Editing David Berg (section)

===Early years (1919–1969)===
Berg was born on February 18, 1919, in [[Oakland, California]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Zandt|first=David E. Van|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ySsABAAAQBAJ|title=Living in the Children of God|date=July 14, 2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-6215-3|pages=19, 31|language=en}}</ref> During his early years, he usually lived in or around Florida.<ref name=":4">[[Douglas E. Cowan]] and [[David G. Bromley]], ''Cults and New Religions: A Brief History'', [[Wiley-Blackwell|Wiley Blackwell]] Brief Histories of Religion Series, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2015), 101.</ref>

He was the youngest of three children born to Hjalmar Emmanuel Berg and Virginia Lee Brandt, both Christian [[Evangelism|evangelist]]s.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Eskridge|first=Larry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yJAwiGIeQvgC|title=God's Forever Family: The Jesus People Movement in America|date=May 31, 2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-931523-9|pages=79|language=en}}</ref> His father was [[Swedish Americans|Swedish]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FUDUmJZMIv8C&q=Hjalmar+Berg&pg=PA13|title=Jesus Freaks: A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge|first=Don|last=Lattin|date=October 13, 2009|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=9780061745911|access-date=February 1, 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref>

Virginia and Hjalmar were expelled from the Disciples of Christ after publicly testifying of her [[divine healing]], which was contrary to church doctrine. They subsequently joined a new denomination, the [[Christian and Missionary Alliance]], shortly before David's birth. In later years, their missionary zeal and disdain for denominational politicking often set them at variance with the conservative faction of that church's hierarchy, causing them to work largely as independent pastors and evangelists.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Her Story ★ Virginia Brandt Berg (1886-1968) |url=https://virginiabrandtberg.com/story.html |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=virginiabrandtberg.com}}</ref>

Berg spent his early years traveling with his parents, who pursued their evangelical mission. In 1924, they settled in [[Miami, Florida]], after Virginia successfully led a series of large revivals at the Miami Gospel Tabernacle. This became Berg's home for the next 14 years, while his mother and father were pastors at a number of Miami churches.<ref name=":5" /> The Berg family depended entirely on the generosity of their parishioners for their support, and often had difficulty making ends meet. This instilled in Berg a lifelong habit of frugality, which he encouraged his followers to adopt.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.worldlegacyfoundation.org/index.php/more/masters-of-terrors/680-david-brandt-berg | title=David Brandt Berg }}</ref>

Berg graduated from [[Monterey High School (Monterey, California)|Monterey High School]] in 1935 and later attended Elliott School of Business Administration.<ref name=":1" /> Like his father, Berg became a minister in the Christian and Missionary Alliance in the late 1940s, and was placed at [[Valley Farms, Arizona]].<ref name=":4" /> Berg was eventually expelled from the organization for differences in teachings and for alleged [[sexual misconduct]] with a church employee.<ref name=":1" /> In Berg's writings he claimed the expulsion was due to his support for greater [[racial diversity]] among his congregation.<ref name=":1" />

Fred Jordan, Berg's friend and boss, allowed Berg and his personal family to open and run a branch of his Soul Clinic in Miami, Florida, as a missionary training school. After running into trouble with local authorities over his aggressive disapproval of [[Evolution in public education|evolution being taught as fact]] in public schools, Berg moved his family to Fred Jordan's Texas Soul Clinic, in Western Texas.<ref>Cowan and Bromley, ''Cults and New Religions'', 101–2.</ref>