The Harvest is Plentiful
Welcome to September. Despite what the seasonal calendar tells us, summer is unofficially over. And with fall, comes the season of the harvest. For the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, its second-most lucrative crop reaches maturity: the cranberry. The bogs shine red, and come late September, the six weeks of harvest begins. As we consider the cranberry farmers, what are they doing in early September? I am no agricultural savant, but I suspect that in the first days of September, these farmers are preparing for the harvest. Once the crop reaches maturity, they must be ready for ingathering. They have only six weeks to collect a full-year’s produce.
Spiritually, there are seasons of harvest. When Jesus was ministering, he sent out his twelve disciples “to proclaim the kingdom of God ad to heal the sick … they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere” (Luke 9.2,6). Soon after, the task needs more helpers. Jesus then sends even more people, “After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place he was both to go” (Luke 10.1). Given the need for additional helpers, Jesus’ assessment is expected, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Luke 10.2). People were ready to hear about Jesus. They just needed someone to tell them. As Jesus explained, the harvest was ready for reaping – they just needed more harvesters.
As we consider the seasonal life of our church, the fall serves as a season of beginning. Summer plans are over; vacations are significantly fewer; children are in school; and community programs are resuming. The newness of fall also affects our church. Just like our culture, September brings a new beginning, and with that new beginning, comes new opportunities. As we consider this season of opportunity, we proceed with the confidence that the harvest is plentiful. We trust God is at work in people’s lives. We trust the Holy Spirit seeks faith churches to direct people. We trust the alluring quality of Jesus Christ is taking hold in people’s lives – leaving them looking for a church to learn more.
Too often, faithful church attenders think the harvest is not plentiful. We remember when the building was full of people. We remember the many programs previously offered. We remember the people who left. We remember when events filled the sanctuary. But … just as with cranberries, the harvest is seasonal. In recent decades, the harvest has been scant, but we hope the cranberry season of late September looms for our church. We hope the plentiful season of reaching new people arrives imminently. And with its arrival, we seek to be the workers sent into the harvest field. In fact, the very future of our church relies upon us being the workers. Without being the workers, our church (like every other church) fades into historical annuals. Thus, we must think as workers, or phrased otherwise, we think as “harvesters.”
A “harvester” plans for the harvest. Are their tools ready to reap the harvest? Is the equipment ready to use? Are there places to store the crop? Are there additional seasonal employees? Is there someone to buy the crop? These are simple, but vital questions. For us a church, the vital questions center upon four aspects of the church: worship, Bible study, prayer, and service. As we prepare for the fall, we seek to do these four things well: Worship. Bible study. Prayer. Service. They are not the flashiest aspects of a church, but harvesting is not about being flashy. Harvesting is about being effective. Let’s continue to plan for the harvest.
Worship. Bible study. Prayer. Service.
