The Persistence of Koinonia Farm in the Post-Jordan Years

Koinonia had been the brainchild of Jordan in the early 1940s as he searched for the best way to live a true Christian life focused on pacifism, equality for all, and a total sharing reminiscent of the early Church as described in the Book of Acts.1 Koinonia Farm, as it was called for the first twenty-seven years of its existence, had persisted through years of harassment from supporters of World War II, aggression from local Ku Klux Klan members, and boycotts by local businesses because of the position members took against racial discrimination and violence.2 Despite the adversity they faced in their early years and the years following their founder’s death, Koinonia celebrated its seventy-fifth year in the spring of 2017. England struggled with many of the issues that Jordan concerned himself with, principally Christians’ paradoxical ideas about brown-skinned people of the world as missionary opportunities but not treating them as full Christian brothers and sisters after their conversion.4 England also saw a need for agricultural education to assist underprivileged people in the world, just as Jordan did. Through nonviolence, equality, and communal living, Christians could demonstrate a faith that is sustainable and true to the gospel message.6 “We Got to Think Big” To understand how Jordan’s ideology has persisted, we first need to recognize how close Koinonia came to being lost to the history books even before Jordan passed away. The 1960s were a time of cultural upheaval and, despite the spread of intentional communities lasting into the 1970s, Koinonia struggled to find its place in the ever-changing political and social climate of the decade.

Read the full-text, published in Communal Societies, here.