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 © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.
