Newsletter January 2023

Get our latest updates
Subscribe

Check out the latest video...

We closed on the property in September of 2021 with little more than a nudge from the Lord and a dream and, in the months since, The Farm at Bible Grove has already come a long way. First, we formed our 501c3 non-profit and received our IRS EIN number and letter of approval. Second we have built a great website at www.biblegrove.org and a YouTube Channel (link below) to share our vision and document our progress. Third, we have begun the hard work of clearing trees and preparing the building sites.

 

The third, believe it or not, has been a true blessing. There is nothing like spending time in the woods surrounded by God's creation. He has given us an opportunity to use our imagination in a collaborative process with what He has already laid before us. He's also given me the opportunity to witness, disciple and spend time with other men who needed the same. You can check out the YouTube page and see some of those men. But it has truly been a life changing and life giving opportunity.

 

 

 

YouTube Channel

What We’re Up To...

Spring is right around the corner and we're getting set for some major stepping stones. About 90 days ago, a Lexington Electric Service engineer came out to the property to map out the locations of our power polls and overhead wire. Underground power was not an option for us for several reasons but partly because supply chain issues have created a shortage of ground based transformers. Of course we wanted to preserve as many trees as possible but this change means we had to clear several more trees. The LES engineer was great at zig zagging the line and post locations though so, it wont look like we've done much more clearing than was necessary for the driveway.

 

LES will provide the first two power poles and we can span up to 300 feet between them so, this should get us power back to our initial build site with minimal expense. Chris Lewis is our electrician and he's ready to set our meter base and final pole. Once that is done, the State will come out to inspect it and give LES the all clear to hook us up.

 

Water will be a bit tricky. We had to get permission from Bible Grove Missionary Baptist Church to bring a new water line in from Bible Grove Rd crossing over part of the church's property where the old road once was. The Elders met and granted permission and I was able to locate a spot where the water meter was placed. We had quite a time getting the "811 Call before you dig" folks to understand where we wanted the water line but, by the third trip out we had a clear path identified. The largest water tap we could get was a 1 inch because the water line on Bible Grove Rd. is only a 2 inch line. We will be installing a 1 inch line approximately 900 feet in all and eventually we may have to have a large holding tank as well as water pressure this far up Bible Grove Rd can drop pretty low at times. In fact, the water department would only "guarantee" about 20 pounds of water pressure. We also looked into digging a well but that solution was very expensive ($10,000 plus for the first 200ft and $75/ft thereafter) and there was no guarantee we'd hit water.

 

I located a local source for a storage container (Ricky Derryberry) and it is already delivered about 5 miles down the road waiting on our dozer work to be done and the gravel (chirt) to be brought in. This will serve as our "barn" and we will use it to store and secure our tools and supplies.

 

This spring (if it ever stops raining), we will finally start using the DitchWitch for trenching our water line. It should go pretty smoothly as the ground has very little rock. We'll bring water and power back to the initial camp site and i believe that will also be the initial location for our storage container. We should have dozer work beginning in a matter of a few weeks and once we have a decent gravel driveway, we can finalize the installation of water and power.

 

A simple septic system will be installed (haven't determined exactly what size or where) for our initial camp site and a structure similar to the one above is planned for our AirStream (Avion) camper.
 

Ways you can help...

Below is a list of expenses we have coming. Some of this work may be done by volunteers. If you have experience or contacts in these areas or if you have any questions or suggestions for us regarding The Farm at Bible Grove, please feel free to reach out and let us know. We greatly appreciate your prayers and your contributions... God bless!

 
Contact Us

Several major capital improvements are scheduled in the coming weeks. Those include: water line installation ($1,500 estimated), electrical ($1,700 estimated), Dozer work for driveway and initial camping sites ($2,500 -$5,000 estimated), Arborist ($2,000 estimated), shipping container ($3,000), gravel/chirt ($7,500). Initial septic system installation ($4,500 estimated).

 

We look forward to inviting all of our donors to come experience The Farm at Bible Grove soon.

Donate
Call JD Directly
615-335-6919

Check out our site  
This email was created with Wix.‌ Discover More