Spearheading an Intentional Christian Community...

Greetings,

I and others I know personally have been on the hunt for a Christian community for several years now and have come to the conclusion one doesn't exist that fits what we are looking for (and my guess is that there are many of you out there who are saying the same thing). So, my family along with a couple other families are spearheading the start of a Christian community/ministry, and we are looking for other like minded families to participate... For those of you who are feeling led to something different, here is the 'what, why, and how' of what we are spearheading if you are interested in getting involved:



1. A non electric/non technology setting where everything is done by hand similar to the Amish (without the particular Amish religious rules...)

 
2. Non-certified 'Beyond Organic' methods of growing food and animal husbandry (today's 'certified organic' movement is for the most part a charade and the corporations have pretty much taken that over through onerous Gov't regulations).  Yes, many of you are taking umbrage with that statement, and I'm happy to have a separate conversation in another place if anyone wants to.


3. The location; a four-season environment with abundant fresh water/natural resources, that hasn't had any major environmental impact from modern technology, in a lower cost of living location with favorable rules regarding homeschooling, construction, use of natural resources, etc... ( The hope is that this community model is successful and grows and expands to other areas...)


4. There will be a collective desire to use the land and resources for the purpose of growing the Kingdom of God as Scripture has commanded us to as believers...  That means a desire to be a light to the world and be Samaritans with our labor and possessions. The idea behind it, is to create a place where people who want to learn how to live a different way/ lifestyle but don't know how, can come for a time or season and learn. The plan is to build several off grid cabins that people can come and stay in and learn basic skills like raising livestock, growing produce, baking, canning, hand sewing, gathering/drying herbs and plants for culinary and medicinal use, basic pottery,construction, etc. There is a huge opportunity to minister the gospel to people while teaching these skills and also to help those who are trying to get away from all the madness of modern city living, as well as to provide for those who have need...


5. There will be a plurality of Christian Elders in the community/fellowship, who are leaders by example and are servants to the flock as Scripture commands, rather than what we believe to be an unbiblical, seminary trained 'one Pastor' method most churches are practicing today... ( If you would like more information on this, please send a private message and you'll get a detailed Scriptural response...)


There is more to it, but here is a synopsis of what this group will look like;

  A non-Denominational, non political, unincorporated community of believers in Jesus Christ who want to go back to the old ways of living, having a desire to get away from the corrupt modern society that is slowly enslaving humanity-not being 'conformed to the world' .. This can be accomplished via an agrarian based lifestyle and livelihood. Growing/raising, harvesting, canning and drying foods as well as other preservation methods, growing herbs for health and healing, homeschooling children, taking care of our elderly and the poor, are just a few things that we will be focusing on. It is not a 'prepper' community, just people who desire to live differently because they feel God is leading them to in faith (If you are living the way Scripture commands, you will not need to 'prep in fear', you'll already be prepared simply by living that way in the event something does happen). The purpose of the ministry side of the community, is to help those who come and visit for the purpose of learning how to live that lifestyle, and to provide for those who have need in whatever way possible-regardless of whether they are Christians or not. When Jesus said 'love your neighbor' and gave the parable of the good Samaritan, he did not say 'only if they are Christians'. The goal in this community is also to focus on raising children in an agrarian based environment to teach them how to work hard and be self-sufficient when they get older. They are the future generations... And it is imperative to 'train them up in the way they should go'..


    If any of this resonates with you or if this at least closely resembles your ideal community, please reach out for more information via email; offgridfarmer@hotmail.com...  And even if you have something else in mind, leave a reply here and perhaps in the course of conversation, there might be a few people who get on the same page with each other and make something happen. Or if you would like, please send a pm with what you believe would be the ideal situation according to your beliefs and perhaps we can be direct you to something that fits more what you are looking for through our connections.  If you leave a reply here, please keep in mind doctrines and religious stuff cant be really discussed as the mods might shut it down (to the moderators, please give a little latitude as this community is religious specific and thus some topics need to be at least mentioned and commented on for the sake of getting solid answers).

One last note- if you have land available that is for sale/lease or barter that you think would fit what we are looking for please reach out!

Thanks,
Steve

We need more communities like this in the world.  We would love to have your community in our neighborhood.  We are in central NY state near Ithaca.  I'll let you know if any land nearby comes up for sale.  

Steve Rowe wrote:(today's 'certified organic' movement is for the most part a charade and the corporations have pretty much taken that over through onerous Gov't regulations).  Yes, many of you are taking umbrage with that statement

Hi Steve, welcome to Permies! And just so you know, I don't think you'll find that most of us take umbrage with that.

James Dulle wrote:We need more communities like this in the world.  We would love to have your community in our neighborhood.  We are in central NY state near Ithaca.  I'll let you know if any land nearby comes up for sale.  

Hi James, unfortunately New York is heavily regulated and not an ideal place to home school or build off grid because of that. Even the Amish are beginning to plan their exodus from there...  

I think we have many similar goals. Thanks for posting and reaching out. I sent you a message. Hope to connect soon.

If you are looking to emulate the Amish (and I would include Penn Dutch), in an area that has four seasons, with favorable homeschooling laws, you're looking west of northern Appalachia. Lucky for you this is the heart of what coastal elites call "flyover." It's easy to Google homeschooling laws for each state. Pennsylvania has very strict laws. Ohio less so, but still pretty detailed. Indiana on the other hand, has practically no homeschooling laws. You have to register your homeschool with the state, and keep records of "learning days." You have to teach 180 days out of the year. That's it. There are a lot of Amish in Indiana. A lot of Mennonites, too. The cost of living in this part of the Midwest is low. Unincorporated land is relatively cheap.

I won't critique your plan. There's an old Polish saying, "not my circus, not my monkeys." Not that I think it would end up being a circus. You'll want to make sure your legal matters are well drawn up in case families want to back out, etc.

I hope you find what you're looking for.

j

My spouse and I are Mennonites, and I think anyone in our church would fit in in your community. I'm glad to see you doing God's work in this way.

Something that brought us to Christianity was meeting Christians while building our homestead. Our most powerful experience was buying our initial breeding pair of rabbits from nuns, and they blessed them and us before we left. Now that we're Mennonites, almost all of our needs can be met by using Mennonite resources. I'm getting my sewing machine repaired by Mennonites, I do my grocery shopping at the Mennonite grocery store, we buy our soil from Mennonites, you get the idea.

Not trying to convert you to my denomination, but you may find that placing yourself near Mennonite resources would get you very far on this project. You'll find that it's a denomination that blends well with an agrarian lifestyle, but without the strict lifestyle requirements of Amish. Some Mennonites are very strict though, so you'll have to do some legwork to find a community that you fit in with.

I came because I'm agrarian, I stayed for the values of non-violence, good works through God's love, and the strength of community.

Jim Garlits wrote:If you are looking to emulate the Amish (and I would include Penn Dutch), in an area that has four seasons, with favorable homeschooling laws, you're looking west of northern Appalachia. Lucky for you this is the heart of what coastal elites call "flyover." It's easy to Google homeschooling laws for each state. Pennsylvania has very strict laws. Ohio less so, but still pretty detailed. Indiana on the other hand, has practically no homeschooling laws. You have to register your homeschool with the state, and keep records of "learning days." You have to teach 180 days out of the year. That's it. There are a lot of Amish in Indiana. A lot of Mennonites, too. The cost of living in this part of the Midwest is low. Unincorporated land is relatively cheap.

I won't critique your plan. There's an old Polish saying, "not my circus, not my monkeys." Not that I think it would end up being a circus. You'll want to make sure your legal matters are well drawn up in case families want to back out, etc.

I hope you find what you're looking for.

j

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your input however we aren't looking to'emulate' the Amish... We live very close to the same lifestyle, but our way of practicing our Christian faith is vastly different in some ways... In fact, we hope to be an example to the Amish in some things they are missing. We have Amish friends and have lived amongst Mennonites and Plain people for years so we are well acquainted with all those groups. Don't get me wrong in saying that, we love the Amish people and think they are about the best neighbors you could ask for! They also have a lot of the resources needed for horses so there are advantages to living near them.

We have already researched the Homeschooling laws in every state and many places have been eliminated based on their unfavorable homeschooling laws alone.   As for the 'legal matters' there is a plethora of ways to deal with that and each families needs or wants are going to be different anyway. People will be able to come and go very easily with the community model we are implementing so someone 'backing out' isn't a big concern.

Best regards,
Steve

Steve,

Right.  I meant emulate as in agrarian practices and the like, not religion. I should have been more clear.

j

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your input however we aren't looking to'emulate' the Amish... We live very close to the same lifestyle, but our way of practicing our Christian faith is vastly different in some ways... In fact, we hope to be an example to the Amish in some things they are missing. We have Amish friends and have lived amongst Mennonites and Plain people for years so we are well acquainted with all those groups. Don't get me wrong in saying that, we love the Amish people and think they are about the best neighbors you could ask for! They also have a lot of the resources needed for horses so there are advantages to living near them.

We have already researched the Homeschooling laws in every state and many places have been eliminated based on their unfavorable homeschooling laws alone.   As for the 'legal matters' there is a plethora of ways to deal with that and each families needs or wants are going to be different anyway. People will be able to come and go very easily with the community model we are implementing so someone 'backing out' isn't a big concern.

Best regards,
Steve

Good morning Steve Rowe!

My name is Mark Steagall. Have you started your homestead yet or are you still looking for members to begin your land acquisition? I am very interested in what you want to accomplish. Please call me at 928-641-8565 or email me at whydidntitgrow@mail.com. Thank you and I look forward to talking with you.
Regards,
Mark Steagall