Vanessa and I are invested, but these South Carolina weather patterns and soil variances are trying our patience. We planted some fruit trees last fall and have been taking care of them dutifully. We water them, feed them, prune them, and, yes, sometimes even talk to them (don’t judge us). This spring, we counted 29 tiny apples on our apple trees, 27 tiny lemons on our lemon trees, one plum on our two plum trees, and dozens of blueberries on our six bushes. The single plum made it, but as of today we’re looking at four apples, seven lemons, and a bunch of neighborhood birds with bellies full of blueberries. We’ve made some big investments, but the harvest thus far has been unimpressive. We’re not giving up, though. We’ve got too much invested in this and we’re anticipating a day of harvest, even if not this year.
In South Carolina “fruiticulture,” there’s no guarantee we’ll eventually reap a harvest. But in God’s economy, the law of sowing and reaping is a timeless principle with a sovereign guarantee. “The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,” the Holy Spirit teaches us through Paul, “and the person who sows generously will reap generously … . And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work” (1 Cor. 9:6–8).
The Cooperative Program is a sowing mechanism for SCBaptists. We sow sacrificially and do the work of regular cultivation. We attend this work, feed it, and water it through congregational education and mission mobilization. We invest in faith even when we cannot yet see the fruit. And sometimes entire seasons pass when the harvest is less than we expected. Some seasons, fruit produces on a few trees in our Baptist orchard while it shrivels on others. But that’s okay. We’re sowing many fields and working them. We plant, water, and tend. The entire ecosystem of Southern Baptist mission is nourished through the Cooperative Program. We sow. We pray. We work. God gives the increase in his time.
God is sovereign, and He has committed Himself to the timeless biblical principle of sowing and reaping in His spiritual economy. The question, in our field of Great Commission cooperation, is never whether a harvest will eventually come. That’s guaranteed. The question is: What size harvest do we eventually want to see? If we want a mediocre harvest, let’s sow in mediocrity. If we want an abundant harvest, let’s sow in abundance.
What does sowing look like in our Great Commission cooperation? Giving and going, sharing and sending. We make worthy investments in our cooperative efforts. We evangelize and disciple in our neighborhoods. We take risks, and we live on faith. Our faith is not blind, our funding model is not frivolously managed, and our risks are not without reward. The God who entrusts us with stewardships to sow is the same God who guarantees a bountiful harvest for our efforts. In the second half of 2024, I challenge you, SCBaptist, to take some big risks in giving and going, sending and sharing. Give sacrificially and faithfully to God’s kingdom work through your local SCBaptist church, and challenge your church to give sacrificially and faithfully through the Cooperative Program. Share the gospel with your neighbors and coworkers, and challenge your church to build out a community evangelism strategy. Your association and state convention staff can help.
The bottom line is this: Locally, nationally and internationally, we’re longing for an unprecedented harvest, so let’s sow some big seeds. Let’s give and go, send and share.