Faith & Farming for Community Engagement Workers: A LEAD Community of Practice Event

Faith and Farming is a scripture engagement initiative, connecting the Bible with everyday farmers' experiences to facilitate the impact of Bible translation. It has two primary goals, to help all those who work on the land to:

1) engage with all of the Bible in the language that they use as they work on their farms or with their animals, and
2) make a connection between their faith in God and their day to day work, so that their whole life is impacted and reflects God’s greatness in everything they do and say.

To do this, the Faith and Farming materials highlight and draw on the many farmers in the Bible, including God Himself, the very first "farmer" who planted the Garden of Eden.

The LEAD Community of Practice and ECHO North America Impact Centre are excited to be hosting this training event, contextualising the Faith and Farming materials for community engagement workers in the Americas. The event is suitable for both farmers and those who work alongside and support farmers, and will provide an introduction to the wider Faith and Farming curriculum for those who would like to incorporate its principles into their own work. Visit the Faith and Farming website for more information about the Faith and Farming programme.

While efforts will be made to ensure the material is relevant and appropriate for the Americas region, as with all training, much of the material covered will need to be sensitively considered and potentially adapted for implementation in your own unique work setting. It should also be noted that this training event is open to people of differing faiths and no faith, and the LEAD community of practice recognises the benefits of diversity when dealing with complex topics. However, for this event in particular the training will be based on stories and principles from the Christian Bible. Please consider carefully whether this is an event that you will be comfortable participating in fully.

Event Goal:

Participants return to their organisations and places of work with a better understanding of the connections between their faith, farming and agriculture more broadly, and are equipped and motivated to share their learning with others.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the event participants will have...

1. A basic theological understanding of the connections between Faith and Farming,

2. Reviewed and considered what the Bible has to say about farming and agriculture more broadly, and what the implications are for us as we work with the land in a sustainable way,

3. Considered what it means to be a follower of Jesus and a farmer and the implications for Scripture Engagement initiatives,

4. Seen firsthand a selection of sustainable farming techniques demonstrated at the ECHO Global Farm,

5. Begun to plan what their next steps are for incorporating their learning into their own work and context.

And (our hope is that) by six months after the event participants will have run one training event in their own location, with the support of others as needed.