The Abbey is an initiative seeking to establish a praying community.
The Abbey is loosely based on the 24-7 Prayer model, which began in 1999 with a single prayer room set up by the young people of Revelation Church, Chichester. In this room, they prayed without ceasing in one-hour shifts for several weeks, inspired by the example of the 18th-century Moravians who had such an impact on men like John Wesley through their model of unbroken prayer.
The Abbey is an engine room driving God’s purposes forward. Some people describe us as a “Gen-X monastery” because of the youth vibe and similarities with the ancient Celtic monastic movements. Although we fall way short of those radical prayer communities, we do find ourselves gathering to do many of the same things. The heart is the same, but the clothes are new.
“The monasteries of Celtic Christianity were where things happened! These were a combination of a commune, retreat, house mission station, hotel, hospital, school, university, arts, and Abbey for the local community – a place not only of spiritual energy but also of hospitality, learning, and cultural exchange.” Vagabond Christian’s goal is to establish The Abbey in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida.
Vagabond Christian has already facilitated ten of these prayer rooms and several worship and arts nights. We have seen lives changed by it. The Abbey teaches people to include various forms of prayer by allowing them to paint, draw, dance, and even sculpt their prayers, in addition to traditional heads bowed.