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When people at Onecho Bible Church talk about \u201cthe mission field,\u201d they mean the many places around the world where Christians are sharing the love of Jesus. But sometimes, they\u2019re also talking about a literal field in Eastern Washington, where the congregation grows crops to support the people proclaiming the gospel around the world and fulfilling the Great Commission.<\/p>\n
The 74-member church, smack-dab in the middle of a vast expanse of wheat fields 80 miles south of Spokane, has donated $1.4 million to missions since 1965. They\u2019ve funded wells, campgrounds, and Christian colleges. This year, they want to provide food and shelter to asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing as isolated as we are, it\u2019s our missionaries and this mission field that keeps us very focused worldwide,\u201d said Brian Largent, Onecho\u2019s volunteer farm manager. \u201cThis church is a very mission-oriented church\u2014always has been.\u201d<\/p>\n
Onecho Bible Church traces its history back to Mennonite migrants in the 1890s and Methodist farmers 20 years before that. But the unique fundraising program started in the 1960s. One of the church elders, Gerhard Dyck, passed away at age 65 and bequeathed 180 acres to the church. He supported missionary work his whole life and considered that his legacy. He asked Onecho to use his land to continue the work of spreading the gospel.<\/p>\n
The church decided it wouldn\u2019t sell the field but would farm it with volunteers. The proceeds from the harvest would fund various missions. The first year, the harvest yielded $5,500. Revenue fluctuates, based on the success of the harvest. In 2021, the field earned $39,000. Last year, it was $178,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just put the seed in the ground,\u201d Largent said. \u201cThen \u2026 it\u2019s all up to the weather and what God\u2019s going to do to produce the money.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not uncommon for churches to have special fundraisers, said David P. King, professor of philanthropic studies and director of Indiana University\u2019s Lake Institute of Faith and Giving. After direct giving, they are the second most common funding source for American congregations. But fundraisers are often bake sales or craft fairs. Farming is pretty unusual.<\/p>\n
However religious people give to charity, they are extraordinarily generous, King said. Onecho is one example.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t underestimate the financial value the volunteers are contributing to the church, especially if they\u2019re bringing their combines and doing some fairly significant labor,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n
Research shows that religious participation is the leading predictor of generosity. Congregational living encourages people\u2019s better angels.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn community,\u201d King said, \u201cyou\u2019re more likely to run across needs and run across positive peer pressure, social pressure, to get up and engage.\u201d<\/p>\n
And as congregations tell the story of their life together, such as recounting the work that goes into the field and planning for harvest, that adds positive reinforcement. King said it\u2019s remarkable how that kind of religious practice changes people in measurable ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the midst of our growing polarization that\u2019s threatening our communal life together,\u201d he said, \u201cthere are stories that demonstrate how we take care of one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside Onecho Bible Church, the story is recalled with framed photos of the mission field\u2019s early beginnings. There are also plaques that commemorate Dyck, recalling the late elder as a gentle, humble, and generous farmer. According to one, \u201chis generosity was born of a deep love for God\u2019s work.\u201d<\/p>\n
One church member, Darrel Claassen, said those pictures always remind him of how mission work connects his family through the generations. Dyck was his great-uncle. His dad, Rudy Claassen, worked side by side with Dyck and ensured the farm was turned over to the church after he died. Now Darrel Claassen volunteers in the mission field, and his children and grandchildren are cheering him on.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a real delight for me to see that my children and my grandchildren have the vision of supporting missionaries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just family, though. At Onecho, everyone is welcome to join in the vision. The congregation holds a gathering every year to celebrate the harvest, inviting friends, family, and people from the surrounding community. They often host international students from Washington State University in Pullman. One year, 62 came for rides on the combines.<\/p>\n
The field helps the church reach out to neighbors. And it inspires them to look beyond the golden hills of wheat and think about what God is doing in faraway places.<\/p>\n
By December, church members propose mission projects to the congregation. It doesn\u2019t matter whether the missionaries are formally connected to the church. All suggestions are welcome, though the church generally favors one-time gifts over ongoing support. Then the missions committee looks at all the proposals and makes a decision. The money is typically given out in the spring. Over the years, it has supported more than 150 different projects.<\/p>\n
In 2023, Onecho is partnering with the El Paso-Juarez Border Initiative Ministry. The Border Initiative was started by the Presbyterian Church in America a few years ago, and Gary Largent, Brian Largent\u2019s brother and the chair of the missions committee, learned of it in a conversation about the immigration crisis with a pastor at a church near the border. The ministry helps 20 to 60 migrants a week at a small church in northern Mexico on their way to the border to apply for asylum. Gary Largent is leading a team of 18 people to visit and help with small construction projects and deliver food and clothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to just do whatever we can to invite migrants, to work alongside them, so we can hear their stories and just show them the love of Christ in very practical ways,\u201d he said. \u201cThey each have needs, and we wanted to get a firsthand look.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether the church supports a school in South Africa or a migrant shelter in Mexico, Gary Largent said he\u2019s always overwhelmed by the thought that a little church of farmers can have such a far-reaching impact on so many people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n
Over the years, this approach to missions has come to shape Onecho Bible Church, too. Senior pastor Mike Nyholm says the mission field has given the church its sense of purpose. They start from what they\u2019ve been given.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod has us here, so why?\u201d he said. \u201cWe can do something here that no one else can\u2014because he\u2019s put us here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Loren Ward is a journalist and storyteller in Arizona.<\/p>\n
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