq, adopting a Hebrew name within the community, and she was often described as becoming the de facto leader of the group alongside Gene Spriggs. However, in 2008, controversy emerged when reports surfaced alleging that Marsha had previously been involved in an extramarital relationship with Yadutan, a former disciple. According to these allegations, Yadutan had been compelled to confess, while Marsha was privately “forgiven” by Gene during a closed meeting.

Marsha Spriggs is Leading Twelve Tribes Today

The perceived contrast between the treatment meted out to Marsha Spriggs and the alleged harsh punishments that other members were said to face for comparatively minor infractions reportedly created anger and confusion within the community. In the years that followed, several former members publicly shared accounts of what they alleged as abuse within the group, and many eventually chose to sever ties with the organization. Since Gene Spriggs passed away in 2021, Marsha Spriggs (who goes by her Hebrew name Ha-Emeq) has continued to be regarded as the leading figure of the group.

Public information about her life remains limited, as she maintains a very low profile and is believed to move mostly within the organization’s communities. The movement itself, widely known as the Twelve Tribes, continues to operate in several countries through its communal living arrangements and businesses such as the Yellow Deli restaurants. Despite longstanding allegations raised by former members over the years, the group has continued its activities and has not faced criminal charges directly tied to its leadership.

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