The Pumpkin Patch!

Not since you saw Linus, from the Peanuts gang, waiting in the pumpkin patch with his blanket for the Great Pumpkin have you seen so many pumpkins. There will be enormous pumpkins that will require a Schwarzenegger size effort to lift and little bitty pumpkins for your tiny tykes. There will be gourds of all colors, shapes, and sizes. Don’t forget the Indian corn and corn stalks for your fall decorating. The pumpkin patch will have it all!

Why do we have a pumpkin patch? It is a fundraiser. The pumpkin patch is a joint effort between Children’s Ministries and Youth Ministries. In the Children’s area the proceeds help with all the cool projects and activities that our children do during Vacation Bible School. The proceeds for our Youth will go toward our mission events next summer.

Great, it’s a fundraiser – here’s my money. Wait a minute, not so fast! We are trying to help raise money to support our programs, but while doing so, the pumpkin patch is much more. The pumpkin patch is an evangelical patch. A place where we are given the opportunity to share our Christian story with the community. Does that sound a little far fetched to you?

Well, here are some examples: Each weekday morning between 9 o’clock and noon our resident Scarecrow and Corny the Crow will be telling stories to children from local daycares and playschools. The children listen to the story, get to pick out a pumpkin that they decorate, receive a coloring book, and have a snack. When they get home that afternoon they are telling their parents all about the fun time they had at the church with the pumpkins out in front.

When story time is over, from noon until 7 o’clock on weekdays, our Youth and their families will be rotating through shifts in the patch. We encourage the Youth to act as greeters, welcome visitors to the patch and assist with selecting a pumpkin. People who have never turned into our driveway buy many of the pumpkins. When they are here they ask the question, Why are you selling the pumpkins? This gives our patch workers the opportunity to tell about some of the mission work and some of the programs that our church offers. As our workers are answering that question, you can see the excitement in their faces for their Love of Christ. The visitors see that showing of Love, and leave our pumpkin patch feeling it too.

You see, there is much more going on in our pumpkin patch than Linus waiting all night for the Great Pumpkin. It represents more than just the Children and Youth Ministries, it also represents our entire church. If you have some free time during the month of October to volunteer, contact Connie Thornet.

You will be doing much more than helping our ministries, you will be sharing your Love for Christ with our community!

Join us again in October, 2010.