Greetings, friends and partners in Faith and Farming! Welcome to our first quarterly newsletter, sharing the latest updates, testimonies, and inspirations as we continue to grow together in faith, service, and stewardship of the land. This quarter, we reflect on impactful workshops and community impact in Thailand, Chad and Cameroon, where Faith and Farming is reshaping lives and cultivating resilience. May these stories inspire and empower you in your walk of faith and stewardship.
“A warm welcome to two new team members who have recently joined LEAD Global’s Environment and Creation Care Services team to resource Faith and Farming initiatives!
Tino Chikwanha is a young farmer, environmental practitioner and creation care supporter joining us from Zimbabwe. Tino has authored this quarterly newsletter and will be supporting Faith and Farming initiatives in Africa.
Joel Fletcher is an agronomist with a rich experience in organic farming and with empowering displaced Muslim farmers in Southeast Asia. He will be helping us in developing the Faith and Farming 5 year vision and strategy. Alongside the Faith and Farming activities, he will be working with ECHO America in Florida.”
Joel at work in Southeast Asia.
Tino at home in Zimbabwe.
Highlights and Testimonies from Recent Workshops
Faith and Farming workshops across Thailand, Chad and Cameroon have united farmers, fishers, pastors, and leaders from diverse backgrounds. They have shepherded in a renewed understanding of agriculture as both a spiritual and practical mission. Here’s a look at some of the recent activities:
Cameroon
In Cameroon, participants are also learning to apply the concept of bearing spiritual fruits as farmers, showing patience, love, and forgiveness even in the face of adversity. Through the leadership of SIL Cameroon, principles from the Faith and Farming program have provided spiritual support to communities affected by conflict. As Elijah Fale from SIL Cameroon shares, trauma healing groups have transformed into farming groups. This growth has allowed participants to practice gentleness, patience, resilience, and peace through their farming. Farmers now see farming as a spiritual act that builds faith and connects them deeply with God's creation. In Cameroon, as one farmer reflects, the seasons and cycles of farming mirror the seasons of faith, instilling a sense of hope and resilience in their spiritual walk. Another participant from Cameroon expressed that farming has become a way to "promote peace in an environment of war," where shared meals and fellowship with neighbors foster community healing and connection. Farmers are drawing parallels between the patience required for crops to flourish and their own journeys of faith.
For more information about Faith and Farming in Cameroon, please feel free to reach out to Alain Kaobaissi.
Chad
From workshops in rural Moyen Chari to training at the Assemblies of God Bible Institute, participants have explored topics like theological foundations of farming, composting, and caring for creation. In these sessions, farmers, students, and community leaders are rediscovering how faith and farming interconnect, with many feeling empowered to serve wherever they’re sent.
One remarkable testimony comes from a student at the Assemblies of God Bible Institute in Chad. This young man, once fearful of a rural assignment, shared how the Faith and Agriculture module transformed his perspective: “With this Faith and Agriculture course, the fear is gone; I can thrive wherever I am sent!”
Chad’s participants have found new strength in facing the uncertainties of rural ministry, empowered by the understanding that farming is a ministry in itself.
For more information about Faith and Farming in Chad, please feel free to reach out to Miclo Loubeta.
Faith and Farming participants actively learning about mulching.
Thailand
Faith & Farming training is helping people have a more holistic understanding of farming. Through the training, people are discovering a new dimension: farming is an act of worship and reverence for our Lord God. Markus Soren, a project manager who recently completed the training in Thailand in February, shared how he initially saw farming as primarily a way to secure financial benefits and provide healthy food. He reflected on the full range of practices introduced during the training, from soil preparation, to seed banking and the growth of plants nurtured with indigenous methods and natural fertilizers.
Charged with inspiration, he began sharing his experiences with rural colleagues and minority language communities. Some have gone on to start small-scale homestead gardens using homemade fertilizers like cow dung, vegetable waste, ashes, and earthworm compost. It’s lovely to see the positive impact the Faith and Farming materials have had on communities, and how they are fostering care for the environment amongst people.
For more information about Faith and Farming in Asia, please feel free to reach out to Cornelius Tudu.
Markas Soren in a homestead garden.
Upcoming Faith and Farming Training
We’re excited about the growth of contextualized Faith and Farming workshops in Africa, Asia, and the Americas!
For those looking for an introduction and overview of the curriculum and resources do take the opportunity to join our next training event:
Faith and Farming for Community Engagement Workers
3rd - 7th February, 2025 | ECHO Global Farm in Florida, USA
Find out more and sign up here: https://www.leadimpact.org/event-details/february
As we approach the end of the year and draw closer to Christmas, let us remember that Faith and Farming is more than an initiative; it is a calling to reflect God’s love and care through the work of our hands and our respect for all of God’s creation. Just as seeds grow with nurturing, so does our faith grow when we cultivate it in every aspect of our lives, especially through the care of God’s creation. As Psalm 24:1 reminds us, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” May this truth inspire us to be faithful stewards of the land and all the blessings entrusted to us by our Lord.
Have a merry and wonderful Christmas!
If you have any questions, suggestions, stories or photos you'd like to share, please feel free to send an email at faith_farming@sil.org.