the sojourn

Why is it that some missional leaders see growth in their church every year?  Why is it that some can crash through growth barrier after growth barrier?  There are multiple issues around this subject but one thing rings true in every leader I know who hasn’t settled on a plateau.  Each of these leaders possesses what I like to call a “sowing mentality.”  They are constantly and liberally sowing seeds to uncover receptive hearts to the gospel.  It may often come about through increasing their ability to get into more spiritual conversations, loving their community with incarnational service, engaging people through random acts of kindness or saturating their community with captivating marketing images.  These leaders do whatever it takes to discover those who possess that “good soil” Jesus spoke about which will produce a yield a hundred fold.

King Solomon offers some wisdom on the subject of sowing in the book of Ecclesiastes, “Sow your seed in the morning and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” (Ecclesiastes 11:6)  This verse speaks volumes to those who are serious about making connections with those who are disconnected from your people and know nothing about your church.

SOWING MENTALITY

Part 2

3. Those with a “sowing mentality” embrace the mysterious work of God, “…for you do not know which will succeed…”

There is a sense of mystery to the work of God. In the parable of the sower, you get the idea from Jesus that the sower was really concerned with scattering the seed and not so much as to where the seed landed. He trusted God for the fruit.  His job was to get the seed out and to get it out liberally no matter what it cost.  I remember our first Easter Service in our church plant. We had $1050.00 in the bank and spent $1000.00 of it on an Easter Mailer of 5000 post cards.  The result of this mailer was we had our highest attendance, cultivated very receptive contacts who became converts along with attracting some significant families who became ministry partners.  I remember thinking that that $1000.00 would not have made any difference if I just kept it in the bank.

Sowing seeds in faith and prayerfully trusting God to work miraculously through your efforts is essential.  Scattering seed without watering with faith, fertilizing with prayer and cultivating it with hard work will be like casting seed to the wind…fruitless.

4. Those with a “sowing mentality” are not particular about methods, “…whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well…”

In my experience too many church leaders get stuck or inebriated with a particular style of evangelism. Yet leaders with a sowing mentality understand it is never an “either/or” proposition but more of a “both/and” conviction. Equipping your people through a highly relational and incarnational style of evangelism is the first place to start but it does not rule out doing a systematic visitation or follow up process that is built on the connections with your public worship service. Equipping your people to be includers and inviters does not nullify the use of social networking, various types of marketing and branding your vision and image throughout your city. The old revivalist Leonard Ravenhill said, “Any method of evangelism will work if God is in it.” 

Developing a sowing mentality is a life or death proposition for any church.  For a new church, if you are not sowing evangelistic seeds in your community, you will die a quick death filled with indefensible excuses.  For an older church, it will be a slow and painful death, built on harmful rationalizations. Both are equally tragic and embarrassing to the Lord of the Harvest.  Are you reaping what you have sown? 

(Originally posted and sourced from: Your Journey Blog)