Drive Your Tractor to Church - Midwest Farmers Share Fears, Get Encouraged, By Outreach
b'By Richard Hunt\\nFarming can be tough \\u2013 and, at times, some farmers even consider taking their own lives. \\n\\nIt\\u2019s not unusual to see a parking lot full of farm tractors at Middlebury Community Church of the Nazarene in northern Indiana. The \\u201cDrive Your Tractor to Church\\u201d event held each year by the church team honors farming as a very essential and noble field of employment. \\n\\nPastor Gary Sheets sees to it the farm families are welcomed, prayed for, well fed - and their tractors, which represent the farm family income, are prayed over, blessed. Recently, a number of farmers privately shared they\\u2019ve had major concerns about losing their farms\\u2026 and some have had dark, disturbing thoughts that have rattled their mental health. The pastor responded with encouragement from Jesus and the Bible. \\n\\nThere\\u2019s also been an outreach called \\u201cTruckers Bobtail Cruise-In,\\u201d where those who drive 18-wheelers are saluted for their essential work \\u2013 and also receive needed prayer and encouragement.'