The Alabaré Christian Community Charitable Trust was founded by John & Alicia Proctor in 1984 in South Woodham Ferrers, Essex. Twelve months later they moved to Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire where the Community has developed ever since. The purpose of the community was to encourage Christians of differing denominations to work and pray together in order to give witness to their faith in Jesus Christ and make a greater impact on society. Alabaré is Spanish for 'I will praise'.

On moving to Wilton they established a family home in what had been a convent and were known as Maranatha House of Prayer. This was an open house that welcomed anyone that came whether they be the men of the road seeking a warm drink and a meal, or people in crisis requiring love and shelter or Christians gathering to give praise to God. These were challenging times with three small boys and never being sure how the financial needs would be met. During this time the Community became a Covenant Community where the members made a commitment to one another and began to tithe a portion of their income to the work of the Community.  These very demands led them into prayer and discernment as to how they could continue to meet the needs that kept presenting themselves and in 1991 they founded a further charity Alabaré Christian Care Centres to facilitate the outreach ministry of the Community. You can read more about this in the Founding story here.

The Outreach Charity is now registered as Alabaré and has grown substantially from a £50,000 charity in 1992 to over £11 million in 2024. Placing it in the top 1% of charities by size. For further information visit www.alabare.co.uk

The Community has always been small in number with 12 active members today. We are an Ecumenical Charismatic Christian Community  and in 2005 we also established Alabaré Catholic Fellowship in Canon Law  as an Association of Lay Faithful under the authority of the Bishop of Clifton. In the year 2000 it took its next major step forward purchasing a property jointly with some of its members to establish a residential community and retreat centre. Alabaré House of Prayer as it was known  in the heart of Salisbury offering retreats, days of reflection and hospitality to people seeking accommodation. The residential aspect of Community life proved a very painful experience to those initially involved, but the House of Prayer continued until 2022. Following its lockdown during covid it was decided to close the centre and use our energy and resources elsewhere.