GIVING UP your bedroom for five months for complete strangers when you're a small child is a good preparation for Christian Community! This is the conclusion Ruth Burling, 28, comes to, remembering her childhood in Twickenham, London.

"Mum and Dad were radical Christians whose home was always open, especially to those in need. My brother, Sam, and I were never shut away and told 'this is adults' time now'. We grew up with all kinds of friends from missionaries to homeless alcoholics or people with serious mental illness. We gained flexibility and caring hearts - so community was a natural progression."

When Ruth was seven, the Burlings went to visit family friends who had just joined the New Creation Christian Community in Northamptonshire. It was the start of a special relationship that led to first Sam and then Ruth moving in as teenagers.

"My first impressions? The fun of long walks in the country; the sense of family, sitting together round a log fire; the grace time worship that went on and on - when you're a hungry child you think it's never going to stop! But I loved it and visited as often as I could."

The London community house opened when Ruth was twelve and she told her parents "This is my church, now." Two years later, during one of the Fellowship's Festivals, she heard God's call to celibacy.

"It was like an electric shock. The thought raced through my mind 'I'm only 14!' but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I can only describe it as a burning inside. I didn't tell anyone for a year and during that year I felt very tested - especially knowing the call meant never having children."

At the end of the year a leader prophesied "God will anoint the celibate gift to young people. They are going to pioneer it!" This was Ruth's cue to reveal her secret. She went to the front of the meeting to tell everyone God had already given her the gift. To her amazement, her mother revealed that, just before Ruth's birth, God had given her a verse for the new baby from Isaiah 54:5: For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of Hosts is His name!

"Wisdom from others meant I had to wait until 21 to make my celibate vow. Meanwhile, I struggled to decide whether to go to college to study physiotherapy or move straight into community." Christian Community won and, at the age of sixteen, Ruth joined one of the London houses, and has spent the last 12 years there.

"We've had painful storms. Many of the original members left and the London household had to be virtually 'rebuilt'. I had an accident to my neck and then was out of action for two and a half years with chronic fatigue syndrome. But I was sure of my calling to celibacy and my calling to Christian Community. That held me."

Gradually, Ruth began to explore her spiritual ministries. The book That none shall perish by Ed Silvoso made a big impression, leading her into the gift of intercession. She saw that God has given His church authority through prayer to release situations that hold people back from God. This ministry became a vital tool when God gave her a burden for youth in the church.

"There was lots of talk in the 90s about our young generation 'rising up and taking the church and community further on'. We looked round at the reality and thought 'Oh,help!' That started us praying 'God we need You to break through for us!'"

Ruth sees Christian Community as the hub of the church and vital for celibates.

"We live together because we've all come to faith in Jesus and want to put into practise what He taught about laying down our lives for one another.You can't lay down your life for people unless you're actually with them!

"Without Christian Community, as a celibate, I'd just be lonely and miserable and not doing anything much. With people around me, I can pour out my life through my celibate gift by being available, choosing to be around and digging in people's hearts - challenging and enabling other young people to live out the fullness of their calling in God."