Expanding the Harvest

Matthew 9:37-38
"Then He [Jesus] said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into the harvest."

I grew up with a dad who is a minister of music. Now, I'm married to a young adults' pastor. I don't know what it's like to live life when your family works outside the realm of ministry. I've spent so much time in the churches were my dad and husband previously and currently serve, I'm pretty sure I could walk through the buildings blindfolded, giving detailed descriptions of what I was passing.

I've taught Sunday School, children's choir, youth Bible study and women's discipleship groups. I've been a member of church choirs, praise teams and the youth orchestra (even though, I'm pretty sure my flute playing wasn't much more than a joyful noise.) I've made phone calls to visitors, written articles for church magazines, changed diapers in the nursery, stacked chairs, decorated the atrium for holidays, washed communion dishes and counted heads on youth camp buses.

Knowing the audience of incredible Christian women that read this blog, as a general rule, I'm pretty certain most of you can identify with me. There probably aren't many roles of service at the church you haven't participated in at one point in your life.

First of all, let me say that serving God inside His house has always been and will always be an important part of my life. It is my personal conviction to never be a "benchwarmer" at my church. I always want to be active in at least one of my church's ministries. But today, as I was reading these verses, I couldn't help but think, "When Jesus talked about the harvest, he wasn't just talking about serving the church."

How do I serve God by my interactions with my family?

How do I serve God at my job?

How do I serve God in the city where I live?

How do I serve God by the treatment I give the people He puts in my life?

Whether you refer to it as the pareto principle, the 80-20 rule or the law of the vital few, we see similar statistics in the church: Twenty percent of the church does 80% of the work, in reference to serving, tithing, etc. Of course, every church is different, and we'll never really know the accuracy of this estimate. But I wonder - if you stepped down from one of your volunteer positions at your church, wouldn't that provide someone else with the opportunity to step up?

When I moved to Texas, I was concerned about the holes I was leaving at my home church. Particularly, I felt like I was abandoning our student ministry, leaving them without a female intern and short-handing our worship ministry without a praise team member and frequent soloist. I can't believe I thought so highly of myself that I doubted God would provide someone to fill my shoes.

But guess what? God did send others in my place. My home church never skipped a beat. In fact, whenever I visit and I talk to those who are serving where I previously did, I can see not only how blessed the ministries I left behind are, but I see how blessed those serving in my place have been....just as I was when I was serving there.

So if you find yourself having the "yes disease," with a plate full of service already, here's some advice I got from one of my mentors: "The next time you are approached with a new ministry to serve in, instead of dwelling on potentially saying that dreaded word 'no,' perhaps you should think of it as an opportunity for someone else to be blessed to say, 'yes.'"

Our God does incredible things. He is very much alive and active in today' world. Let's imagine that the pareto principle is true within the church. Can you imagine what more the church could do for our awesome if the workers expanded to 21%? Maybe 30%? What about 50%?

Along the same lines, if you relinquished some of your volunteer responsibilities within the church walls, would that open up other opportunities in your life to go into the harvest? Could you start a Bible study among your co-workers? Could you create a prayer group with ladies in your neighborhood? Would you just have an open evening in your schedule so you could have a family who is struggling financially over for dinner?

My prayer this morning is that I would be open to the Spirit's leading, wherever God would call me to serve - whether inside the church or outside of it. One thing I am certain: There is plenty of work to be done, and my desire is to be one of the workers and faithfully pray for God to send more.

A Thanksgiving Project

My husband and I always look forward to Thanksgiving. Since we're in Texas and our families are in Tennessee, we only see one another two or three times a year. Usually by Thanksgiving, it's been six months since we've seen them, so it's always a fun reunion. Since my dad's parents and sister live about 30 minutes away from James' immediate family, Thanksgiving is unique for us because we get to have both of our immediate families together for at least part of one day. Christmas leaves us driving back and forth between his hometown of Huntingdon in west TN and my hometown of Knoxville in east TN. Thanksgiving gives us as a chance to rest and really enjoy our families.

The only complaint I ever have is just how stuffed I feel as we drive home. In fact, last year as we drove back from Thanksgiving, James and I never really stopped to eat a meal. We were so full from a complete dinner at my aunt's house on Thursday, then another full holiday meal the next day at his grandmother's house. Just yesterday, I recounted this complaint. It's the only thing I dislike about the holiday: feeling uncomfortably stuffed!

God really convicted me of how blessed I am (and have no right to complain) when I discovered across a new organization this morning: Project Nicaragua. Project Nicaragua is the first social project of One Thread Outfitters.

This December, the brains behind the ministry, Mark and Patrick, are kicking things off with a drop to Managua, Nicaragua. They will be traveling with the non-profit organization, Chosen Children Ministries, to deliver food, clothing, and, more importantly, the gospel of Jesus Christ. They will be going to several villages and orphanages in the Managua area, delivering items to men, women, and children in severe need.

Nicaragua is the third poorest country in the Americas, with over 2.3 million of its citizens affected by poverty and a third of whom face extreme poverty. Eighty percent of Nicaragua's roughly 5 million citizens live on less than 2USD a day, meaning a meal a day is not an expectation. That's a staggering statistic.

I was especially convicted when my quiet time this morning included reading Luke 14:12-14:

12 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

I really admire the heart of these two guys...that they would be willing to extend their resources to those in need. But here's the good news! They are only two guys. They need our help!

Click here to visit the ministry website.

By buying a $15 shirt, you will provide a family of four with 40 meals. You can also simply donate the money if you don't want the t-shirt. All money donated goes to straight to paying for food and clothing for the people of this land and to provide the cost of the trip for Mark and Patrick. (All donations are tax-deductible, and you can email them to request a tax donation reciept.)

Want to be more involved? If you have another fundraising idea, you can email them directly from the website. They are more than willing to help you get started in helping this important cause.

You can also just tell more people about them. You can follow them on Twitter at @projnicaragua and join their Facebook group by clicking here.

Hope you are as excited to get involved as I am. I'm vowing to replace complain about eating too much this year with making sure others have food for their families this Thanksgiving. With a ten hour drive back to Texas, I have a feeling my husband will be thankful for that!