"... whoever sows
sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap
bountifully." 2 Corinthians 9.6
One of the basic principles of Christian living is that abundant reaping must be preceded by abundant sowing. Abundant fruit is rarely the result of meager planting. We do not see the finishing touches placed upon a new house unless we have first taken the time to make provision for the foundation. We reach retirement only after having faithfully labored for many years. The small and tedious work must necessarily precede the joyous outcome of that work. This principle applies to the work of the gospel. Gilead exists to bring glory to God by bringing people to Jesus and bringing blessing to people. It is one of our greatest joys as Christians to see people brought to Jesus and to see them give Him the glory for their salvation. That is a day of reaping for us ... seeing people place their lives in the service of the Lord ... seeing new believers baptized into the fellowship of God's family. That is a day of reaping for us, but those days of reaping must be preceded by faithful days of planting.
In light of this truth, I am asking you to join with me for the next three Sunday evenings as we seek to do some intentional planting in the community that surrounds our church. I know that we are a church that longs to reap and so must we continue to be a church that labors to sow. October 14th will be our Fall Family Hayride. We have always enjoyed this event as a family in the past. This year, I want us to be intentional to invite people outside of our church family to join us that night. To help toward that end, I am asking you to join me in a time of prayer and planning on Sunday night September 30th. That night we will prepare to distribute information to our community about the Hayride event and pray for God's favor as we go. On Sunday night, October 7th, we will go and distribute door hangers in the areas that we have designated. These three nights are not really a time for reaping. They are a time for sowing. Let's sow abundantly!