As I was browsing the internet, I came across the question;  Do people who give, without expecting anything in return, really exist?  It makes me sad that someone would even need to ask the question.  As distressing as it is, I understand that the world today is full of people with one thought on their minds..."What will I get out of it?" 

The good news is, there are people who give without expecting anything in return.  New Beginning Christian Fellowship, on County Road 55 in rural Foley, is doing just that...giving and expecting nothing in return. 

I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet their pastor, John Burkhardt, when his church, mine and several others came together to provide meals for Foley families at Thanksgiving.  While visiting with him, I learned about the garden that he and his church offer to the community.

A few years ago, New Beginning Christian Fellowship purchased three acres of land.  Since they knew it would be a while before they could develop, they started trying to figure out how they could utilize what they had to bless their community. 

While brainstorming to figure out what they could do, one of the church elders, Gene Williams, looked at the property and had an idea...maybe they could plant a garden.  He brought the idea to a couple of fellow elders, Zeb Mathis and Charles Dugger, who in turn took the idea to the remaining elder members.  There were several members of the church who had experience with gardening, which would  provide valuable skills necessary to aid in this undertaking. 

The idea was, the members of the church would plant the garden and the community was welcome to come and pick whatever they needed for their family...free of charge, no strings attached.  There would be no "gatekeeper" watching and no one there to try to get them to come to church...they could just come in at any time and take what they needed.

Over a business meeting, the church family started talking about the garden idea. The more they talked about it, the more excited everyone became. They could see it was a tangible way they could do something for the community. As they began to move forward and were discussing where to put the garden, Mr. Woodard, whose property joined theirs, came over and offered for them to plant the garden on his land because he didn't want for them to have to dig up their nicely sodden ground.  He had a field that he was already planting on, so the church took him up on his offer and planted there as well.

John explained how they had no irrigation system the first year. In addition to relying on rain, they purchased a large water container that sat in the back of a truck.  It held hundreds of gallons and they would drive it around to water the garden. Thankfully, Charles Dugger is a second generation water well driller and before the second year, the church was able to purchase a well and irrigate both their garden and Mr. Woodard's. 

Pastor John and the members of New Beginning Christian Fellowship have not advertised the garden, instead relying on word-of-mouth. Many people have taken advantage of the offer and it is their hope that more people will come and enjoy the garden.

This is the third year for the garden and they are considering doing a few things to make it easier for those who come out, to get what they need. We will have to check back with them and see what they do.

The members of the church welcome everyone to come out and pick what you need. This is their gift to the community that they love...and they do not want a single thing in return...well except happiness for those who come to the garden.

" The church is a place where people find purpose through serving God and other people." ~  New Beginning Christian Fellowship