Unique Outreach Supports Missions
by Andrew Jones
When Patty Nevins discovered that missions funding at River City Grace Community Church in Sacramento, Calif., had decreased significantly, she had two responses.
At first, she was disappointed.
“[I was] saddened by this, for our missionaries’ sake of course. It’s easy to get frustrated, thinking everyone should be as excited about supporting our missionaries as you are-but they’re not,” she admits.
But Nevins’ disappointment did not lead to despair. Her second response was action.
“I’d been learning to make sourdough bread,” she explains. She had even begun a small business by occasionally selling her bread, but soon she discovered her newfound skill was meant for more than the casual bread sale. She began to pray with her husband in an effort to decide whether the proceeds should support their missionaries.
“Seed Sowers, Sourdough and More” was the headline when Nevins sent a church-wide e-mail on New Year’s Day 2009. She introduced a new program featuring homemade bread, eggs, recycling, and determination. Advertising done, Nevins got to work.