Koinonia is the Greek word for community or communion. When Clarence and Florence Jordan and Martin and Mabel England founded Koinonia Farm in 1942, they envisioned it as a “demonstration plot for the Kingdom of God.” This meant living out the difficult parts of their faith: radical sharing, pacifism, and reconciliation across racial, religious, economic, social, any and all divides. They modeled their community after the early church in the Acts of the Apostles.
During the 1940s, eyebrows were raised at the pacifist beliefs of the community. During the 1950s and 1960s, the dedication to treating all people as equals no matter their race caught the attention of those who disagreed and brought persecution in the form of violence and boycotts. The mail order business came out of this time and to this day remains our main source of income.
In the late 1960s, Koinonia Partnership Housing was born. Over the next decade, the community built 192 houses in Sumter County and sold them without interest or profit. From this local ministry, Koinonia members Linda and Millard Fuller took the idea of partnership housing, founded Habitat for Humanity, and the ministry spread around the world.
These days, our love through service to others takes on many forms. We work to further the ideas upon which we were founded in all areas of service, from visiting men at Stewart Detention Center to working for peace near and far. As a house of hospitality, we welcome guests and interns from all over the world. Every purchase you make allows us to continue this work together.
