Flirty Fishing (FFing) is a form of evangelism by sexual intimacy practised from around 1974 to 1987 by the cult Children of God, currently known as The Family International (TFI).
While acknowledging that this interpretation scandalized "many religious institutions", The Family maintained that "many people, most of whom would never even go near a church, were reached and won to Christ through this very humble, honest, open and intimately human approach to witnessing.
Researcher Bill Bainbridge obtained data from TFI suggesting that, from 1974 until 1987, members had sexual contact with 223,989 people while practicing Flirty Fishing.
[3] The "first child conceived through 'flirty fishing', was born to Berg’s common-law wife, Karen Zerby", but was fathered by "a waiter she picked up in the Canary Islands".
These men often provided money, food, clothing, housing, and other needs, including legal advice, help in immigration, and protection against social and political repression.
[2] According to author James Chancellor, In some areas of Asia, Europe and Latin America, female disciples went to work for escort services, providing sex for a fixed fee.
Another "portrays a woman as a mermaid impaled on a hook, but embracing a man, this time with the heading 'HOOKER FOR JESUS'"[9][8] (One "Mo Letter" written by David Berg and distributed to members of CoG was entitled "God's Whores?".