Reba Place Fellowship (RPF) began in Evanston in 1957. The driving
vision for the early members of the Fellowship was to live out a life of
radical Christian discipleship as they observed it in the Gospels and the book
of Acts. They believed the words of the earthly Jesus were meant to guide the
community of his disciples in every area of life-not only then, but now. Jesus'
daily life with his disciples and the common life of the early church in
Jerusalem were the normative examples of how Christian life should be lived. It
was no wonder that Christians living without the many supports of a daily
Christian community did not show forth the fruits of radical discipleship: open
and loving relationships, full sharing of material resources, a visible common
life, active witness for justice and peace, and a priority on living out the
word of the Lord rather than talking about it. A clear expression of the vision
of this period lived on for many years at Plow Creek Fellowship, which began in
about 1970 when several Reba families left to form a rural community modeled on
RPF.
These first 14 years at Reba were full of blessings
for many members and visitors, as well as notable stories of God's providential
care for the community as a whole. But they also left many unmet needs
throughout the congregation-for more spiritual power to live out the
sacrificial Christian life, for more expressive worship, for more freedom to
express the Gospel openly to seekers, etc. These generally unarticulated needs
were the kindling onto which God was soon to pour the fire of His Spirit.
