Farming by Faith
A New CCC Ministry Takes Root in Rural Harris County
Robert Cook inspects the latest tomato harvest at his farm in Harris County.
By Allen Allnoch
As Robert Cook takes the wheel of his four-seat ATV, his faithful retriever, Honey, hops up and takes her place beside him.
“That’s her seat," Robert says. “She gets upset if somebody else sits there.”
The pair are headed to the garden that Robert and a group of volunteers planted on his Harris County property earlier this year. Honey may have a permanent claim on riding shotgun, but in the garden, there’s plenty of room for everyone — and it’s very much a community effort.
Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, volunteers from Christ Community Church — and often a Cook grandchild or two — gather to pick tomatoes, squash, zucchini, peppers, onions, watermelons, peas and whatever else has ripened.
The garden is part of a new CCC ministry called Feed My Sheep. It spans an acre and had already produced nearly two tons of vegetables by late June. CCC's Milgen Road campus also has a garden, including six 4x8 raised-bed garden boxes that are available for community use.
“I guess you could say God put it on my heart, to take an acre and see what we could grow and give to people,” says Robert, a CCC member and retired IT professional. “I've participated in food drives and things like that before, but I got to thinking about the fact that a lot of people never get to taste fresh food. My plan was to distribute it to people who could actually take it home and cook it. But I started to realize that a lot of people who need this food don’t have a way to cook it. They might not even have a stove or a microwave. I’d still like to do that, and I think there are some people who can use it like that, but what we’re doing this first year is just donating it to organizations that can prepare it or have a way of distributing it.”
The primary recipients so far have been Valley Rescue Mission, a longtime CCC ministry partner that ministers to Columbus-area people in need; and Feeding the Valley, a food bank serving more than a dozen counties in west Georgia and east Alabama.
As Robert Cook takes the wheel of his four-seat ATV, his faithful retriever, Honey, hops up and takes her place beside him.
“That’s her seat," Robert says. “She gets upset if somebody else sits there.”
The pair are headed to the garden that Robert and a group of volunteers planted on his Harris County property earlier this year. Honey may have a permanent claim on riding shotgun, but in the garden, there’s plenty of room for everyone — and it’s very much a community effort.
Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, volunteers from Christ Community Church — and often a Cook grandchild or two — gather to pick tomatoes, squash, zucchini, peppers, onions, watermelons, peas and whatever else has ripened.
The garden is part of a new CCC ministry called Feed My Sheep. It spans an acre and had already produced nearly two tons of vegetables by late June. CCC's Milgen Road campus also has a garden, including six 4x8 raised-bed garden boxes that are available for community use.
“I guess you could say God put it on my heart, to take an acre and see what we could grow and give to people,” says Robert, a CCC member and retired IT professional. “I've participated in food drives and things like that before, but I got to thinking about the fact that a lot of people never get to taste fresh food. My plan was to distribute it to people who could actually take it home and cook it. But I started to realize that a lot of people who need this food don’t have a way to cook it. They might not even have a stove or a microwave. I’d still like to do that, and I think there are some people who can use it like that, but what we’re doing this first year is just donating it to organizations that can prepare it or have a way of distributing it.”
The primary recipients so far have been Valley Rescue Mission, a longtime CCC ministry partner that ministers to Columbus-area people in need; and Feeding the Valley, a food bank serving more than a dozen counties in west Georgia and east Alabama.
A Learning Experience for All
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Also benefitting have been the volunteers. Approximately 50 have helped at some point, with a core group of six to eight showing up nearly every week.
And young people have been a regular part of the work. For example, John Wang, a Chinese exchange student who attends CCC, helped Robert build an outhouse, and came away enthused about his newfound skills. And a large group of children helped pick vegetables as part of CCC’s recent Week of Hope outreach. “One of the goals was to feed the hungry, but in doing that, we’re also able to give people the opportunity to experience gardening,” Robert says. “Two of my grandkids, they want to get involved every time we pick. It’s a great opportunity for kids. Some of them didn’t even know where food comes from before they came out here." Robert himself has learned much through the process as well. He uses a raised-bed plastic mulching system that’s irrigated with water pumped from nearby Mulberry Creek. “I’ve gardened for years, but I’ve never used the raised-bed system,” he says. “I like it so much, I’m going to use it in my personal garden. I've never grown squash this big. We’re not even finished and I’m already thinking about what we can do next year. Knowing what I know now, we’ll plant the rows closer together next year and be able to plant more.” |
From kids to canines, Feed My Sheep volunteers of all ages and backgrounds contribute to the work at Cook Family Farm.
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Volunteers regularly pray over the land, and Robert is quick to acknowledge God at work in the process.
“Normally when I plant corn, squirrels will tear it up,” he says. “But I’ve only found one ear of corn that had been eaten, and I think a rat had eaten it. Squirrels aren’t touching it. And only twice have I seen deer tracks down there. God’s hand is very much in this.”
“Normally when I plant corn, squirrels will tear it up,” he says. “But I’ve only found one ear of corn that had been eaten, and I think a rat had eaten it. Squirrels aren’t touching it. And only twice have I seen deer tracks down there. God’s hand is very much in this.”
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