Healthy, Growing Churches (7)

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3.5-9

Homily 21
Jerome (347-420)
“I have been planted in the house of the Lord, I mean in the church; not in the walls but in its doctrines. Everyone who has been planted in the house of the Lord, who has put down roots there, brings forth flowers.”

Tending a community garden is a community effort. Everyone has a job to do, and the garden is most fruitful when each person does what he or she is assigned. Our local communities are like gardens in the field of the Lord, where the Son of Man goes forth to sow good seed for the Kingdom. Evangelizing a community is a team effort. Or rather, a body effort. It requires every member working his or her Personal Mission Field, and all of us together reaching out through our local church. Evangelism is a process, not an event. The event of salvation is the Lord’s work; He alone can give the increase. Our job is to cultivate the soil, sow the seed, add the water, attend to weeds and pests, and keep watch over any new growth. It takes a church to evangelize a community, and leaders of healthy churches know they can’t simply wait around and hope for the lost to find their way to the pew. We must equip the saints for this work of ministry, each joint in the body according to its calling and function. And we must trust the Lord to bring the increase from our sowing.

How is your church working to sow the garden of the Lord in your community?

T. M. Moore

How goes the work of shepherding?
Pastor, where are you in your walk with and work for the Lord? Are you growing? Covering all the bases? Working fruitfully toward the Kingdom of God? Shepherding God’s flock? Our Pastoral Hope Initiative can help you establish a framework and baseline for steady, fruitful growth. Using a variety of assessment tools, together with the book Fan into Flame, this 14-week protocol will give you a thorough look at the state of your ministry. Men, if you think you might want to work through this with me, watch this brief video, then, if you’re interested, let me hear from you at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Fellowship of Ailbe is supported through the generous and faithful gifts of those who benefit from and believe in our work. Does the Lord want to use you in this way? Please look to Him in prayer over this question. You can contribute to The Fellowship of Ailbe by using the Contribute button at our website, or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452. Thank you.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Quotations from Church Fathers are from the Ancient Christian Commentary Series, published by InterVarsity Press.