Counseling and Ministry

One-Week Ministry Intensives

Perhaps, after reading the book, Freedom Through Forgiveness, you feel that you need personal ministry time with Pastor Nathan. We make one-week intensives available upon request and can provide transportation to the Ranch from the airport when you arrive.

During your stay here at Shepherd’s Heart Ranch, Pastor Nathan and his assistant(s) will be sitting down with you in one of our private offices for counseling sessions each morning. During the first day, each team member will give a brief testimony of how God has brought healing into their life before listening to the details of your background and personal history. We want to hear your story, but also want you to feel comfortable before sharing with us. We hope that by hearing our stories, you will feel you are among fellow strugglers who understand your pain, and will also be encouraged by hearing how we are now walking in wholeness and freedom because of forgiveness.

Each day we will be asking the Holy Spirit to identify places in your past where pain is still alive and holding you back; areas where the enemy has a right to oppress you, and where there are lies and deception residing in you. You will then be given assignments to pray over and time alone to enjoy our ranch and time with the Father. Mornings are a great time to spend with the Lord, and our Ranch provides ample amount of space and activities. Feel free to take a relaxing stroll along our country roads, or enjoy a hike up one of the surrounding mountains. If you enjoy working outdoors, we have fruit tree orchards and vegetable/herb gardens for you to assist in. There are also chickens and sheep on the property if you enjoy working with animals and eating fresh eggs every morning for breakfast. There is even a pool if you just want to cool off and relax in the sun during the heat of the day. And during the evenings you can enjoy the warmth and comfort of gathering around a campfire with people who love Jesus and care deeply about your healing.

Wanda and our resident interns will prepare all of your meals, but if you enjoy cooking, you are more than welcome to use the kitchen and help prepare the food. We enjoy eating our meals around a big table as a family, and encourage you to “break bread” with us as we give thanks to God for our food, and enjoy the company and conversation of one another during meal times. We hope to share our hospitality and peace of God that rests on this ranch with you.

Each day we will be asking the Holy Spirit to identify places in the past where pain is still alive and holding you back; places where the enemy has a right to oppress you, places where there are lies and deception. You will then be given assignments to pray over and time alone to walk down our country road, time to meditate while being in the garden, hiking, petting the sheep, or feeding chickens. In the summer you might want to sit out by the pool, or in the winter, sit next to a warm fireplace.

We all share lunch together that Wanda or the interns have prepared and you will experience her gift of hospitality and the peace of God that rests on our little ranch. Wanda will no doubt want to show you her chickens and let you help her gather the eggs each afternoon or pick some fruit from our trees, grapevines, or beans from our garden.

Married Couples

When marriages have been “stuck in a rut” and just can’t seem to get down to the root of the problem, we have found that our one-week intensives do wonders. During their stay, couples enjoy their own fully-furnished bedroom or private camping trailer retreat on the back part of the property. They can have their own breakfast each morning (food provided), or can enjoy a big country style breakfast prepared by our team and eaten around the table as one big family.

During the mornings, our men’s team will arrive to help Pastor Nathan in prayer and counseling with the husband. Then after enjoying lunch together, our ladies will arrive in the afternoon to work with the wife. While we are ministering to the husband, the wife will have the mornings free to pray, walk, and spend time with the Lord, and visa ersa with the husband during the afternoons while we are ministering to his wife. There are manyactivities to enjoy on the ranch while you are here, but there is also ample room and space to find a secluded place to carve out those imtimate moments with the Lord and each other.

Throughout the first four days, both husband and wife separately work through past hurts from parents, siblings, ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends, church family, sexual sins, abortions, addictions, etc., and we work towards forgiving their spouse. Then on day five, having already forgiven each other from the heart and with the help of our team, we help them bring up a few painful things done or said between each other, and with the anger gone, they share the pain they feel and finally get to hear their spouse say, “I am sorry. Please forgive me and let me try again.”

Many couples have revealed that, “For the first time ever, we experienced true intimacy.” Others have remarked that they “came into marriage with a wall around my heart from my mom or dad or ex-husband or ex-wife, and today, I took it down for the first time. We are closer now than we have ever been before.”

What if it doesn’t take 5 days? I tell all the couples, if they get their “homework” done early, they can enjoy a day at Sea World or the San Diego Zoo or enjoy the beach. Often they go and enjoy a second brief honeymoon and our guest quarters become a Honeymoon Suite.

If you are interested in booking a one-week intensive, we provide transportation to/from the airport, provide the lodging, food and utilities. The Shepherd’s Heart Ranch has efficient and quiet central air and heat. The counseling sessions are held in one of our private offices; fully furnished with comfortable couches and chairs, and quietly secluded from the rest of the house.

To book a week of ministry, please contact us and we will arrange your personal ministry time. A deposit is required to reserve your special week. (Pictures are located under Shepherd’s Heart Ranch).