August 21stGrow Hope Evangelism
“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us…” 1 John 1:3
This verse has rung in my mind ever since meeting Rwandan Grow Hope farmers while on a Mennonite Central Committee Learning Tour. Our group visited MCC partners and farmers doing peace building work through teaching Conservation Agriculture techniques.
These farmers live and work on tiny plots in a crowded and poor country. Those choosing to be part of the project commit themselves to 2 years of training and work. They must also agree to teach 5 others once they graduate from the program. At the start, the work is hard. It goes against traditional methods and often the neighbours think they are crazy. It takes time to see good results, but after 2 years most have at least doubled their yields, learned conflict resolution skills, and increased their nutrition and financial capacities.
How do you find 5 neighbours to teach? I asked one farmer. She said; “It’s easy. They see my fields and they come to ask me to teach them.”
I’ve often wondered how to share the good news of faith authentically and joyfully. Traditional evangelism leaves me, at best, unimpressed. At worst, turned off. I would never call myself an evangelist in any of those ways.
The Rwandan Grow Hope farmers showed me something better. When they do their work diligently, their results speak for themselves. Their neighbours drop in and ask about it. The farmers joyfully share what they have and work together. Their communities grow healthier in every way.
What if our faith communities were like those little farms in Rwanda? If we focus on our own little plots and double our joy, will the sharing happen naturally in our communities?
In late March, I attended a workshop at the Mennonite Brethren Annual General Meeting. Tim Sesink, pastor at River West Christian Church in Edmonton, shared how their congregation has experienced this kind of joyful, natural growth. He said they simply looked at what the needs were in the surrounding community and helped out where they could. They had no goals for growth when they served hot chocolate at a community event, or provided members for the Community Association, or created garden spaces, or offered their parking lot for a “Big Bin” garbage collection event. They were simply seeing what was needed in the community and being good neighbours.
The Rwandan Grow Hope farmers inspired me to rethink my ideas of evangelism. The conference workshop translated the ideas into my own culture and place. This is authentic, joyful evangelism where everyone involved ends up healthier and in conversation about what matters. I’m excited to share “what I’ve seen and heard so that we might all have fellowship!”
Photo from Open Farm Days.
Open Farm Days on August 17-18, was a day when many Alberta farms opened up their gates for the public to experience a bit of farm life. Donita showed up with a Grow Hope display to talk about MCC's work and encourage the public to get involved.
Jackson Homesteaders is a farm close to Sherwood Park. Farmers Colin and Laura Jackson grow crops, board horses, and have a number of chickens and ducks. For the past 7 years, they've been Grow Hope Farmers. They donate some of their land, time, and expertise to grow a crop. MCC's Grow Hope donors sponsor an acre to offset some of the costs for the farmers.The proceeds of these acres are given to the Canadian Foodgrains bank for MCC to use to help people around the world with emergency food relief and sustainability projects. The Canadian government matches these funds up to 4-1 (depending on the project). This does amazing things!
Our Alberta Grow Hope farmers have collectively donated 344 acres of land this year! Generous sponsors have already covered the input costs for 316 of those, and there are 28 left to sponsor. $350.00 sponsors one acre, however, donations of any size are welcome. Any funds over the needed amount for this year will all be used for Grow Hope projects, either this year or to make the next growing year a success. https://mcc.org/grow-hope-alberta
Thank you to our farmers here and around the world for feeding people! Thank you to Grow Hope sponsors for making this amazing work possible!