By Guest Author Rory Groves

It was a hot and humid September day for our first time vendoring at our town’s farmers’ market a few years ago. Crayons were melting in the black walnut crayon holders I made earlier in the week. Our main products were free-range chickens that were raised on our farm, but we also offered a selection of homemade crafts. We ended up rotating the crayons with frozen chickens in the ice chest to keep them from melting. As a way to trial the farmers’ market business concept, we signed up for two weekends at the end of summer. “What do you want to bet next time we’re here we’ll be in winter jackets?” Becca asked me as we sweated and enjoyed our Hawaiian shaved ice from the neighboring booth.

Sure enough, two weeks later, all six of us sat bundled in our winter gear like undaunted Minnesotans, enduring hours of bitterly cold winds and constant rain. The shaved ice vendor didn’t show that weekend. “Why are we doing this again?” was the question everyone was thinking. Despite the uncooperative weather, we came home beaming at the end of each market. We were doing it! Little by little, brick by brick, we were building our family economy.

The Family Economy

In our modern, specialized, individualistic society, it takes extraordinary intention to do what came naturally to our forebears. Today, in a typical American family, dad commutes 45 minutes to work, and the kids are bussed to multiple schools and sent to age-segregated classrooms. Usually, mom also works a full-time job outside the home. Elderly parents relocate to “independent living” facilities. Even our entertainment options are heavily skewed to age-oriented, individual tastes. Nearly everything in modern culture is geared toward segregating the family unit. Yet only a few generations ago, and for millennia prior, practicing the family economy was not only natural, it was a necessity.

In his book Family Life, Kevin Swanson likens the family economy to an ax and handle. “An ax head by itself is of little use to take down trees. Place an ax head on an ax handle, and the capability for useful work has increased a hundredfold. This demonstrates the basic elements of the family economy as designed by God.”¹ He continues, “The basic economic unit is not an individual and it is not a corporation or the government. According to the creation mandate and 5,900 years of historical practice, the basic economic unit is the family.”²

The family economy encompasses more than family business and entrepreneurship, but that is an essential part of it. It also integrates education, discipleship, worship, ministry, and recreation. It is the melding of individual aspirations into a common purpose. More importantly, it has been the context in which parents pass their Christian heritage on to their children for 2,000 years.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-8)

Swanson asks, “God’s intention for family discipleship is plainly stated, but what happens when families do not sit in the house or walk by the way anymore?”³

Durable Families

A few years ago my wife and I started talking more seriously about this concept of a family economy and what it means to us. For many years we had felt the pull to combine forces someday, but never settled on what that focus would be. I began researching what I call “durable trades:” those professions that have proven resilient over time, are not easily displaced by mass production, and lend themselves to family economies. It can take a lifetime to build a business. We didn’t want to put our energy towards something that would quickly fade or become obsolete in a few years.

One of the paths we are currently exploring is raising animals for food. We are uniquely set up for small-scale livestock production here at the Grovestead. We don’t have enough land to mass-produce anything, nor would we want to. It just so happens that the kind of animals we can raise here — pasture-fed, organically raised, chicken, lamb, and pork — are in high demand.

We continue to talk and dream about what may lie ahead. It can be challenging, I’ll admit. Giving up individual personal ambitions, in favor of the family’s best interest, cuts against the cultural grain. But I can also say the rewards are far beyond anything I’ve found in careerism. Our family is learning to think, then act as a single unit. And no matter where this path leads, we’ll be walking it together.

Starting a family economy can seem overwhelming — but when you have a vision for applying biblical truth to your everyday life, every small step counts as we seek to walk in obedience to God’s plan for our families. God designed the family to work together, and any step towards that end will release blessings from Heaven. Starting a weekend business, teaching a trade or skill to your children, or spending time praying and seeking a vision for your family will yield many positive results. Small steps can lead to generational impact!

[This article has been republished with permission from The Grovestead.]

¹Swanson, Kevin. Family Life: A Simple Guide to the Biblical Family. (Colorado: Generations, 2016), 113. 

²Ibid., 115

³Ibid., 120

About the Author: Rory Groves

Rory Groves is a technology consultant and founder of multiple software businesses. Several years ago he moved his family from the city to the country to begin the journey towards a more durable way of life. Rory and his wife, Becca, now reside in southern Minnesota where they farm, raise livestock, host workshops, and homeschool their five children. He is the author of Durable Trades: Family-Centered Economies That Have Stood the Test of Time. You can contact Rory at their website.