missio

I know, I know, I said I would take a break. But it’s only fitting that we turn to Scripture to get some wisdom. I’m teaching tomorrow on the parables of Jesus in Matthew 13, so I thought it OK to see what things we can bring out of two of the parables that apply to church planting.

• It’s not your fault. (Matthew 13:3-9) All too often in evangelism, we blame ourselves when someone doesn’t accept the Gospel. We have to remember that it’s not up to us. In the parable of the sower, we see that the ground that is sowed on is predetermined. The simple fact of the matter is this: the sower sows. As church planters, we are called to plant seeds, no matter what the ground may look like. Of course, we try to find fruitful ground, but sometimes, you just can’t tell. During the day we preach like an Arminian, but at the end of the day we sleep like a Calvinist. The ground that the seed falls on is ultimately up to God.

• Pray for Fruitfulness. (Matthew 13:3-9) Also in the parable of the sower, we see that there are many kinds of fruitful grounds. Jesus says that what we ask, we receive (in the will of the Father), so the crux of the matter is this: pray for fruitfulness. Pray to produce a 100 crop, not 60 or 30.

• The Thing About Wheat. (Matthew 13:24-30) In the parable of the wheat and weeds, we find something interesting. We, the Church, are compared to wheat. So I looked up wheat, and behold: two things about wheat stand out.

1. It is the number one crop worldwide. From it comes bread, cereal, bran, flour, cakes, cookies, and of course, beer. So what does that mean? It’s fruitful. The Church is to be fruitful.
2. The second? It self-pollinates. The church is to self-pollinate, that is, we are to multiply. Wheat is a concrete of example of what the Church should be. Wheat guarantees it’s own survival, regardless of environment. The church should too.

What does this mean for the church? We are to be fruitful and multiply. Just as Adam and Eve were commanded, so are we.

Just a couple of things from God’s Word that we can take and apply in planting churches, and indeed, even reaching people on an individual basis.