Why the Farms of the Good Shepherd Program is so Important

Why is a program like Farms of the Good Shepherd

so important for young people to experience?

Because it recognizes a deep and urgent need: to disconnect our youth from the negative influences of modern culture and reconnect them with their Father in Heaven.

We continue to convince ourselves of the usefulness of the mobile phone, the necessity of constant connection through gaming, social media, the internet, and even violent entertainment. Yet all of it—collectively—has brought more harm into our children’s lives than anything previous generations have faced.

Article after article, book after book, study after study points to the same reality for our children: increased anxiety, self-doubt, isolation, and a growing inability to regulate emotions or find peace.

“Let us fall into the hands of the Lord...” (Sirach 2:4)

Pause and ponder that image for a moment.

To be held in the hands of gentle Love, complete Wisdom, and absolute Peace—the hands of the One who knows and loves us entirely. It is a comforting image, yes, but it is more than just a beautiful, soul-soothing thought.

For those who genuinely seek to place themselves in His hands, where better to do so than immersed in His creation—unfettered, unmanufactured, and pure?

First through the legitimate necessity of shelter, and later through the manufactured necessity of opulence, we have quite literally walled ourselves off from God’s creation. Inside our well-appointed, well-decorated homes, we busy ourselves with distractions made by the hands of man rather than the hands of God.

If someone said, “I have a special path directly into God’s presence where your child could rest for a time each day,” would you hesitate to walk it?

Or have we become so removed from our desire to belong fully to Him that this need is carefully and intellectually “balanced” against other obligations—more accolades, more income for more things, more sports for more playing time, more gaming devices, the latest mobile phones, faster Wi-Fi for quicker access to manufactured images of “friends” pretending to live their best lives on social media, yet outside the scope of our faith?

What are we doing?

How did we allow these things to consume so many of the brief

24 hours we are given each day?

Farms of the Good Shepherd provides a place where children and adults can rest in His hands, surrounded by His creation. Each visit begins and ends with prayer. Participants are enveloped in the softness of His creatures, the fragrances He designed—pine and petals, baked bread and barns, honey and hay—the caress of the breeze and the sounds that exist only in nature, untouched, unmodified, unenhanced by man.

To step fully into His creation is to step fully into Him.

Here, there is no human judgment. No “cool” factor to maintain. No trends to follow. No selfies required to manufacture the appearance of joy.

The things that weigh children down simply do not exist on the Farms—because they do not matter to the lamb, the garden, or the loaf of bread rising from yeast formed by His bounty.

The world’s obsession with image, reputation, and accumulation fades into insignificance, replaced by a singular desire: just five more minutes with Him. Just Him.

Caring for His creation—working alongside it—is to witness His hands at work. It allows us to glimpse, however briefly, the depth of His love for humanity, His artistry, His wisdom, and His perfection.

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
—James 4:8

So, this is our hope, at Farms of the Good Shepherd - to give your child regular time with Him, time to learn the mysteries of His creation and to work with the gifts of nature, which He designed especially for us.

We want children to know how to care for animals, to tend to the land, to experience the honest joy of working soil and the deep satisfaction that comes from harvesting nourishment for family and community.

Farms of the Good Shepherd teaches these timeless truths and, with every visit, gently guides His children back into His hands.

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