Starting a Christian anarchist intentional community means building a shared life that embodies the gospel’s freedom from domination and its call to mutual love.
It’s not about founding an organization—it’s about cultivating a way of being together thatwitnesses to God’s kingdom in everyday life. Here’s how to begin, step by step:
1. Begin with Vision and Prayer
Gather a few people who share the same longing: to follow Jesus without coercion, hierarchy, or violence.
Spend time in prayer, study, and conversation around key texts—Acts 2–4, the Sermon on the Mount, and writings from Tolstoy, Ellul, Dorothy Day, or the Catholic Worker movement.
Ask: What does freedom in Christ look like lived communally?
This stage is about spiritual discernment, not logistics.
2. Form a Core Circle
Start small—three to eight people committed to mutual accountability.
Agree on rhythms of:
shared meals and worship
open decision-making (consensus or discernment circles)
mutual aid and transparency in finances
This circle becomes the seedbed of trust and shared imagination.
3. Choose a Place and a Rhythm
Christian anarchist communities often begin in ordinary spaces—a rented house, a farm, a city block, or a neighborhood apartment cluster. The goal is presence, not isolation.
Establish daily and weekly rhythms:
morning prayer or silence
shared work and meals
Sabbath rest
hospitality for neighbors and strangers
The rhythm itself becomes formation.
4. Practice Economic Sharing
Move gradually toward a common purse or cooperative economy.
Start with small steps:
share groceries and tools
create a mutual aid fund
practice voluntary simplicity
refuse exploitative labor or consumption
Economic sharing is a spiritual discipline—it reveals trust and dependence on God.
5. Cultivate Nonviolent Witness
Christian anarchism is prophetic: it resists domination through love.
Practice public witness that reflects your convictions:
hospitality to the unhoused or marginalized
creative protest against war, exploitation, or ecological harm
art, storytelling, and worship that confront empire
Witness grows from community life, not ideology.
6. Build Structures of Care
Create ways to handle conflict, burnout, and discernment:
regular check-ins and confession circles
restorative justice practices
shared sabbath retreats
mutual care for emotional and spiritual health
Without these, even non-hierarchical communities can reproduce domination.
7. Stay Connected to the Wider Body
Christian anarchist communities thrive in relationship with others.
Go out into the world two by two. Join Catholic Worker houses, Quaker meetings, peace churches and other local congregations open to collaboration.
Connection keeps the community humble and accountable.
8. Let Leadership Emerge Organically
Leadership is service, not status.
Encourage members to lead by washing dishes, listening deeply, taking invisible tasks, and letting others lead when ready.
Formation happens through shared life, not formal training.
9. Keep Returning to the Spirit
The community’s center is not ideology but the living presence of Christ.
Regular prayer, silence, and shared discernment keep the community grounded in grace rather than control.
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