Self-sustainability training

With our Harvest Projects, we prepare School of Ministry students to support themselves and their ministries even in the most remote areas. Over the years, we’ve seen economic pressures suck too many of our graduates out of full-time ministry back into the secular workforce. Now, we incorporate skills training into the School of Ministry program. Harvest Projects offer national pastors and leaders as well as cross-cultural missionaries the knowledge and experience they’ll to become economically self-sustaining.

Bearing in mind the rural, impoverished communities many of our graduates will end up serving, we teach cost-efficient, easily scalable solutions. Our students learn how to run hydroponic and aquaponics systems and how to raise poultry and small livestock.

Both hydroponics and aquaponics provide an optimal environment for tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons, strawberries, lettuce, and a variety of other fruits and vegetables. These cutting-edge systems are much more water-efficient than traditional growing in soil, ideal for drought-prone areas.

Hydroponic systems supply water and nutrients directly to plant roots, allowing the plant to redirect its energy from developing an extensive root system to producing quality fruit. Aquaponic systems share water between plants and fish, with the plant roots providing filtration and the fish waste providing fertilizer.

Chicken, rabbits, and pigs are all relatively low-maintenance and high-yield, great options for the village dweller as well as for the town dweller with a small plot of land. Eggs and meat can be either eaten or sold, creating an income for both the minister and the ministry.

Chickens lay eggs daily and double as a meat source when they grow too old to lay. Rabbits reproduce monthly, a constantly replenishing source of low-fat, high-protein meat. Pigs take longer than chickens or rabbits to complete their life cycle, but when full grown, they can yield 100 to 200 pounds of meat.