Aerial community footage — video to be supplied
Marondera, Zimbabwe  ·  Christian Community Since 1974

A life shared
together, rooted
in faith

Families and individuals living, working, farming and worshipping as one, for over five decades, in the heart of Zimbabwe.

Visit or stay with us Our story Shop our farm
1974 Founded
5 Founding families
50+ People welcomed
1 Common table
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"All the believers were together and had everything in common." This is not just a verse we read — it is the life we have chosen to live.

Acts 2 : 44
Founder photo — to be supplied
1974 Est.
Our story

Rooted in the Spirit, built in community

In 1974, members of different congregations in Marondera came into a life-changing encounter with God through the filling of the Holy Spirit. There was a new delight in worship, a hunger for biblical teaching, and a remarkable love for one another that began drawing people together on Friday evenings.

Two visiting speakers — Derek Crumpton from South Africa and Dennis Ball from the United Kingdom — shared their own experience of living in intentional Christian community. Their testimony ignited something in four families and a widow: a desire to share life at a far deeper level than Sunday services could offer.

Over eighteen months they met twice weekly to pray, discuss, and discern. In October 1980 — the same year Zimbabwe gained her independence — they purchased the Three Monkey's Inn in Marondera and moved in together. The Gatehouse Community had begun.

1974
Friday night gatherings begin after a move of the Holy Spirit among members of different congregations in Marondera
1978–79
Visitors Derek Crumpton and Dennis Ball inspire four families and a widow to explore communal living rooted in Acts 2 and Acts 4
1980
The founding families purchase the Three Monkey's Inn and move in — the same year Zimbabwe gains independence. Gatehouse Community is born
1980s+
Over 50 people welcomed — individuals facing housing need, medical challenges, psychiatric care, and social difficulties — all finding home at Gatehouse
Today
Five families, a working farm, Lendy Park School, and a living witness to what shared life in Christ can look like — still going, still growing
How we live

What holds us together

Community life at Gatehouse is not a programme — it is a daily rhythm built on shared faith, shared meals, and shared resources.

01
Daily worship

Every weekday morning at 6:15am the community gathers in the small chapel for worship, Bible study, prayer, and fellowship — before breakfast, before the day begins.

02
Shared table

Meals are not just meals here — they are the heartbeat of community. The families eat together daily. Visitors are always welcome at the table. Nobody eats alone.

03
Common purse

Incomes and assets are held in common. Nobody owns property in their own name within the community. Resources are shared according to need — as the early church intended.

04
Separate homes

Each family has their own private space. Community does not mean the absence of personal boundaries — it means choosing, every day, to put the whole above the individual.

05
Christian education

Faith and learning belong together. Lendy Park School, founded and run by community members, brings Christian education to children in Marondera — part of our witness to the wider community.

06
Open doors

Hospitality is not a programme — it is our character. We have welcomed missionaries, medical students, outreach teams, and individuals in need of rest or refuge for over forty years.

The community

The families at Gatehouse

Five families — doctors, teachers, accountants, farmers — living one common life in Marondera.

K·G
Photo to be supplied
Dr. Kevin & Gill Martin
Leading the community · overseeing the farm
Farm · Lendy Park School
M·P
Photo to be supplied
Munyaradzi & Phillipa Bvunzawabaya
Education leadership
Cambridge Curriculum
T·C
Photo to be supplied
Tendai & Connistance Sixpense
Professional accounting
Accounting
A·J
Photo to be supplied
Abigail James
Founding member · community elder · Retired
Founder
K·V
Photo to be supplied
Kudakwashe & Veronica Bvumbe
Corporate · Patrions
Corporate sector
Farm photo — to be supplied
Fresh from the farm

Grown on our land, available to you

Our farm produces enough to cover much of our own diet and the surplus is available to the community around us. All produce is sold on-site, cash, and fresh.

Pork & pork products
Our pigs are raised on the campus grounds — fresh pork available seasonally
Enquire
Fresh dairy milk
Milk from our small dairy herd — available regularly from the farm
Enquire
Organic vegetables & produce
Seasonal organic farming — grown without chemicals, harvested with care
Enquire
All sales are cash, on-site. We do not process online orders. Contact us via WhatsApp or phone to check availability and arrange collection at the farm.
Contact to order
What we do

Our ministries

Beyond community life, Gatehouse reaches into the world around it — through education, outreach, and healing.

Education
Lendy Park School

A Christian school founded and run by Gatehouse community members, providing quality faith-based education in Marondera. Led by Gill Martin.

Healing
Wellness & healing ministry

Over the decades Gatehouse has provided a place of healing for individuals facing mental, psychological, and addiction challenges. Dr. Kevin Martin continues to offer this ministry on a case-by-case basis. Reaching out to us to discuss.

Outreach
Kukura ne Shungu Orphanage

"Grow up with confidence" — Gatehouse supports the work of this orphanage ministry, providing care, stability and the love of community to children who need it most.

Evangelism
Gideons Bible outreach

Committed Gideon members from Gatehouse visit over 200 schools annually, preaching the Gospel and distributing Bibles. Bibles also placed in hotels, motels, and public spaces throughout the region.

Come and see

We would love
to welcome you

Whether you come for an hour, a day, or longer, there is always a place for you at Gatehouse. Come experience what shared life looks like.

01
School & group tours

Bring your school class or group for an educational experience of the farm, community life, poultry, dairy, and organic farming. Ideal for primary and secondary schools.

  • Duration: 2–3 hours
  • Suitable for schools and colleges
  • Farm walk, animals, Q&A with community members
  • Booking in advance required
Book a school tour
02
Day visits

Spend a few hours at the community — tour the campus, see the farm, and join us for a communal meal. A taste of what daily life here looks and feels like.

  • Weekdays, by appointment
  • Campus tour included
  • Option to join communal lunch
  • Individuals, couples, families welcome
Plan a day visit
03
Stay with us

For over forty years Gatehouse has hosted missionaries, medical students, outreach teams, and individuals who simply needed a community to rest in for a season.

  • Short stays: nights or weeks
  • Longer stays by arrangement
  • Suitable for individuals, couples, families
  • Meals included in community rhythm
Enquire about staying
Become part of us

How to join Gatehouse

Membership of the Gatehouse Community is open to committed Christians who feel called to shared life. The process is honest, unhurried, and prayerful.

1
Application

You must be a committed, practising Christian. Reach out to us, tell us who you are, something of your faith journey, and what draws you to community living.

2
Interview for fit

We meet together — you with us, and us with you. We want to understand your sense of calling, your character, and whether Gatehouse is genuinely the right place for you at this season of life.

3
Integration

If the fit is right, you begin to integrate into the life of the community, contributing where needed, finding your place at the table, and gradually becoming part of the whole.

Community life at Gatehouse does not mean leaving your career behind. Our members include a doctor, a schoolteacher, an accountant, and professionals in corporate Zimbabwe — all living a shared life while remaining fully engaged in the world.

Community photo — to be supplied
Partner with us

Support the work of Gatehouse

We are sustained by the generosity of people who believe in what God is doing through this community. There are several ways to get involved.

Get in touch about supporting us
Support the orphanage

Help fund the Kukura ne Shungu ministry — giving children stability, care, and the love of community.

Support Lendy Park School

Partner with our Christian school — helping equip children in Marondera with a quality faith-based education.

Support the community

Help sustain the daily life of Gatehouse — the farm, the chapel, the open table, and the fifty-year witness in Marondera.

Get in touch

We would love
to hear from you

Whether you want to visit, order farm produce, enquire about school tours, or explore joining the community — reach out. We respond to every message.

Address
Gatehouse Community
Marondera, Zimbabwe
Phone & WhatsApp
+263 [number to be supplied]
Morning chapel
Weekdays at 6:15am
Visitors welcome to join
Send us a message