About

Purpose

Former chaplain of the United States Senate Dick Halverson said, “In the beginning the church was a fellowship of men and women centering on the living Christ. Then the church moved to Greece, where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome, where it became an institution. Next it moved to Europe where it became a culture, and, finally, it moved to America where it became an enterprise.”

We are not at all interested in religion as a way to make money. We are not focused on the cultural and philosophical aspects of Christianity, and we promote no specific organization. Our interest is in a living experience of the living Christ. Our purpose is to enjoy God’s loving presence today in a manner that is authentic, personally transformative and that creates community, that cares for our sisters and brothers in society and that keeps us on the right side of social justice.

What you find on this website, we pray, promotes that purpose.

The Gerhard Family

Rob is a husband, father, businessman, and a Christian spiritual mystic in pursuit of authentic experiences with God and a desire to leave the world a better place.

As principal of Riverside Energy and Ignision Capital, Rob invests in energy, de-carbonization and other “sustainability” businesses, and loves developing and mentoring entrepreneurs and rising business leaders.

At age 8 he experienced a clear, simple and peaceful touch from God’s Holy Spirit which awakened a hunger that has grown, though along a rocky path. During his college years he was caught up in a spiritual awakening at the University of Cape Town campus that brought many thousands of students to a relationship with Christ and a desire to shape their destinies in His service. This movement took Rob through various roles such as serving for several years as the dean of an on-campus three year Bible School, as head of African missions for the movement, as overseer of campus outreach ministries in South Africa and as an elder in their local church in Johannesburg South Africa where he would often preach.

All of this occurred as Rob followed his primary call as a businessman and founder of Ignision Capital, through which his desire is to express Christ’s love in the commercial arena.

Rob serves as the chairman and Pippa as the executive director of HART USA, the Christian humanitarian aid agency founded by Baroness Cox, and of the affiliated 501(c)3 US non-profit organization, Leaders in Transformation, Inc., that provides an advocacy and funding platform for society transforming leaders around the world.

The Gerhard family are based in The Woodlands, Texas, USA where Ignision Capital is headquartered and where the winters are mild. In the summers they enjoy spending time in their second home, in Traverse City, Michigan, where Ignision has several portfolio companies.