Archive for Gladstone Community

The Gladstone Community Religious group

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[This article was written by Zachary Kijinski]

 

The Gladstone Community began 7 years ago as a small group of young men who living in an apartment together in Mariemont. We were all part of a Bible study and were challenged that we wanted to really live our Christian faith as fully as we could. We committed to study, to prayer and to challenge and encourage one another to go deeper and further in our faith.

As time went on, dozens of men and women joined us. As we grew in numbers of persons, we (by necessity) grew in numbers of properties. We began to share all our resources together. Our hope was that by doing this and choosing to live in a simpler way personally, that we could maximize the effect of our resources in the service of our faith. We were very encouraged by the Book of Acts and the very first Christians who did a very similar thing:
All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:44-47, and All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Acts 4:32-35.
When the Gladstone Community began we were still attending a congregation in Loveland, but 2010 we were blessed by the church leadership to become a church fellowship all our own, with our own leadership. To this day we share a relationship with that congregation, as well as many others–particularly Mariemont Community Church, where we minister together, often worship together, and most importantly have deep personal friendships. Leadership is shared by many in the community. There is a team of treasurers who care for the finances. There is a team of pastors who care for spiritual needs. There are teams for hospitality and practical needs as well.
Much of our time, resources and energy goes into helping young men and women out of drug addiction (particularly heroin addiction), orphan-care around the world, and support for the suffering Church. We believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer the world is looking for, but we realize that for the words to be believed people must first see in our lives it’s truth. We partner with a variety of ministries that help us to do this work, such as Back2Back Ministries, Teen Challenge Cincinnati, Voice of the Martyrs to name a few. We also work hard to revitalize the neighborhood we live in. As we purchase houses we seek to landscape, paint, repair and remodel.
We have two meetings a week. One on Thursday nights (7:00pm) at the Mariemont Church Parish Center. In January of 2013 we began to study straight through the Bible. We have a teaching at 7:00pm, followed by worship music and then we break into small groups and discuss what we have just studied. We offer a meal at 6:30pm and free childcare each night in the Preschool rooms.On Sunday mornings we meet at the Mariemont Chapel at 9:00am for a time of worship. At this meeting members of the congregation share testimonies, encouragements, poems, songs, and short exhortations as we worship the Lord together. Both meetings are open and anyone is welcome.
Written by: Zachary Kijinski