A Sunday farmers market at Bethlehem Covenant Church (BCC) in Waverly, Nebraska, is helping families around the world put food on their own tables.
BCC held its third annual farmers market Aug. 2, raising $2,000 for Growing Hope Globally. Church and community members contributed homegrown produce, baked goods, jams, sauces, flowers, artwork and other creations to sell after worship.
The market began in 2024 after the congregation learned about Growing Hope Globally and hosted a guest from an agricultural development program in Honduras. Inspired by what they heard, Pastor Dan Olson and church members Paula Peterson and Jessie Zuniga began imagining how BCC could use the gifts already present within its congregation and rural community.
That connection has continued to grow. Last year, BCC welcomed a guest from the Uganda Rwenzori program to Peterson’s farm. After learning how the program helps farmers improve coffee production, the church began serving and selling Hope Blend coffee throughout the year and at the farmers market.
Growing Hope Globally partners with churches and farming communities across the United States to fund locally led agricultural development programs. It currently supports 39 programs in 26 countries through trusted Christian organizations, including Covenant World Relief & Development. Farmers receive training, tools and technical assistance that help them grow more food, increase household income and build lasting food security.
In three years, Bethlehem has raised enough to help 151 people pursue lasting solutions to hunger through programs in Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, Haiti and Cambodia.
Growing Hope Globally Regional Director Kaylyn Morse shared the story of a farmer supported by last year’s market who received agricultural training and a gravity-fed water tank. Instead of carrying water uphill one bucket at a time, he can now irrigate his crops with a hose – saving hours of labor and growing more food for his family.
“I love that our farmers can feel a connection around the world to a farmer other places,” Olson said. “I love that using what they know and have, we can give.”
For Peterson, the market’s strength is the way it welcomes everyone to participate.
“I feel we have this set up so there is a place for all at the table, and people want to help,” she said. “This isn’t about charity; it is about empowering people to create generational changes in their lives.”
Her encouragement to other churches is simple: “Start little and see where it takes you, and if it doesn’t work the first time, be ready to pivot.”
Churches interested in partnering with Growing Hope Globally can contact Kaylyn Morse at kaylyn@growinghopeglobally.org or 888-276-4372, ext. 706.
Our Postcards from the Midwest Conference are short and encouraging looks at what God is doing in churches across the Midwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church – Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, western Missouri, Nebraska and Wyoming. We’re celebrating faithfulness, fresh vision, and the beauty of ministry in all shapes and sizes.
