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Our mandateTogether, we walk into eternity! In brief, we are a Christian community who believe in Jesus’ example of the “Good Samaritan” as an expression of TRUE faith. As a community, we are jointly dedicated to the establishing and development of a Christian Community that “ACTUALLY” reaches out to others. We do not want to remain inside our Church walls and keep Jesus and His “Abundant Life” to ourselves. We want to share His life on the streets, where He gave it away! Rob Bell say’s, “The Gospel is good news, especially for those who don’t believe it.” (Referring to those who are blessed by our changed lives, our neighbours, friends, families… enemies – Our faith should make the world a better place, for all As a Community, we have FOUR main aims, which guide and inspire us:
We are an Inter-denominational Christian Community who work very close to the Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic Churches, in Europe, Africa and America. This is fundamental to us, working toward Christian “Unity”. “We tolerate without compromise in order to co-operate without division”. The Ark Community follows the spirituality of the early Celtic Christian Church in Britain and Ireland. Pagans that were radically converted to a deep faith in Christ, Men and Women of TRUE Christian CONVERSION. We seek to follow the example of a “simple faith”. Many of our Companions (Community members) are monastic and contemplative at heart and evangelical in expression. It is our deep desire to know Christ in an intimate and experiential way. The early Celtic Christian Church was based upon small intimate Communities, which were conducive to both discipleship and Christian transformation. We as a Community have adopted this “rule of life” and endeavour to live in Christ’s presence as much as possible within our busy modern lives … making the secular sacred with His omnipresence! … We are the vessels of His glory! Our four main aims – Explained:
We believe in and adhere to Christ’s on-going ministry of transforming and REFORMATION of our personal lives that we may “live out” His life in a practical way. We believe the “old man” is dead, and that we are “new creations”… “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” (Psalm 139:13-14). We are not “sin-conscious” but “God-conscious!”
Currently we have Companions (Community Members) in Switzerland, Norway, South Africa, England, Germany, Ireland, USA and Italy. We are a “Church without walls”, as we are a dispersed Community, some even say without borders!
We are Christians coming from various backgrounds and various Christian traditions (Denominations), Roman Catholic, Protestant and the “via media” Anglican tradition, among others! We are a unification of diversity! We are all very different, and this is precisely our strong point. Our “diversity” is united in Christ; our different members are placed in harmonious unity and joined together by the Blood and Brokenness of His Body! Our Community is dispersed in various corners of the world, yet we find a home in our common pilgrimage in seeking a “simple spiritual” rule of life that does in fact help improve the lives of others too. We accomplish community via the Internet (website and email), regular Retreats (see community calendar), and ministerial visits between Companions. Our most common “meeting place” is our website, which is in a state of perpetual development with the hope of bringing relevant weekly teachings to our Companions. We also use our website to have common prayer and Daily meditations (see “Daily Prayer” on the Homepage), keep up to date with what our Community is doing, and have also developed our own private “chat room” (for Community Companions only – still to be made active!). The “Chat Room” is where we can leave questions that need answering, comments, issues, prayer requests, needs that we may have or any other pastoral and communal need… this is free space for free expression! Because we predominantly keep in contact via our website, email and telephone, where we live has become almost irrelevant. However we do not negate the power and importance or the Biblical practice, of eye-to-eye contact, and therefore we hold combined retreats in various places and visit our Companions on a regular cycle. (Refer to our Community Calendar for dates of Retreats). It is our hope that Ark Community Companions living in close proximity to each other, will desire to get together for regular Community gatherings, thereby forming their own local Ark Community. NB: It is also important to add at this point that we encourage all our Community Companions to find and join a local congregation wherever they live. We, as a Community, desire to add to the local church, not replace it! c. The Ministry of Reconciliation Not only do we recognise and respect diversity, we celebrate it! For too long, the Church has tried to unite on the basis of “being the same”. When the scriptural truth is that we need to be different in order to be united. We need different parts to make up ONE body. “Our differences should not divide us, but define us!” We are different for a reason, that reason is our purpose, yet our purpose can only be fulfilled through our unity as one Body. Jesus prayed in the Garden the night before His death in John 17:20-23 that WE need to become ONE so that the WORLD will BELIEVE that His Father sent Him. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21“that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. (NKJV) Get it? … WE ONE - WORLD BELIEVE …! Therefore we have consecrated our lives to seek this UNITY that Jesus prayed for. We do not compromise the truth in any way.We tolerate without compromise in order to co-operate without division. d. Orphan care, and support Church planting Here we take our inspiration from both Jesus and His brother, James! Jesus first (Matt 22:36-40): “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37Jesus said to him, “ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38“This is the first and great commandment. 39“And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40“On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Now James…. (James 1:27): “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world”. We have “partnered” with various ministries who “specialise” in both the caring for Orphans and Planting of Churches. Here are the following ministries: Acres of Love are our official partners, in that we are financially committed to them in a partnership in caring for children without parents. Acres of Love have 12 children homes in South Africa, and specifically care for the orphans who are infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Their care is highly comprehensive, including the administration of Anti-Retroviral (HAART) therapy and higher education for each child, effectively destroying the “poverty cycle”. I, personally had the privilege of serving as the Director of Development, for Acres of Love in South Africa during the establishing years, from 2001 to 2004, and now continue to represent them in Europe and other parts of the world. Please contact us if you would like us come to do a presentation of our “Adoption from Afar” program. Monthly commitment of a small amount of financial support-very affordable, minimum monthly commitment is:
For more information about Acres of Love, their direct link is: www.acresoflove.org Mario Marchio: Project “Bosko” is a project that is designed to purchase land to be used to build Orphanages for the children of Africa. Mario Marchio is the senior Pastor of a large church in the Cape province of South Africa. Rev. Mario can be contacted directly on mariom@bosko.org.za Fountains of Faith: Annah Hakutangwi is the Senior Pastor and Co-founder of a Church planting ministry. The Ark Community is committed in spiritual and financial partnership with both Annah and her Ministry. They now have THREE Churches in various places in Southern Africa. Annah is also an Ark Community Companion and one of our interceding “Mamma’s”. She can be reached on: mhakutangwi@mweb.co.za NB: We would like to suggest that you purchase and read, “VELVET ELVIS – Repainting the Christian Faith”, by Rob Bell. This book will give you a good idea of the direction and “genre” of our Community’s approach to “experimental Christianity”. |
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