Church of Bible Understanding HQ

The Church of Bible Understanding (first known as the Forever Family) was founded in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1971 by Stewart Traill. It is a communal organization, teaching a form of evangelical Christianity. 

In the 1970s, with its headquarters in New York, it developed into a controversial network of churches with 10,000 members and 110 communes at its peak, but only a few hundred members in later years.

Traill underwent a conversion experience in the early 1970s in Allentown, joined a Pentecostal church from which he was expelled, and began teaching Bible and developing a following.He changed the name of the "Forever Family" to the "Church of Bible Understanding" in 1976. Ex-members complained that they worked for very low wages, with all the money going to the church. The group had a communal lifestyle, with Traill maintaining that only he can understand the true meaning of the words of God. Traill encourages his group members to break off contact with their families. Over time, the members decreased in number.

With a carpet cleaning business, "Christian Brothers Carpet Cleaning," they were the inspiration for Seinfeld's "Carpet Cleaning Cult". They also started a used van business as a commercial venture.

The group has been accused of being a cult, and it has been estimated that Traill became a millionaire from it. Rev. Bruce Ritter of Covenant House accused it of enticing 17 youth out of the shelter with promises of salvation, and a state court enjoined them from housing or transporting youth under age 18 without parental permission.

In January of 2013 the Philadelphia compound went on the market: "The property’s 10 buildings offer nearly 50,000 square feet of space. The buildings on the property include a pool house, four adjacent cottages, an administration building that includes a commercial kitchen, cafeteria, chapel and office space, a large dormitory building and a gymnasium."