To understand what we do, you need to understand who we are.

We are cultivators.

To cultivate means to prepare, nurture, and help something grow. It mainly refers to soil and crops — but it can also mean cultivating relationships, and cultivating spaces where relationships can thrive and people can reconnect with God, each other, and nature.

That is what we have always done. It is what we are still doing.

Phase One — Scottsdale, AZ — 2012

The ministry of The Simple Farm began with a patch of weed-choked land owned by the house church Michael pastored. Michael had a vision to reclaim it. Lylah had a vision to create a place of beauty. Together they had a desire to use that land to connect with the community around them.

So the Ledners rolled up their sleeves, picked up shovels, and got to work.

What grew from that small plot became known as The Simple Farm — an oasis in the middle of Scottsdale. A place that offered an escape from the hustle of city life. A place where people could slow down long enough to reconnect with God, with each other, and with the rhythms of nature.

It was never just a farm. It was always a formation space.

Phase Two — Middle Tennessee — 2026

Change is a natural thing.

For several years, Michael carried a vision for something more — a different setting, a special place, with woods and a creek and a modern retreat house. After thirty years of pastoral ministry, a sabbatical came. A needed reset. And as a pastor, Michael understood deeply what pastors need — not a conference, not a program, but a genuine spiritual reset. A place to exhale.

In April of 2026, they found it.

A Modern Retreat House on a quiet piece of land in Middle Tennessee — many trees, a gently flowing creek, that felt less like a find and more like a gift.