038 - We are Farmers! [Podcast]

Welcome to Season 1 Episode 38 of the Your Church Matters podcast. In this episode I related a story told to me by a friend about a failed crop.

Subscribe: RSS

3 Ways to Guarantee that You Will NOT Reap a Spiritual Harvest:

Planting Nothing. May be a result of fear of failure. May be a result of planting fatigue. My be an unconscious desire for failure. Don’t just stand looking and hoping something will happen to you when God wants to work through you.
Planting Haphazardly. May be a false reading of your context and resources. May be an unclear vision of the desired harvest. A clear picture of your current reality and your envisioned harvest will allow you to plant strategically.
Planting Selfishly. Motivations matter to God. Galatians 6:7-8 says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

8 Tips for Planting Strategically for a Spiritual Harvest:

Pray together as a family of followers to join your hearts with each other and with the heart of God. (This is where you truly make your commitment to plant.)
Deeply engage with the community to know who your neighbors are and what concerns them most. (This is where you begin to understand the condition of your field.)
Intentionally do life together to identify one another’s gifts, talents, passions, experiences, dreams, and fears. (This is where you identify the variety of seeds and field hands that are available to you.)
Prayerfully determine your shared ministry focus for this season. (This is where you agree on what seeds you will plant and how you will work the field together.)
See the harvest in your mind before you can see it with your eyes. (This is what keeps you focused and engaged while you wait.)
Celebrate each new phase of the process and affirm the work involved. (This is what empowers those who work the fields.)
Constantly assess the progress to see what new learning needs to take place. (This is where you go from farming as an activity to being farmers as an identity.)
Have a party when the crop is harvested. Celebrate everyone’s part. Get ready for the next planting season.