Home
Pumpkins Add New Meaning to Thanksgiving
JAMESTOWN, NY (November 15, 2004) - A number of Evangelical Covenant Churches
have worked hard to put a new imprint on the meaning of Thanksgiving,
reminding us that it is not so much about turkeys and stuffing as it is
about giving thanks to God for what we have in life.
Well, it IS a lot about pumpkins – and in particular the economic clout
they can wield when put to good use. Zion Covenant in Jamestown proved
that point recently, selling hundreds of pumpkins and raising several
thousand dollars that is earmarked in part for Covenant World Relief
efforts among victims of Florida's relentless hurricanes over the past
two to three months, as well as short-term mission efforts.
"While this originally started as a fundraiser for youth, the whole
church became involved," says Dan Nikolich, youth pastor at Zion. "We
set up a time sheet where people
could sign up to work in two-hour shifts. We had individuals, friends
and whole families selling pumpkins - about 60 volunteers."
The original plan called for proceeds to be used for short-term mission
projects sponsored by Zion. "However, just about the time we were
organizing this event, the hurricanes were pounding Florida," Nikolich
explained. "So, our young people thought it would be a good idea to give
part of the money to hurricane relief."
The church partnered with an organization called Pumpkins USA, a company
that specializes in fund-raisers for churches. The company secures and
delivers pumpkins to local churches to be sold as part of fund-raising
events, with the local church keeping a percentage of the revenue
raised. Some 1,100 pumpkins were delivered to Jamestown for Zion's sale.
"As youth pastor, I get a ton of 'fundraising' literature," Nikolich
observed. "However, this brochure caught my eye. At first, I was going
to pitch it, but two things really caught my attention. First, the three
things you need for successful pumpkin sales are location, location,
location. Zion Covenant Church has the best location, easy access and plenty
of parking. Second, there was no overhead cost! We only pay for the
pumpkins we sell."
Handling 1,100 pumpkins is no easy task – "it took us about two hours to
unload all those pumpkins," Nikolich recalled. "We even had a reporter
from The Post-Journal come out and do a story. The youth group
helped unload the pumpkins as well as other people from the church. Two
of my main volunteers were Pete and Cathy Byrne. Cathy worked a lot of
hours and had many conversations that led to telling people about our
church. Pete made wonderful signs in the shape of pumpkins that were
planted up and down Fairmount Avenue. The people who came to buy them
were mainly from the community - it's been a wonderful outreach for our
church
"Our church is located on the busiest street in Jamestown," Nikolich
continued. "It has been a great opportunity for our people to interact
with people in our community and share with them about our church. We
are also handing out flyers that are called 'How to Use a Pumpkin to
Tell Children about Jesus.' This is our non-threatening way to evangelize."
Not everyone appeared as confident as Nikolich at the outset. "Many
people doubted that we would sell so many pumpkins," he said. "Pastor
John (Kepler) had people raise their hands one Sunday to indicate the
doubters - many hands went up in the air. However, when I came back from
a youth retreat the following Sunday, all 1,100 pumpkins were gone! They
had all been sold!"
(Editor's note: to learn more about the pumpkins program or other
youth ministries at Zion Covenant, email Nikolich at
pastordan@zioncov.org or call him at 716-488-9310.)
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
