But we prefer to use less technical and religious terms and just say we live the peaceful, Acts Model Christian community lifestyle. We think this Acts model also includes the house church fellowship (with no overhead, no salaries, no order of service, and no hierarchy ... just community fellowship.  1 Corinthians 14: 26-40 lets us see inside a church service up close and personal.  We do not speak against "church" buildings (keeping in mind that the church is made up of Christians, not a building) and all that, but we do warn that perhaps thousands of "churches" will unfortunately have to close in 2011 & 2012 due to lack of funds in these financially difficult times.  Hopefully that will encourage those congregations to go back to the Acts Model for the house church and Christian community).

ArkHaven will not be an isolationist or hidden paramilitary armed camp.  Our protection will be divine or none at all.  We are separatists (separated from the world and off the world's grid) but not isolationists who think they can hide from a perceived enemy.  If we are not going to where the needy are and ministering Jesus Christ to them, we are not laying down our lives to serve and witness; we are not living the Acts model. 

The camp that is armed is depending on their own numbers, training, and equipment...the arm of the flesh.  But there is always some group out there that can outgun you.  Our prayer warriors will keep up a prayer hedge about us at all times.  It is God's way to offer a vision of long term provision and peace to a militant band of potential raiders as opposed to a bloody shoot out at OK Corral.

The militant armed camp mentality does not have any Bible support at all, but reasonable self defense does.  Anxiety and fear are not of God, but operating out of the fruit of the Spirit and the Beatitudes is.  We put more emphasis on growing food than on storing or stockpiling huge stashes of food, water and supplies.

In 1990 the Lord told me to study church history

The extensive studies I made over a two and a half year period gave me a lot more perspective into the mission of preparing His people.  There I saw the Acts model for Christian community and how it helped early Christians cope with severe persecution, tribulation, and martyrdom through the first three centuries.  (I should add that when anyone studies church history that extensively, that person’s understanding will then go beyond the boundaries of any given denomination or doctrinal group.  And the more anyone learns, the more they become humbled by the magnitude of how much knowledge they don’t and can’t know.)

“But realize this, that in the last days
difficult times will come.” — 2 Timothy 3:1  

"The prudent see danger and take refuge,
but the simple keep going and suffer for it" —Proverbs 22:12

As fish are caught in a cruel net, as birds are taken in a snare,
so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly on them." —Ecclesiastes 9:12

"When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do" —Psalms 11:3

⁶ For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found:
surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

⁷ Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble;
thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

⁸ I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:
I will guide thee with mine eye.   Psalms 32

¹ He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

² I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

³ Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

⁴ He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

⁵ Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

⁶ Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.   Psalms 91

The Acts (of the Holy Spirit) is God's model for His church in every generation and culture (because neither God nor His Bible ever changes).  The Apostles simply practiced the life style and doctrine that Jesus taught them.  This model goes beyond the community concept found in chapters 2 and 3, the model includes the entire book of Acts.  The book of Acts is more than a history lesson or doctrinal teaching, it is a Holy Spirit inspired life style.  Restoring that which the Apostles established will require a restoration process of repentance and reformation.  For all that Martin Luther restored and reformed, he did not bring this reformation ... this Apostolic life style called "The Way" throughout the book of Acts.  This Christian life style MUST work in every culture and century to be valid.  Since these are of the Holy Spirit and since the Holy Spirit is with (in) each of us today, we can accept this Christian model (lifestyle) as being applicable in our (any) culture today.  The reason we do not get First Century results today is because we do not practice First Century Christianity.  The Reformation and Restoration process will not be complete until we see Him face to face. 

By Christian community we really mean a Christian life style designed after the Acts model and the historic first, second and third century model for the church. The following passages from Acts 2 indicate that these believers were hearing from the Spirit of God, and were in unity as to what to do.

⁴⁴ And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;

⁴⁵ and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

⁴⁶ Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,

⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

We should not assume that all these first century Christians sold everything they had, or that they gave all the money for whatever they sold, to the Apostles.  They continued to live in their own houses (whether owned or rented) and be the heads of their households.  In Acts 5 Ananias and Sapphira's sin was lying about what they did, not over what they did.

 ^{1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,}

 ^{2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.}

 ^{3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?}

 ^{4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.}

 ^{5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.}

 ^{6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.}

 ^{7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.}

 ^{8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.}

 ^{9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.}

 ^{10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.}

 ^{11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.}

Many prophetic people have moved into NW ARK because the Holy Spirit has shown them that this area is especially protected.  There have been numerous confirmations – Corry ten Boom giving one of them.  In 1984 I met a man who was one of those with her when she had an open vision while in the Eureka Springs area.  When she saw five rings of angles on the entire horizon with swords in hand, she exclaimed, “My God!!!  This is a divinely protected place.” 

When I drove into this area for the first, the Lord told me that this is “A green island of survival.”  Read more about this at http://arkhaven.org/the_arkhaven_story.htm .

We want to go into community because it is the best answer to all that ails the church and the world.  Community is the New Testament way to live...the scripture says that we will be known by our love for each other.  Some charge that this is a socialist principle, not realizing they just said they do not believe the Bible and miss the message God is giving us in Acts 5.

As a living example, the Amish think of themselves as a community of believers.  They own their own farms, but they work together to meet all the needs within the community, so between them all, they are totally self sufficient.  Despite their success for centuries, the problem is, their doctrinal stance limits their ability to reach outside their community to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of others. They miss the Acts 2: 47 model of “praising God and having favor with all the people, And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”  Years ago most farming communities looked after each other much like the Amish do.

 ³¹"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.

 ³²"All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;

 ³³and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

 ³⁴"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

 ³⁵'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;

 ³⁶naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'

 ³⁷"Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?

 ³⁸'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?

 ³⁹'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'

 ⁴⁰"The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'

 ⁴¹"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;

 ⁴²for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;

 ⁴³I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'

 ⁴⁴"Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'

 ⁴⁵"Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'

 ⁴⁶"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

There is no social, economic, political or government solution

In my opinion we are in the last days prophesied in the Bible.  The Antichrist, the Beast System, and the One World Government WILL arise, and it will NOT be DEFEATABLE until God defeats it at the battle of Armageddon, so the notions expressed in the below letter for activist political and armed resistance planning and organization will only walk into the enemies plans.  Therefore we are in a time when this entire end-time scenario is being staged, and there are no social, economic, political or government solutions. 

Realizing we are undoubtedly coming into the worst economic depression in history, I also hope to become totally self sufficient so we can go off the grid before the grid goes off, but not just for the selfish, self preservation purpose of surviving. We intend to minister to our own community members, and be able to go into local towns and minister to others, even if our lives are at risk … as were the first, second, and third century Christians.  I am willing to live or die for my Jesus.  Accomplishing these two goals will have us prepared for any other eventualities that are seen by so many (tribulation, all kinds of disasters, antichrist, etc).  Yes, we are preparing but not in fear (Join our forum by this name).

That is what the Apostles did.  They were involved in Kingdom of God matters only.  Jesus said, “Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s,”  and so we abide by the laws of the land. I used to be an activist, but God took me out of all that and showed me the only solution is Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.  

The article below is one perspective of a group of believers who wish to live in a Christian environment, and what they are doing to be prepared:  

By nature I am a quiet spoken diplomat, but when it comes to gathering in the core group of our community, I need to not only really be understood, but I need to clearly understand those that write to me.  This year,  a lady in NY City called me, and I had to tell her she is a New Ager and is not saved.  But she is not the first one. 

I see no comparison what-so-ever between First century Christians and the Branch Davidian mentality.  Many people think they were Christians but if one studies their leader and doctrine you will see they were a demonic, sexually perverted, heretical cult living in a heavily armed fortress.  Their well publicized prophecy that they would be attacked by government forces some day, and might have to fight to the death to defend themselves from persecution became a self-fulfilling prophecy (Yes, it is also true that the Government attack on them was unwarranted and illegal).  In contrast, the Mennonite’s pacifist prophecy over themselves has preserved them for all these centuries. 

Why the Mennonites Have succeeded

 ¹And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

 ²And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

 ³Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 ⁴Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

 ⁵Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

 ⁶Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

 ⁷Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

 ⁸Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

 ⁹Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

 ¹⁰Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 ¹¹Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

 ¹²Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 5                                                

Community Concepts

I would like for the community to assemble at least 5 mornings a week for prayer and praise … and to schedule our day … but I also think it will be healthy for us to be in local churches on Saturdays or Sundays.  That keeps down the gossip that we are a weird cult group, and in fact keeps us from becoming one.  I learned this from the YWAM’ers years ago (my wife was YWAM trained in Hawaii).

It will be essential for the core group of each community to mature in their Christian walk, as we will be involved in hard work as well as being of one heart from God's perspective.  It will make no difference what the people we serve believe, as we are there to be a witness for them.

By starting out with these goals in place we will be more able to start moving into living by miracles alone.  We can’t start there, but we had better be able to end there ... just in case there are no options. 

How ArkHaven Got its Name

The name "ArkHaven" is in reference to the Ark of the Covenant and to Noah's Ark.  Both of these Arks were covered with God's promise, protection, and provision.  Read the ArkHaven story.

The Lord is certainly pressing His preparation into the hearts and minds of those who have an ear to hear.  Are you one of them?

My vision is to form a community of "intentional neighbors" that will be totally self sufficient, self reliant, and able to operate outside the system when the economy crashes. Some use terms like "Christian sanctuary", or "Christian covenant" or "Christian centered", to describe this lifestyle.

We use such thoughts as self sufficient, frugal, frugality, self-reliance, and sustainability to define what ArkHaven is all about, but ArkHaven is Christ centered and therefore much bigger than what those words can convey.

·         CLICK HERE to see maps showing the location of five "Green islands of survival," North West Arkansas being one of them.  The maps are big, so the screen will take a few seconds to come up.

·         CLICK HERE  to read the prophetic, miraculous story behind the ArkHaven name.

·         CLICK HERE  to read the biography and testimony of the founder of ArkHaven Ministries, Kenneth Uptegrove.

·         CLICK HERE to find a FORUM for self sufficient living.  What advice, what testimonies, what links do you offer the rest of us who are living or want to live the self sufficient lifestyle?  You do not have to be interested in Christian community or preparing for hard times to be qualified to share with this group. You will find a listing of everything needed for self sufficient living, such as heirloom seeds, foam domes, generators, and many other things.

·         CLICK HERE  to read a prophetic article on Christian community by Jeanette Reed that says God is telling us difficult times are upon us.  David Wilkerson wrote two books proclaiming a coming economic collapse.

·         CLICK HERE  to see a listing of people in your area who are looking for others to join together with to prepare for the coming hard times.

·         CLICK HERE  to hear Kenneth Uptegrove on archived radio talk shows he has been interviewed on about this subject.

                  OUR PLAN:

STATUS: We are not living our vision yet, but we have posted the vision here as a statement of faith that we will eventually band together with others as intentional neighbors, as a Christian community. You will not find any "conspiracy theory" literature on this website, that is not where we are coming from.  Our views are very consistent with the Biblical views found in the books on a coming depression by David Wilkerson and Larry Burkett.