The Shepherd's Staff

The Hughes Family

Dr. Randy and Judy Hughes live at Chapel Hill, one of the homes on Shepherd's Rest Farm.

In 2012 Randy retired from the ministry where he served as a Baptist minister in Texas for over forty years. During that time he pastored four churches. Now that he's retired, he spends much of his time working on the farm. His list of projects stays long as we add to the list even as he's marking things off.

Randy feels a strong calling to minister to the needs of his fellow Christian servants. During his ministry he has experienced or observed many of the stresses that drive people out of professional ministry. His desire is to help others extend their ministry years. He is always available for an encouraging chat to anyone needing a listening ear.

Judy is the idea person of the farm. Many of the projects on Randy's list start out as ideas in Judy's mind. She's an active wife, mother, and grandmother. In addition to coming up with projects for us all, Judy is a professional educator. She also writes Sunday School material for internationals and low-level readers and volunteers in her church's ESL ministry.

The Barker Family

Mark, Amy, Joshua, Vivian, and Andrew Barker live at the Cedars, the other home on Shepherd's Rest Farm.

Mark works as a Business Analyst for McLane Company. He loves cutting or trimming trees then burning the brush piles. He is also always on the lookout for rocks, the bigger the better!

Amy is the daughter of Randy and Judy. Amy knits, gardens, bakes bread, makes soap and cosmetics, and occasionally updates this website.

Joshua is a front-line manager at a local farm retailer, and both Vivian and Andrew are college students at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Our Story

After discovering unexpectedly a shared dream, our two families began looking for land in the early spring of 2006. Our list of requirements included 15-30 acres, trees, a pond or creek, road access, and, of course, beauty, at a price we could afford. As neither family expected to leave jobs to pursue this dream, we also needed land within driving distance of both Waco and Killeen, Texas. Amazingly, God led us to land with tons of potential, fulfilling all our wishes and then some!

If you are interested in visiting our farm, please contact us to work out a good time to have you come. We would love to get to know you!