What would you do if you saw entire villages struggling, small children suffering from malnourishment or farmers hanging their heads at the sight of meager crops?
Pastor Hugo Ortiz got into the coffee business.
In 2005, Pastor Ortiz led his small, Honduran church of 150 to start a coffee cooperative after witnessing desperate need in mountain villages near his home in Siguatepeque, Honduras. When he and his brothers and sisters in Christ examined struggling coffee farms in the region, they believed the best way to help these communities physically and spiritually would be to boost their economies.
“We have embedded ourselves in the community so we can understand … their needs,” the pastor explains. “That’s how we have come to realize it is also essential to help them improve their standard of living.”
They named the cooperative Cultivadores del Reino, meaning “Kingdom Growers” in Spanish. It offers farmers agricultural training to help improve their crops while also giving them access to new markets, particularly in the United States. But, Ortiz and his congregation also wanted to give farmers in these villages access to something else, something that would change their lives completely: the Gospel.
“The purpose of the church is to accomplish God’s will — to preach the Gospel of salvation, the forgiveness of sins through the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ to everyone who believes in Him—and also to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he says.
Cultivadores del Reino started small. But outside organizations and roasters became interested in the cooperative’s products, both because of their quality and because of the story behind the organization. Pastor Ortiz watched more and more farmers join Cultivadores del Reino and reap benefits. He saw once malnourished children grow healthy, and he watched people who once felt spiritually lost find new meaning in life with Christ. He has seen life change in Honduran farming communities.
“Since our arrival, they have opened to us the doors of their lives, hearts, and communities, allowing us to be a part of them,” he says. “Therefore, we have created a very strong relationship between the church and the community.”
In recent years, Pastor Ortiz retired as president of Cultivadores del Reino, but he still serves in an advisory role. He continues to offer wisdom as the cooperative expands and works with a branch of the business based in the United States. That branch is called Kingdom Growers. And now, God has taken the work of Ortiz’s small, Honduran church and has spread its influence throughout the U.S. and the world.
Every morning, you can enjoy a cup of Kingdom Growers French Roast because Pastor Ortiz and his congregation felt led to help people in need. God has taken their compassion for others and transformed it into something beautiful — and delicious.
Meet a Kingdom Growers Farmer
Edgar Sanchez grew up in the mountains of Honduras, surrounded by coffee trees and the people who tended them. He now has become a coffee farmer, just like his father. And, he has become a man of God — again, just like his dad.
But years ago, when he heard about a coffee cooperative that taught farmers to grow better coffee and then shared Christ’s message with them, Edgar found a way to build upon his father’s legacy. He knew he should join the cooperative’s staff.
“They were sharing the Gospel, and they were doing it through coffee,” he says, through a translator. “And, I felt I could relate to that. Immediately, this was something I felt I could be a part of because I understood coffee and I understood that God was calling me to spread the Gospel.”
Edgar has worked with the Kingdom Growers for five years now. The cooperative helps farmers in Honduras through the direct trade business model. Meanwhile, its staff shares Christ’s story while working alongside farmers in their fields. Kingdom Growers currently partners with both Baptist Global Response and the International Mission Board to reach agricultural communities around the world.
Edgar teaches farmers in his area improved farming methods as well as the keys to successful international trade. And then, he tells them about the Savior who changed his life. The farmers listen because Edgar is one of them and he cares about their wellbeing. In turn, God has instilled love for each of them in his heart.
“I’ve come to understand that God calls us to help our fellow man and meet their physical needs as well as reach out to them and meet their spiritual needs,” he says.
And, this soft-spoken farmer has benefitted from the cooperative, as well. Direct trade with U.S. roasters and consumers has helped improve Edgar’s own income so he can better provide for his family. Since November 2016, his coffee beans, along with those of other Kingdom Growers farmers, have been ground, packaged and sold by Lifeway.
Edgar obeyed God’s call to spread the Gospel, and in turn, the Lord has blessed him through Kingdom Growers and Lifeway Christian Stores. His is the best kind of story — one that begins with a desire to serve Jesus and ends with fresh coffee.
Reunited by Coffee: Carlota’s Story
Each bag of Kingdom Growers coffee has a story behind it — a story of hope and joy.
Here is one story of how God used some of those bags to mend one broken household in Honduras.
Not long ago, Carlota lived thousands of miles away from her husband. The couple had trouble finding enough income to care for their children, so her husband did what many other men in developing countries do—he traveled to another country to find work.
With the money he sent home, Carlota began farming a plot of land she inherited from her father. Every day, she walked up a mountain to reach her fields. She tended the crops and walked back again after dark to care for her children. She carried on without him for 12 long years.
“It was very difficult because I had to do the work that my husband was supposed to do,” she says through a translator.
But the Kingdom Growers Cooperative (“Cultivadores del Reino”) changed not only Carlota’s farming business but her household, as well.
Kingdom Growers is a coffee cooperative that helps teach farmers to grow better coffee. Then, it gives them access to markets in the United States through direct trade with roasters and consumers. After joining the cooperative, Carlota began producing better coffee and then selling it for better profits. She even began to add more land to her farm. And, what do you need when you buy more land? More help to farm it.
That’s what Carlota got. After more than a decade, her husband came home to work beside her in their fields. Coffee helped make them a family again.
Coffee with a Purpose
Kingdom Growers Coffee gives people around the world a chance to use their talents to provide for their families and communities. The organization also gives missionaries access to unreached people, so they can share the love of Christ. Learn more about Kingdom Growers Coffee.