The Twelve Tribes is a religious communal movement that grew out of the Jesus movement of the early 1970s, founded by Elbert Eugene Spriggs (known as Yoneq). Its members live communally, holding property in common, and seek to restore what they understand as the life of the first-century church, adopting Hebrew names and observances, keeping the Sabbath, and organizing into "tribes", in expectation of the end of the age. The movement is economically self-supporting through its businesses, most visibly a chain of cafes and delis (the "Yellow Deli") and various farms and trades, which also serve as points of contact with outsiders.
The group has attracted controversy on two principal fronts, aired through investigations, litigation, and former-member accounts: its teachings and practices regarding the corporal discipline of children, which have led to state interventions and legal action in several countries (including a 2013 removal of children by authorities in Germany), and its approach to child labor in its businesses; the group defends its child-rearing as biblically grounded and has contested characterizations of it. It has also been criticized over teachings touching on race and slavery. The Twelve Tribes continues to operate communities internationally, and is studied as a durable example of a communal, restorationist Christian movement and of the recurring legal tension between such groups' practices and child-welfare law.