Farm Church Alleviates Spiritual Hunger while Addressing Physical Hunger in Community

April 19, 2016

Imagine worshiping God in a barn, in an orchard or under a beautiful sky. Imagine children in Sunday school taking care of chickens and harvesting eggs to share with the local food pantry. Imagine a congregational mission to provide food resources in the community. Imagine a church that responds to God’s love with an overwhelming desire to do what Jesus did and feed people. This is the kind of Spirit-led imagining that led us to create Farm Church.

Farm Church, a New Worshiping Community in Durham, North Carolina, is an agriculturally based congregation that leverages the resources of a farm to address food insecurity in the community.

We’re finding that Farm Church appeals to people for whom the church had lost meaning and relevance—people who might call themselves “spiritually hungry but institutionally suspicious.” Farm Church offers a connection with community, with the land and with God in a new way, inviting a fresh look at our living response to the gospel.

One woman told us, “I’m telling everyone I know about Farm Church, and I can hardly believe it. I’ve never been like this about church before!” That’s the kind of comment we keep hearing, and it inspires us to move forward—to keep imagining and creating this church that lives out the gospel among chickens, tomatoes and folks eager to sink their hands into the soil.

We welcome your prayers for this new ministry. Along the way, you can learn more about Farm Church by signing up on our website or following us on Facebook.

Farm Church Co-Planters: Rev. Allen Brimer and Rev. Ben Johnston-Krase
Farm Church Website: www.FarmChurch.org
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/FarmChurch.org

Let us join in prayer for:

Presbytery Staff:

Ted Churn, Executive Presbyter/Stated Clerk
Terry Lamberson, Associate Executive Finance/NCD
Christine Kelson, Office Manager/Assistant to Executive Presbyter/Stated Clerk
Rene Baker, Administrative Assistant
Julio Ramirez-Eve, Associate for Hispanic Ministries
Gun Ho Lee, Associate for Multicultural Ministries

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Melody Medley, PMA
Kathy Melvin, PMA
Terri Milburn, PMA

Let us pray

God of abundant harvests, pour out your Spirit on Farm Church. Bless pastors Allen and Ben with wisdom and insight as they strive to create this church that celebrates and shares the gospel with kale, okra and collard greens. Amen.