Is Eden Village a Christian Non-Profit?

In church this past week our Pastor spoke about Eden. The original Hebrew word meant delight, or paradise. It was a perfect setting…..before people came into the picture. And most of us know what happened then, they messed up, as all of us do. And the rest is history, as we see our failings every day. However, God did provide a solution to that, which is evident here every day.

I’m sometimes asked, “Is Eden Village a religious or Christian non-profit?”  My answer is, NO, as non-profits, businesses, and other organizations, even Churches, are not “Christian”, as PEOPLE are either Christ-followers (Christian) or not. My businesses over 32 years were not “Christian”.  But we tried as best we could to follow Christian values, and it worked really well. Christian and Biblical values were our standard, as they are here at Eden Village, and they work well.

I also tell them that without my Christian faith, Eden Village of Tulsa would not be a reality, at least with me starting it. It’s the reason why I dove into this 4 years ago, devoting much time, energy, and resources into this deal. At 72 next month, I’m way beyond resume’ building, don’t need to impress anyone (except my wife!), don’t need a job (I’m not paid anyway) and I’m not doing this for my health. It’s simply a call from God for me to be faithful and work diligently to make Eden Village a reality.

The name Eden Village was created by the founders in Springfield, MO, when they started this concept of building tiny-home communities for people experiencing chronic homelessness.  So, when we decided to become part of the Eden Village family, we had the name, which I would have gone with anyway. Our name tells much about who we are. Those two folks in the original Eden messed up. And that continues with ALL of us every day. In spite of that, God has provided a way of redemption, and restoration (the farm). We accept our people with where, they are as that’s how Jesus rolled, and allow them grace. 

This is a place to delight in, and be thankful for the grace given to us, and to serve others as a response to that grace.