Week Thirty One - Sowing for the Harvest

In July, Tom and I spent a long weekend in Cornwall, sharing time with two churches and five missionary families. What a blessing to see God moving there, planting new works, and bringing in more workers. Cornwall is a beautiful part of the country, and well worth a visit. But that wasn't what caught my attention. It was the testimony of one of the missionaries whose ministry underwent a significant transformation during Covid.

Bro Grissom and his wife have served the Lord in several places in England, but a few years ago, the Lord led them to plant a church in the city of Plymouth. They distributed flyers, knocked on doors, and did all the things a missionary does to get a church-plant off the ground, but not much was happening. Then came Covid, and the Lord told Bro. Grissom to begin the Ruth Project. God's instruction was to plant vegetables and give them away. So the soil was tilled, the seeds planted, and God gave the increase.

Bro Grissom has continued the Ruth Project for the past few years, but let me share with you his testimony. At one point, he began to grow weary of the planting and tending. He wasn't enjoying the work of gardening, even though things were growing well. A keen gardener visited his patch and made this statement, "You aren't a very good husbandman."

And the Lord used that comment to challenge Bro. Grissom. He was planting seeds, which were growing, and he was sharing with others, but he had missed the project's purpose. It wasn't about giving away vegetables; it was about reaping a harvest. And that harvest wasn't just the fruit of the ground; it was the souls reached by the Ruth Project.

As he talked with us about sowing seeds and sowing for a harvest, his heart burned with passion to explain the difference, a key difference that enabled a church to get off the ground and begin to grow.

When we sow for the harvest, we tend the seeds more carefully, guard them against pests, create frames for growth, and position them for sunshine. Sowing for the harvest means we are diligent, discerning, and disciplined. Seeds thrown to the ground will often grow, but those tended grow best. 

Perhaps it is time to reflect on the kind of husbandmen we are in God's ministry. Are we guilty of the same? Do we witness carelessly, throwing seed as if it were just something we have to do? Or do we witness with purpose, keeping the door open, leaving open questions that will lead to further opportunity? Do we hand out tracts like we're handing out candy? Or are we praying over the tracts and making sure the ones we distribute have a solid message? Are we sowing for the harvest or just throwing out seed?