Some of the most profound lessons about stewardship come from the most basic places … like the green beans and sweet potatoes growing in carefully nurtured soil under a hot Georgia sun.

Heritage Presbyterian Church in Acworth, Georgia was recently recertified by the Presbyterian Hunger Program as an Earth Care Congregation. The church of about 150 members in the Atlanta metro area reduced waste, installed motion-sensing lights and took other steps to protect the environment.

But key to the designation was the church’s community garden. Kevin’s Garden began in 2011 as a way to remember a young man in the congregation who had passed away the year before.

“His grandparents donated money to help the world,” said Monica Snyders, garden coordinator.

A sustainable approach

The garden now consists of two dozen plots. Some are sponsored by the community; $25 for half a bed, $50 for a full bed. Proceeds go toward things like soil, fertilizer and tools. Students from a nearby high school’s JROTC program, and from another school catering to those with learning needs, volunteer in the garden.

Tomatoes, peppers, onions, peas, sweet potatoes, radishes, beans and other crops — and the occasional “bird blessing” such as a random black-eyed Susan — grow from raised beds made of wood or corrugated metal. The height makes gardening easier by lessening the need for bending.

Organic materials and practices are preferred, and “we try not to pay for anything,” she said. Gardeners salvage materials such as the plastic landscape pots when big box stores (regrettably, she added) discard unsold plants. They use some of the pots to “sink” potted plants into beds in preparation for a plant sale. They create seed snails using empty potting soil bags, which keeps the bags out of the landfill and allows the plant roots to grow deeper than in traditional containers.

Produce supports food pantry

A memorial stone to Kevin Lewis stands at the edge of the garden, bearing the words: “Jesus said, ‘Give them something to eat’” (Matthew 14:16).

That’s what happens here. Kevin’s Garden provided 180 pounds of fresh produce last year to the church’s Jay Weaver Food Pantry, which distributed 334,000 pounds of food to more than 13,000 people in Cherokee and Cobb counties.

Food is distributed twice a month, but crops have their own timing.

“Tomatoes and beans do not care when your next distribution is. They ripen when they feel like it,” Snyders said. In that case, the produce may go to another food pantry with an earlier distribution date.

“This is part of the Earth Care work. We’re sharing the bounty,” she said. “We need community. I might be growing too much zucchini and you might have too many tomatoes. Well, let’s swap.”

A big experiment

Stewardship is as close to hand as the soil bacteria that trigger the release of serotonin. Planting seeds in that soil and knowing God is ultimately in control? That’s about stewardship, too.

“It’s all a big experiment. It’s OK to try new things and it’s OK if they fail,” Snyders said. “You learn to manage the resources and that God is always going to work it to your benefit. Like: Why did all these plants die? Maybe something else needed to grow there. Maybe the soil needed more calcium. It gives a talking point for people.”

Heritage Presbyterian Church celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Its growth efforts are an example of how stewardship extends beyond finances, said the Rev. Dana Waters, the Foundation’s Ministry Relations Officer for the Southeast region.

“Stewardship touches on every aspect of our lives since everything we have is a gift from God,” he said. “Heritage is demonstrating to their community what good stewardship looks like. They are caring for God’s creation with Kevin’s Garden. They are feeding families in need through the Jay Weaver Food Pantry. And they are inviting their community to join them in their labors of love,” he said.

Heritage’s members don’t just preach about loving their neighbors, Waters added.

“They are living out the message of the gospel with every seed that is planted and every pound of food that is harvested.”