If you're a Berean, you'll appreciate this.

Hey,

I'm Jonathan, and I'm living on 30 acres on Steamboat Island. The property is not my own, it actually belongs to a "good Samaritan" man, and his family. I got here, with my family(wife and 2 kids) a year ago because we fell on hard times with a layoff in 2023, and I never found gainful employment again.

We've been living in a guestroom for the past year, and it's clear that without college degrees and impressive resumes it would require an absolute miracle to live on our own again. I've applied for a lot of jobs, but it seems like a lottery at this point. So, we're in survival mode.

After praying and begging God to help us get out of this predicament, I believe God encouraged me to study Mark 10:29-31. So, I did, and I started to wonder, is the family of God supposed to be taking care of one another in a sacrificial way?

The bible says we're supposed to love each other as Christ loves us. So, lets meditate on that.

I made a website to house my findings. I'm not selling anything. I'm a messenger.

My hope is that the promise Jesus made to us in Mark 10:29-31 is real: brothers, sisters, mothers, children, homes, lands. Also, the persecutions, but we're getting persecuted anyway, wouldn't it be better to band together as the family of God instead of every family for themselves?

I mentioned that it would require a miracle for my family to live on our own again, but after going through so much with unemployment, and losing homes we're not really interested in living on our own again. It's way more advantageous team up with others. The "good Samaritans" we're with aren't even Christians, and it can be difficult, but we are making it work because the other options right now are other undesirable places to live.

So, if you are pursuing Christ, please check out the website below. Take your time. If you're a fast reader, and your reading comprehension is at a high level, praise God! But I think it's worth reading slowly anyway. Then, I would love to discuss with you here what we can do.

https://thehundredfold.tiiny.site/

I would explore the site ic.org if I were you....the premier guide to intentional communities worldwide.  It's searchable by keyword and location.  If you look for Christian or spiritual communities that have on-site employment or some form of communal economy that might fit your vision.  Among more ordinary churches, I think only some of the Amish and Mennonites, and possibly Quakers, will be seriously practicing anything like the kind of economic community you're envisioning.

Thanks for the advice. I’ll definitely take a look at ic.org and see what I can find there.

You’re right that the Amish and Mennonites have figured out a lot of the lands and homes part of the promise. My only concern is that those groups can be a bit closed off to outsiders.

I’m looking for the brothers and sisters Jesus talked about who want to pursue the promise together.

I’m particularly interested groups that are still forming, the ones who maybe have the land but are struggling with the logistics of how to actually stay together without falling into the every family for themselves trap.

You might be interested in:

* Nurturing Communities Network - https://www.nurturingcommunities.org/communities

We are an informal and growing network of Christ-centered intentional communities that strive to support and inspire one another to live more faithfully and to bear witness more fully to God’s kingdom here on earth.

* Catholic Worker Movement - https://catholicworker.org/catholic-worker-community-directory/

The aim of the Catholic Worker movement is to live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ

* Bruderhof - https://www.bruderhof.com/locations

We are a community of Christians who, inspired by the early church, share all our money and possessions. We believe that God wants to transform our world, here and now.

* People of Praise - https://peopleofpraise.org/about/branches/

The People of Praise is a charismatic Christian community. We admire the first Christians who were led by the Holy Spirit to form a community. Those early believers put their lives and their possessions in common, and "there were no needy persons among them."

* ReligiousIC - https://www.reddit.com/r/ReligiousIC/wiki/index/ - wiki of a subreddit dedicated to religious intentional communities

Thanks for those leads, B. I’ve looked into all of those networks. They have a lot of history and have clearly put a lot of thought into how the early church lived, which is encouraging to see.

However, My struggle has been that many of these established communities feel like finished projects. They’re already established, are often full, and aren’t leading with what Jesus promised in Mark 10.

I am Christian too and would really be interested in being in community with other Christians. But I am a unicorn, I said that recently somewhere else on this forum site recently, and I won't fit in with such unless enough others there are more like me in other ways, and that is not likely but just possible if there is a community prepared for these things together. I am vegan and uncompromisingly so. I am for sustainability in living. It would not be with using animals there, any animals there are would be free to go where they will, and it would be involving effort to grow many things that should be enough for what is needed.