What Are 50 Health-Conscious Christians Doing in the BCNE Parking Lot?
What are 50 people who love eating healthy and are committed to following Jesus doing in the parking lot of the BCNE Multiplication Center?
They are part of a growing monthly cooperative effort between the Baptist Churches of New England and Azure Standard that brings healthy food, community, and ministry together in an unusual way.
Azure Standard is a family-owned company based in Oregon that specializes in organic, non-GMO, bulk, and natural foods. What began as a family farm has grown into a nationwide distribution network offering more than 13,000 products.
Instead of relying only on traditional stores, Azure uses community “drop locations” around the country. Customers place their orders online and, once a month, meet an Azure truck at a designated location to pick up their groceries.
The BCNE Multiplication Center, located at 87 Lincoln Street, Northborough, MA is now one of those locations.
People throughout the surrounding community can order directly from Azure, select the BCNE Multiplication Center as their pickup point, and then meet the truck when it arrives. Everyone pitches in to unload the truck, sort the boxes, and distribute the orders.
But for the BCNE, the partnership is about more than groceries.
Each month, people who might otherwise never have a reason to visit the Multiplication Center are coming onto our property. While boxes are being unloaded and orders sorted, people talk, get to know one another, exchange ideas about healthy living, and build relationships.
That community connection was evident from the very first BCNE delivery. Nine people from the surrounding area participated, and one woman was so impressed with the idea that she expressed interest in starting an Azure drop at her own church.
Since then, participation at the BCNE Multiplication Center has grown to approximately 50 people.
Could Your Church Become a Drop Location?
One of the exciting things about this partnership is that it does not have to stop at the BCNE Multiplication Center—or even with BCNE churches.
Churches throughout New England can explore becoming Azure drop locations. A church provides a convenient place for people in its community to receive their monthly orders, while also creating a natural opportunity to meet neighbors and build relationships.
And a church does not have to be affiliated with the BCNE to participate.
There is a financial benefit as well. Azure returns 2% of the sales from the BCNE Multiplication Center drop to the BCNE to support ministry. In addition, when the BCNE helps connect another church or organization with Azure to establish a new drop location, Azure provides the BCNE with a smaller ongoing referral benefit based on sales at that location.
That means the program can benefit everyone involved. Families gain convenient access to healthy food, churches gain another way to connect with their communities, and the BCNE receives additional resources that can be invested back into ministry across New England.
If your church is interested in exploring an Azure drop location, contact Aaron Estivill at the BCNE at 508-393-6013 or aestivill@bcne.net. He can connect you with the right person at Azure and help you take the next step.
Most people probably do not expect to see a semi-truck full of organic food pulling into the BCNE Multiplication Center—or 50 people waiting to help unload it. But once a month, that is exactly what happens.
And in the process, something as ordinary as picking up groceries is bringing people together, introducing neighbors to Christians in their community, and giving churches another creative way to connect with the people around them.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were written with the assistance of AI tools.