Missionaries’ garden becomes a versatile ministry

For Steven and Susan Jett, reviving an unkept garden yielded dozens of new relationships and opportunities to share the gospel.

The Jetts scoured the city of Brühl for months looking for a place to live. Brühl is the location of their team’s church plant. “We wanted to live downtown so that we would be in the middle of things,” Susan said, “but to no avail. We were not able to find anything. So we told God, ‘Okay, we will look outside of Brühl.’”

Almost immediately, they found a house in the nearby village of Waldorf. The home was just what they were looking for, but its yard was huge, unkept and carpeted in tangled weeds.

Steven and Susan were already busy with ministry, but Susan was determined to make the yard presentable. Often working 12 hours a day, Susan cleared the yard, starting with the vegetable garden. “One evening [I worked] until midnight with a spotlight,” she said. Within a few weeks, the weeds were gone, and Susan had planted corn, pumpkins, gourds, beans and an array of flowers. She had never planted vegetables before, but soon found that she loved seeing things grow.

“Little did I know that the yard and garden would become a ministry in itself,” Susan said.

As Susan worked diligently, trimming hedges and expanding her garden, her neighbors started to notice. “We met all of our neighbors because of the work we did in the yard and the garden,” she said. Because of their home’s location on a busy corner of the village, the Jetts see a lot of foot traffic: neighbors walking their dogs, riding bikes and going shopping. “When I am out working they will stop and stand at the fence and wait for me to come and talk. I have had many opportunities to share about the Christian life, about salvation, pray for them or tell them I will be praying [for] a particular situation.”

After developing these relationships, the Jetts decided to host their first garden party with a concert from Florida State University choir Undivided. Choir members hand-delivered invitations to neighbors, and nearly 50 attended. While guests enjoyed a meal in the Jetts’ garden, they heard the gospel presented alongside the concert.

The concert generated even more buzz in the community, and the Jetts found themselves hosting other events in their garden. Susan shared her harvests with neighbors, allowing neighborhood children to pick pumpkins in the fall. Fifty of Steven’s students attended a party at the Jetts’ home. This summer, more than 50 neighbors gathered for a party on July 4, enjoying American food and games, learning about American history and culture. “Steven shared with the audience about the birth of America, and then about the new birth we can all have through a relationship with Christ,” Susan said.

“We have also built instant credibility and trust from the neighborhood because of the interest and care we have shown in getting and keeping the yard in good shape,” said Susan. “They have been amazed at what has been accomplished and are proud to be a neighbor.

“God has taken ordinary [things]– a yard and garden– and used them to serve and glorify Himself. He is amazing!”

Posted by Megan Finger on Aug 17, 2010

Similar: Brühl, Gardening, Germanic Cluster, Germany, Waldorf