A House with a History of Healing
From a country doctor's home to a place of refuge and restoration.
Long before this house became part of Vine & Branch Fellowship, it was already a place where hurting people found help.
The home originally belonged to Dante "Doc" Albasio, a country doctor who played a significant role in the Angels Camp community. (click here if you want to read more about Dr Albasio) Many longtime residents still have stories of visiting his ranch on weekends when medical attention was needed. Some remember receiving stitches on the front porch, while others recall having dislocated joints set right there at the ranch.
This was a home where people came when they were hurting.
Years later, the Bottomley family purchased Dove Hill Ranch from Dr. Albasio. Recognizing the doctor's importance to the community, they did not want to see his home demolished.
Instead, they approached our church with an extraordinary gift.
The Bottomley family not only donated the house but also provided $120,000 to relocate it to church property and place it on a new foundation.
Their generosity preserved a meaningful piece of Angels Camp history and opened the door for a new season of ministry. ( read about the moving of the house)
A New Foundation. A Continued Purpose.
When the house arrived on church property, it began a new chapter of serving people.
Its first use was as the parsonage for our church's first youth pastor. It also became a gathering place for youth ministry, where teenagers could develop friendships, hear God's Word, and grow in their faith.
The house also served as a meeting place for Celebrate Recovery, providing a setting where people struggling with life's hurts, habits, and challenges could find encouragement and support.
Over the years, the home has continued serving the church through Bible studies, Sunday nursery care, youth gatherings, and special events.
For more than 25 years, this house has been a place where people gather, relationships are formed, Scripture is taught, and lives are encouraged.
Consider the connection between its past and its future.
It began as a home where physical wounds were treated. It became a home where young people were discipled and hurting people gathered for recovery. Now we have an opportunity to prepare it for another generation of refuge and restoration.
The House Needs Transformation
After more than 25 years of ministry use, the house is showing its age.
The roof needs replacing. The kitchen and bathrooms need significant renovations. Flooring, windows, electrical components, and other areas of the house need attention. Several rooms need to be redesigned to better serve the growing ministries of Vine & Branch Fellowship.
We have reached a point where temporary repairs are no longer enough.
But our vision is much greater than repairing an aging building.
The house needs transformation so lives can be transformed by Jesus Christ.
We recognize that a renovated building cannot change a person's heart. New walls, updated classrooms, comfortable furniture, and beautiful gathering spaces do not have the power to restore a broken life.
Jesus transforms lives.
Our responsibility is to prepare a place where people can encounter the truth of His Word, experience Christian fellowship, receive biblical guidance, and grow as disciples.
Every room we renovate and every improvement we make is intended to serve that greater purpose.
Refuge for the Next Generation
Our teenagers are growing up in a culture that is aggressively competing for their hearts, identities, relationships, and beliefs.
They need more than a room to gather.
They need a place where they are known, protected, discipled, challenged, and surrounded by men and women who will faithfully point them toward Jesus Christ.
They also need fellowship with other teenagers who are pursuing Christ.
Healthy Christian friendships provide another layer of protection. When teenagers have a place to belong, trusted friendships, godly community, and peers who encourage them toward truth rather than away from it, they are less likely to face the pressures of adolescence alone.
Through the Restoration & Refuge Project, we envision a dedicated youth space where teenagers can build lasting relationships, study Scripture, worship, ask difficult questions, and develop a faith that will carry them into adulthood.
Two renovated Sunday school classrooms and expanded nursery space will also allow us to invest in children and young families.
Our desire is not simply to entertain the next generation.
Our desire is to disciple them so they will know Jesus, stand firm in His Word, and carry the gospel into the generations that follow.
Restoration for the Hurting
At the same time, we are seeing a growing need for biblical guidance among individuals, marriages, and families.
People are walking through broken marriages, family conflict, grief, addiction, consequences of sin, difficult pasts, and seasons when they desperately need someone willing to sit with them, open the Word of God, and help them walk toward truth.
We believe Jesus Christ is still in the business of restoring lives.
Through this project, we will create private and welcoming rooms dedicated to biblical guidance.
One room will provide a quiet setting for individual conversations, prayer, and encouragement.
A larger room will serve couples and families who need a place to work through difficult relationships and circumstances with guidance rooted in Scripture.
Our goal is not simply to help people feel better about their circumstances.
We want to point people toward Jesus Christ, who offers forgiveness, freedom from sin, spiritual healing, reconciliation, and the power to live transformed lives.
The house provides the space. God's Word provides the truth. Jesus Christ is the One who transforms lives.
A Place for Fellowship and Discipleship
Restoration & Refuge is also about creating a home where relationships can grow.
The renovated living room and open kitchen will provide a warm, welcoming environment for Bible studies, shared meals, parenting classes, fellowship, and meaningful conversations.
We want people to feel comfortable gathering around a table, opening their Bibles, praying together, sharing struggles, and encouraging one another.
These ordinary moments of Christian community can have an extraordinary impact.
A conversation over dinner can lead to a deeper friendship.
A Bible study can help someone discover the truth of God's Word.
A trusted relationship can provide encouragement during a difficult season.
A family can find support when they need it most.
The house will provide an environment where these relationships and opportunities can develop throughout the week.
The Story Is Still Being Written
We did not build this house.
We received it through the generosity of a family who wanted to preserve its history and give it a future.
For decades, it has served as a place of ministry.
Now it is our opportunity to steward that gift faithfully and prepare it for the generations ahead.
The Restoration & Refuge Project is not simply an investment in a building. It is an investment in the people God has entrusted to our church and community.
We envision teenagers finding refuge through Christian friendships and discipleship.
We envision children growing in their knowledge of God's Word.
We envision marriages and families being strengthened.
We envision hurting people receiving biblical guidance and discovering the restoring power of Jesus Christ.
And we envision a house that continues serving the Angels Camp community for decades to come.
The house needs transformation.Our community needs refuge and restoration.And Jesus Christ is the One who transforms lives.
