We envision Victory Acres making disciples and equipping a new generation of Christian leaders who will engage in God’s global mission. We continue to develop Victory Acres as a facility for training and discipleship by building the housing infrastructure necessary to house ministry guests and to make disciples.
We recently added more seasonal housing capacity by developing 4 more RV spaces with electric, water, and dump stations and investing in three used RV units. We were able to use these for some of the 85 guests we housed on farm during NDP 2022. They were also instrumental in helping us to house hundreds of guests who visited throughout last summer and fall (over 900 camper-nights.)
We enhanced our existing Prayer Chapel by decorating it, landscaping it, and adding waterproof flooring, a propane heater, and interior furniture. It is such a blessing to have a prayer chapel accessible 24 hours a day.
We are almost finished equipping our Garage area and to be a “Face for the Farm” area. We refinished the interior, grinding, staining and sealing the floor. We are adding an attractive “Cracker Barrel style” front porch onto the existing garage and developing better landscaping and drainage. We made and will soon install a new sign near the road. All of this will make the property more attractive and help to make a welcoming first impression as people visit our farm and farm store.
In addition to our three current cabins, we are adding five more tent camping sites complete with picnic tables and benches. We have a system of trails (nearly 1.5 miles) now at the farm developed over the past two years that provide a great place for everyone to walk and talk with God.
We are currently improving pasture and upgrading fences, and we plan to add at least 6 cows to our herd later this spring (or as many as we can afford.)
One of our next projects is to add more cabins that can house additional participants at events like the Nehemiah Discipleship Program. June 1-4, 2023 we will be hosting the 4th annual Nehemiah Discipleship Program Experience at Victory Acres. Applications are coming in daily, and it promises to be an important time of leadership development with the 40 participants who are selected. We have a lot of work to do to prepare, but our greatest need is spiritual. We need people who will join us in prayer that God will use this time to help establish friendships and guide direction for the young people and their families who participate. Would join us in praying for this upcoming event?
The preparatory work we are doing is with the goal of making the ministry more self-sustaining, housing more guests, and training more disciples. More housing means we can welcome more people, and our various enterprises like raising cattle, making hay, and cutting lumber will develop disciples while also supporting the farm.
Victory Acres is a resource for the city and provides us with a context for training disciples from the city (as well as other places.) Matthew and Keyara came to Victory Acres from inner city Cincinnati. At that time he had been dealing with addiction for nearly 25 years, but thanks to God’s deliverance and their time at Victory Acres, they are now more than “ministry guests.” They have become a committed part of our congregation and ministry team. Keyara is our guest services coordinator preparing spaces, communicating with guests, and actively meeting their needs. Matthew helps around the farm in a variety of ways and has a pastor’s heart for each guest. God is opening some exciting new doors for ministry as they both continue to grow.
Ministry today is increasingly bi-vocational. Missions, particularly in closed countries, is going to need to include a vocational component. The kind of “hands on training” and the life skills that are being taught daily on the farm and specifically in the Nehemiah Discipleship Program will be highly transferrable.
Thank you for your support as we continue to develop Victory Acres as a place that can produce a “pipeline” of ready, trained workers for missions both at home and abroad.
