NATCHEZ — Nance and Emily Hixon practice the expression “growing their faith” literally.

Nance, who is the pastor at Grace United Methodist, supports his wife’s desire to grow sustainable foods in the guest bedroom of their house.

“We’re really into sustainable food systems,” Emily said.

“We support the farmers’ markets and local dairies. When we got here, we decided to try and grow it ourselves.”

When The Dart landed on Fatherland Road, Emily was holding one of her private tutoring sessions, but she and Nance were more than happy to give a tour of their home.

In the Hixons’ back bedroom, plants were scattered across the floor under florescent bulbs that hover over them 16 hours of the day in the wintertime.

“What happened to my bedroom?” said Nance, eying the plants as his wife walked out of the room.

Emily, who works as an English tutor at Copiah-Lincoln Community College and at her home on Fatherland Road, is currently growing tomatoes and peppers under shop lights. She said in the summer she could average two or three meals worth of vegetables.

It’s a hobby of hers that started two years after gathering information from books and the Internet. Her husband fully supported it.

“He loves it,” Emily said. “We look at it as an outgrowth of our Christianity. Part of how we use our faith is how we grow our food.”

Quoting Genesis, Nance referred growing their own food to exactly what the humans did in that era of the Bible. For Nance, it’s a great way to connect with his Christianity.

“When we grow something, we know it’s produced in a way that’s not detrimental to the planet,” Nance said. “God cares about the whole planet and all of creation.”

Nance met his future wife at Louisiana State University before taking three years of seminary courses at Duke University following his 2009 graduation. Nance and Emily worked together, but it was far from love at first sight.

“She actually didn’t like me when we first met,” Nance said. “I think I annoyed her.

“She felt so bad about not liking me that she threw me a going-away party.”

After Nance left for Duke, he and Emily reconnected on Facebook and, after going on a date when Nance was back in Louisiana for a visit, the two began a 900-mile relationship with daily Skype dates.

“I had a Syrian roommate named Marco, who liked to listen to Eastern Europe pop music,” Nance said. “So when we Skyped, I would be in my closet just to hear her.”

Nance’s closet is reserved for comic books that he’s collected over the years. He holds some classic comics, including the first appearance of the Black Widow in a 1972 issue of “The Amazing Spider-man.”

“My uncle used to have a drawer full of comic books when I was a kid, and he kind of got me into it,” Nance said.

“Well, I guess I kind of morphed into that with the collection I have now.”

Nance and Emily share enjoyment in science-fiction literature, television shows and movies.

Happily married, the two attend sci-fi conventions together, meet celebrities and are active in spreading their faith, while growing spiritual fruits and edible vegetables.