Lesson 5 - WednesdayJuly 27 On Being a Farmer

WednesdayJuly 27

On Being a Farmer

Read John 4:35-38. What is Jesus telling us here about the different steps needed in reaching souls?

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The work of a farmer is multifaceted. Other types of farming work must be done before a harvest can be plentiful (Matt. 9:35-38). Not only reapers are needed in the Lord’s harvest field. Can you imagine a farmer at harvesttime saying to his farmhands, “Harvesttime is here, so we must start planting seeds”? Reaping is best done after you have been farming all along.

Farming includes preparing the soil, for not all ground is good ground at first. (Read Matt. 13:3-9.) What can your church do in your community to soften “hard ground” and remove “rocks” and “thorns”?

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Workers have done the hard farming work before the harvest, and other workers reap the benefits of their labor. Sometimes evangelistic outreach strategies have emphasized reaping more than they do the preparatory farming. This is not how it should be done. The soil should be prepared long before the evangelist just shows up and starts preaching in hopes of reaping a harvest.

We should look at working in the harvest field as a process: testing the soil, preparing/cultivating the soil, planting, watering, fertilizing, fighting pests, waiting, reaping, and preserving the harvest.

Reaping the harvest is only one part of the process. In the church, the “farming” process could include soil-testing activities, such as community needs assessment surveys, demographics, and interviews with community leaders. There can be soil preparing/cultivating activities, such as meeting needs in the community which are revealed by the community assessment; seed-planting activities, such as seminars, Bible studies, and small groups; and praying for the rain-the Holy Spirit. Few people are won to Christ with only one exposure. We need to nurture them with a process of multiple exposures, increasing the likelihood that they will be ready for harvesting. If we rely only on scattered events, it is unlikely that the new plants will survive until the harvest.

What role should you be playing in the whole process of winning souls, as opposed to the role, if any, that you are now in?

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