Hello my brother, hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis and this is Multiply, a podcast that provides a word of encouragement for village church planters.
The life of a farmer is hard, but the life of a farmer is good. He or she cooperates with God who provides the soil and brings the rain for the crops to grow. But is not easy to prepare the ground for planting, or to sow the seeds and protect them from birds and cattle and goats that want to eat the growing crop. It is not easy to hoe a field to control weeds as the crop grows. Even the harvest is hard, backbreaking work. Farming is hard, but it is good. Through the hard work of farming a farmer produces food for himself and his family.
After the struggle of planting, cultivating and harvest, grain can be sold to pay for clothes and school fees for the family. Farming is a good occupation. The life of a church planter is hard, but the life of a church planter is good. It is not easy to go to a new village and find persons of peace. Not everyone receives you well. Some days you look, but do not find anyone with a heart hungry for the Gospel. Even when you do find a person of peace, it is not easy to help his or her family understand and believe the Good News. Some people like church planters and they like the Gospel, but they are afraid to repent and live a new life. One of the hardest parts of being a church planter is that it is so hard to measure growth.
Farmers can watch their crop grow taller. They can see when the seed head forms. They can see the grain grow in the seed head and the plants change color as harvest draws near. But what does a church planter look for to know that his crop, the believers in his newly planted church, are growing and maturing?
Paul, the model church planter knew what to look for. In Colossians 1:4-6, he said, “…because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.”
Paul knew that after he and his disciples sowed the Good Seed of the Gospel, he would see evidence that the seed had sprouted and was growing. He would observe faith and love in the lives of those who received the Gospel message. When the Gospel grows it produces faith and love.
You are a church planter. You are like a farmer, but the seeds you plant are spiritual seeds. The seed you plant is the Good News of Jesus. After you sow the good seed, you cooperate with God who develops faith and love in the lives of your church members. How do you cooperate with God to produce faith and love? You tell about the goodness of God again and again, assuring your listeners that He is worthy of their trust. You tell of the love of God that sent
Jesus into our world to heal and deliver and forgive. And you call people to follow the example of their savior by loving their neighbors and bringing hope and salvation to their families. A farmer can measure the development of his crop by watching it grow and change color. A church planter can measure the growth of his church by observing how people trust in the goodness of God and by how they love their neighbors.
This is Multiply, offering a word of encouragement for village church planters. If this message has encouraged you, won’t you share it with fellow church planters and disciple makers?
Be encouraged, God is with us!
#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #Colossians #FaithAndLove
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for leaving a comment below and we also welcome you to share this website with others.
We pray God blesses you!