Visitor Guide

If modern life feels hollow or rigged, you're not alone. Here we question the scripts, surface our cognitive biases, and pursue what's real—through worship, work, and community.

Vision

The world we're aiming at

People living truthfully—clear-minded, skillful, and other-centered—who can stand steady in a confusing world and help their communities flourish.

Mission

What we do every day

We train seekers to live with truth, skill, and character—through quiet reflection, practical work, and service—so they can own real problems and lead with integrity.

Promise

What participants can expect

You'll get space to think, work with your hands, test your assumptions, and grow into someone who takes responsibility—for yourself, your craft, and your community.

Why We Exist

We help people *restore* focus on what matters, to connect with their needs and detox off of externally manufactured wants...

We *develop* self reliability and self control through True Education

in order to *Realize* our purpose.

Operating Model

How formation happens

Restore

Detox from manufactured wants; return to quiet, reflection, seeking our Creator.

Develop

Train head, hands, and heart—gardening, building, systems, and steady habits.

Realize

Own a process, serve neighbors, and make something that actually works.

Three Method Lenses

Past

Maintain and honor what already exists (care, repair, preserve).

Present

Harvest, share, and be present to the work and people in front of you.

Future

Plan intentionally—soil health, resilient systems, and surplus to bless others.

Core Values

With observable behaviors

Truth & Love (together)

Do: Speak truth kindly; unite conviction with compassion; correct privately, praise publicly.

Don't: Weaponize truth; flatter to avoid friction; compromise principles for acceptance.

Freedom of Conscience

Do: Invite, explain, allow time; honor personal convictions and informed choice.

Don't: Coerce, shame, or manipulate decisions; police motives.

Demonstration over Debate

Do: Model the practices; measure fruit; let results speak.

Don't: Argue endlessly; major in theory while neglecting practice.

Other‑Centered Life

Do: Prefer others; share credit; notice needs; serve quietly.

Don't: Center self; treat people as means; keep score.

Self‑Control & Order

Do: Keep steady rhythms; guard inputs; arrive on time; close loops.

Don't: Binge media; overpromise; normalize lateness or clutter.

Stewardship

Do: Maintain tools; reduce waste; repair before replacing; track resources.

Don't: Neglect equipment; hoard; spend impulsively.

Simplicity & Temperance

Do: Choose essentials; cultivate contentment; eat simply, rest weekly.

Don't: Chase novelty or dopamine; rely on stimulants; complicate the simple.

Accountability & Role‑Based Authority

Do: Own outcomes; report progress; submit to the process you agreed to.

Don't: Blame the system; seek authority without responsibility; bypass roles.

Presence before Productivity

Do: Begin with worship and prayer; pause to realign; protect Sabbath rest.

Don't: Let busyness crowd out devotion; treat people as tasks.

Courage & Integrity

Do: Tell the whole truth; keep vows; confess quickly and make amends.

Don't: Spin, make excuses, or hide failures.

Replicability & Mission

Do: Document processes; train replacements; design for scale and transfer.

Don't: Make it about personality; silo knowledge; drift from mission.

Hopeful Urgency

Do: Move on the light you have; decide, then iterate; watch and pray.

Don't: Panic; procrastinate; spread fear.

We Can Help You

Find your Purpose

By doing meaningful work that serves others.

Find your Creator

By meeting Him in Scripture, in stillness, and in the work of your hands.

Who This Is For

Truth-seekers & skeptics

Burned by "religion," but still seeking—curious, honest, self-reflective.

Young men & women

Ready for a rite of passage—where boys become men, and all who are willing grow into steady, servant-hearted leaders.

Builders & growers

Who want hands in the soil and tools in hand: garden, build, repair, preserve.

Problem-solvers

Who want to learn entrepreneurship by solving real problems and owning a process, not just doing tasks.

Detoxers

Who will lay down stimulants (caffeine, processed sugar) and secular media to regain clarity, self-control, and peace.

Early risers

Who value punctuality, order, and a calm, clean, kind culture.

Who This Is NOT For

If you want a retreat, a party, or to run your own program inside ours, this won't fit. If you resist community standards (vegan lifestyle, no caffeine/processed sugar, quiet hours, device/secular media detox), or you avoid accountability and shared worship—this isn't your place.

Ready to Learn More?

Continue your journey to discover what living at the Advent Center is really like.

Next: Living at the Center →