Don’t Sow Sparingly

Don’t Sow Sparingly
“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” -2 Corinthians 9:6

This past Sunday at Christ Presbyterian Church was graduation Sunday. We honored 4 graduates from our church family: two from kindergarten, one from high-school, and one from college. As I reflected on this important milestone for these graduates, it occurred to me that this is also an important milestone for our church.

Five years ago, when children’s ministries were proposed at CPC, it was common to hear: “but we don’t have any children.” This objection makes sense at some level. If there aren’t any children in the church at present, why plan ministries for children who aren’t around? But consider the same objection posed in a different field – the field of agriculture. Imagine a farmer objecting to planting corn because there wasn’t any corn around. We would tell that farmer that the reason he hasn’t reaped any corn is because he hasn’t sown any corn. The same logic holds for the ministry of the church.

By the grace of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the hard work of dedicated church members, there were more graduates celebrated in church on Sunday than there were children in the church in 2020. CPC sowed bountifully, and so CPC reaped bountifully.

It’s easy to understand and affirm this principle in the reaping season. But like farming, ministry can be fickle. Weather patterns vary. Storms pop up. Weeds creep in and seeds go bad. The challenge in ministry, as in farming, is to keep sowing bountifully, prayerfully, and faithfully. May CPC continue to trust that the Lord of the harvest will bless the sowing and the reaping of his fields – no matter what the circumstances.

Your Pastor and Friend,
John Knox Foster