Amanda Householder: IFB Survivor Exposed Circle of Hope

While faith can serve as a balm for some, there is no shortage of instances of horrible actions being committed under the umbrella of related organizations. In Investigation Discovery’s ‘Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals,’ the world gets to know more and more about the people who have been negatively impacted by the actions of the members of the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB). This includes Amanda Householder, who had to struggle against her family and faith while trying to understand just how things turned out the way they did. As such, many are eager to know what she has been up to these days.

Who is Amanda Householder?

Amanda Householder, daughter of Boyd and Stephanie Householder, grew up in Springfield, Missouri, under the influence of IFB. Her parents were the founders of Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Boarding School, which housed and educated many girls. However, things were far from innocent in Amanda’s life growing up as she claimed she had grown up in a very hostile environment and had been a witness to many criminal activities and a victim to some as well.

Having publically accused her parents of their actions, Amanda alleged that her parents would often force her to do labor. She also revealed how she and her brother were often beaten up for the “sexual gratification” of her parents. Additionally, she was forced to punish the girls living in Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Boarding School, regardless of her own opinion on the same. According to legal records, the crimes against Amanda began when she was still a minor and ended only in October 2017.

Since then, Amanda has taken legal action against her parents, having filed a lawsuit in March 2022. “I was born into this. I didn’t have a choice. So, I am becoming the person who did not rescue me as a child by holding those who abused my peers and myself accountable,” she told the Kansas City Star. “I hope survivors know that I see them, and I will do whatever I can to make sure that the rest of the world sees us, too.”

In her revelations, Amanda also shared the criminal acts that she witnessed against others. She claimed that her parents had once adopted a kid from Ukraine and had then thrown the child out for undisclosed reasons, making the youngster have to travel about six miles on foot until they reached the nearest town. She further emphasized how the actions committed by the Circle of Hope founders impacted many, including her, in a very negative manner.

Where is Amanda Householder Now?

As of writing, Amanda has children of her own, whom she seems to cherish. However, there have been certain roadblocks in her parenting journey that she has openly discussed. “When I had my son, it wasn’t until he was like 1 or 2 that he started acting like a kid, she wrote for the Daily Beast. “How I was raised, I was taught that if a child hits or bites or screams or anything like that, you spank them because that’s just them acting out. And for a whole year and a half, I had this perfect baby… No issues, no screaming, no crying, no hitting, nothing like that. He was great. But one day, he got mad at me, and he hit me… And so I spanked my son.”

However, Amanda’s former partner, whom she called her husband even though the two were not legally married as of April 2022, came running in and apparently stopped her. “I explained to him, and he grabbed my son from me. He’s like, “We do not hit kids.” And it started a huge argument… and he convinced me to get into therapy,” Amanda recalled. “So it was really the people that I put in my life, that just happened to be in my life, that taught me that I was raised wrong… They were caring, and they showed me that I was raised wrong, and this is not how we should be treating kids.”

In January 2009, when Amanda was only 17, she was kicked out of her home, just a month shy of turning 18. She had then lived with her grandmother for some time before meeting the father of her children in 2012. The two moved to San Francisco, California, after they had found out that they were pregnant. Since then, Amanda has separated from the father of her children, though the two continue to co-parent. Even today, Amanda remains a vocal voice against the actions of Circle of Hope along with the actions of the Agape Boy’s Ranch. She is primarily active on TikTok, with over 234K followers.