How to Cultivate Community: A Farmer’s Story

When Jesse Cox first started farming, he struggled to see how his work on the land would fit into the bigger picture of God’s kingdom.

Having served with The Navigators over the past two decades with his wife, Katy, Jesse’s vision for serving the Lord was always centered around structured discipleship: leading Bible studies, helping men grow in their walk with Christ, and inspiring them to pass on what they learned to others.

However, in the past few years, the Lord revealed to him a different kind of mission: that his family farm — Sweet Source Farmstead — could be a place of ministry. It was there that Jesse’s gift of cultivating and passion for relationships converged.

The Journey to Sweet Source Farmstead

Growing up in a missionary family in Kenya, Jesse was raised in a believing home, but had a rocky relationship with faith. “I felt like Christianity was crammed down my throat,” he remembers. “I knew a lot about Jesus, but didn’t have a relationship with Him.”

As a young adult, Jesse joined the Marine Corps. While training in Pensacola, Florida, he was approached by Navigator John Nellis, and Jesse was immediately struck by the way that John carried himself. “It was one of those God things,” Jesse says. “I thought, man, whatever this guy’s got, that’s what I’m looking for.

Jesse got connected with The Navigators Military ministry and felt the Lord open his eyes and transform his life with the gospel. Soon after, he began his personal ministry, wanting to share the lessons he learned with others. After completing his service in the military, Jesse joined staff with The Navigators, discipling men in the Marines in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

After nine years in Jacksonville, Jesse and Katy felt like the Lord was preparing them for a big shift: moving to Raleigh and living on Katy’s family farm. “We were at a low point, and we prayed for God to open up a pathway that we couldn’t see,” Jesse recalls. “We felt like God had something new for us. And then an opportunity opened up to serve at North Carolina State with ROTC students.”

Though Jesse enjoyed the relational ministry of meeting with students on campus for a few years, he started to wonder how God could use some of his other gifts and passions to be an imagebearer for Him in a more holistic way. As he got more involved with the family farm and working with the land, he began to wonder if the Lord was calling him to a new path: to become a full-time disciplemaking farmer.

“I prayed and was discerning how to use my skills in a way that honored God and served our community, as well as something that was fulfilling for me,” Jesse says. “And I started to have this idea — creating a market garden.”

Stewarding the Land and Community

Inspired by Psalm 104:34, the name “Sweet Source Farmstead” recalls how the Father is the ultimate source of joy and gladness in creation. Jesse and Katy have dedicated themselves to sharing this joy with others — cultivating not just crops, but also meaningful connections.

Beginning as a small backyard garden, the Farmstead has grown into a budding market garden. Although the soil on their land had the life “conventionally” farmed out of it over the last 70 years — down to 1 percent organic matter — Jesse and Katy are working to restore the soil through regenerative practices that reflect their care for God’s creation and a commitment to fostering its health and productivity.

“This place matters to God,” Jesse says. “We know God’s plan is to restore all things, and we can participate in that on all levels, for all of God’s creation — humans and the land alike.”

Beyond stewardship of the land, Jesse’s vision for Sweet Source Farmstead extends to fostering community as he prays continually for opportunities to engage and serve other farmers in the area, as well as his customers.

For example, a fellow farmer in Jesse’s community reached out after hurting his back, asking if Jesse could help build a high tunnel greenhouse in exchange for pigs. Jesse had been praying for opportunities to serve his community, and has found through partnering with other farmers, he has built trust that wasn’t there before.

“Through the farm, we have an opportunity to show how we do business, how we work,” Jesse explains. “We do good work in a world where we don’t exploit people — we meet them with honor and value. We are extending the principles and values of the kingdom through the work we are doing. And that’s part of discipleship.”

A Kingdom Beacon

Jesse calls his ministry being a “Kingdom Beacon” — extending God’s kingdom to those who have not yet come to know Him. The Coxes are passionate about holistic living and discipleship, believing their mission is not just to grow food, but to nurture right relationships: with God, people, and the land.

“We’re ambassadors, imagebearers of God,” Jesse says. “What happens here should reflect the heart of our King.”

As part of their mission, Jesse and Katy continue to create spaces for community: through farmer’s markets, community meals, and events on their farm. They envision the farmstead as a hub where people can experience the abundance of the land, as well as the love, joy, beauty, and shalom of God’s kingdom.

“Our calling is to advance the gospel of Jesus and His kingdom through spiritual generations of laborers, living and discipling among the lost,” Jesse explains. “I feel like we are doing that more faithfully now than we ever have, simply through the sense of stewardship over this place.”

Discipleship Tip:

Through farming, Jesse and Katy are cultivating relationships and stewarding their work for discipleship. Consider your everyday work: how does being an imagebearer for God impact your day-to-day mission? God may want to use you not only at work, but through your work. What does that look like for you?