Historical Reviews

No. NTM/Ethnos360 has offered counseling funds for many years, including prior to 2010, when we established a perpetual counseling fund for the former missionary kids (MKs) who had suffered abuse at one of our NTM facilities. The fund has been continually available since that time.

Over the years, we have received appeals from other MKs, and some family members, for assistance outside of the original purpose for the fund, and we have helped them accordingly. This in no way diminished or impacted the funds that were available to the abuse victims. We have always helped when asked; however, in some cases outside of the scope of counseling for abuse, the funding has, at times, had limits.

We apologize for the confusion surrounding the availability of these funds. Our heart remains committed to helping any of our MKs who need financial assistance for counseling. To request counseling, please contact dcp@ntm.org.

Theresa Sidebotham has never been the General Counsel, or in‑house counsel, for New Tribes Mission or Ethnos360. In 2014, after she provided some limited assistance with the IHART process, we asked her to take over the IHART Coordinator role because of her expertise in this area. She had the necessary background to make needed improvements to the IHART process and see the project through. Ms. Sidebotham has her own law firm, Telios Law, in Colorado Springs, Colorado and works with numerous ministries, with a strong focus on both child abuse and employment investigations.

IHART is a process, commissioned by New Tribes Mission (Ethnos360), using independent investigators to thoroughly review the historical allegations of abuse that have come to light. As this process has moved forward, it has become clear that the task is both complicated and time-consuming. Nevertheless, Ethnos360 remains committed to facilitating the investigation of these historical allegations.

Ethnos360’s original goals for this process have not changed. These are: to be certain that there is no current member of Ethnos360 who has sexually abused children; to give victims an avenue to tell their story; to offer a means for providing counseling for victims who desire it; and to learn from the past to make our organization as safe as possible for all children. For more information about IHART, visit www.ihart.care.

Ms. Sidebotham has responded to this question on her site, www.ihart.care, and we quote:

IHART Trademark

The idea to purchase the trademark for IHART came about after I began to create the ihart.care website.  I had attended a meeting between MKs and then-NTM leadership in 2014. One of the strongest concerns that the MKs expressed was that they did not know what was going on with the investigations. The ihart.care website was my idea in response to that MK concern. I coordinated getting the trademark because I wanted to make sure that we could continue to use it for the website, in other words, so that no one else could become the owner of that name, thus forcing us to shut down the website. Ethnos360 (NTM at that time), of course, paid for it. I launched the ihart.care website, and have been posting updates ever since.

Today IHART stands for Independent Historical Allegations Review Team. When created, the IHART acronym stood for Independent Historical Abuse Response Team. Ethnos360 was not just concerned about abuse but any mistreatment of children. As a result, the “A” was changed to allegations, broadening the scope of IHART. It was also determined that the “R” was more accurate as Review rather than Response. IHART reviews all allegations. The acronym shift was meant to more properly reflect IHART’s comprehensive work.

Theresa Lynn Sidebotham, a principal in Telios Law in Colorado Springs, Colorado is the coordinator of IHART.

Ms. Sidebotham is working to make sure that IHART provides thorough investigations, good avenues of communication, uses current best practice standards and ensures the privacy of those who have entrusted their stories to IHART, including implementing checks and balances to ensure objectivity and impartiality.

Ms. Sidebotham works with numerous ministries, helping to put in place child safety policies, screening and training, and advising on child safety issues and investigations. She also advises on organizational/HR policies and conducts other investigations into alleged misconduct, such as sexual harassment. Ms. Sidebotham is an MK and a mother of four MKs. More information about IHART is available at www.ihart.care.

As of July 2023, IHART is in the final stages of the final inquiry into allegations of historical abuse in NTM. This last report, entitled "World," encompasses the final countries that had schools or abuse allegations that had not yet been independently reviewed and addressed. We acknowledge that this process has taken longer than anyone wanted. IHART explains on their FAQ at https://www.ihart.care/faq.html some of the complexities of historical abuse allegations that have slowed the process. The pandemic was also an unfortunate obstacle to the timely completion of the last two inquiries.

No. Our missionary salaries, projects and operating expenses are funded by generous donors, who donate money to reach those who have never had a chance to hear the gospel. While the typical structure for non-profits today is to designate a percentage of all donations to cover operating expenses and salaries of certain employees, Ethnos360 has never used this structure.  Each designated gift for a missionary is used for expenses directly related to that missionary's ministry, not for general organizational operating costs.

We want to emphasize that designated funds from donors are not used to cover any part of any investigation or any costs related to lawsuits. We have received some gifts designated to the MK counseling fund. These designated counseling funds went to that account in full.

Ethnos360 has other income sources, such as investment income, which are used to cover our operating expenses and other areas that do not typically receive many designated funds.  Ethnos360 uses these funds to also cover the expenses associated with the historical inquiries.

Ethnos360 changed its name in 2017 to pursue our founders’ vision for all the world’s unreached people groups. New Tribes Mission had come to focus on isolated, remote unreached people groups. Yet new opportunities were opening that encouraged us to broaden our vision and once more embrace the vision of our founders. It was time for a new name that represented that renewed vision. Additionally, it should be noted that there has been no attempt to distance Ethnos360 from NTM. In fact, most of our communications and branding link Ethnos360 to NTM by stating that Ethnos360 was founded as New Tribes Mission in 1942.

Our new name has two components. It represents reaching out to people groups of the whole world.

• Ethnos is the “nations” that Christ referred to when He commanded His followers to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). It is the word from which we get ethnic, and it means people groups.
• 360 represents the entirety of the globe — all 360 degrees. Our goal is to go wherever it is necessary to see a thriving church for every people. 360 also represents the full-circle work of the Great Commission, which Jesus gave His followers (Matthew 28:19).