Joel M Bradshaw

 9And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.–Galatians 6

I served as the solo pastor of a small church for about ten years. After years of youth ministry, it was my first time in a primary leadership position. And year after year we prayed, we served, and we reached out to the community. Nothing we did led to lasting church growth.

So we began to ponder the future. What did God have in store for us? A couple of times we mentioned closing the doors. I was even encouraged (for my sake) to send out resumes and look for a new church. But the doors never closed. And I recall having two phone interviews with different churches where they said something like this: “We think you are great, but for some reason we think you should stay put.”

Time and again we as a church asked God to reveal his will, and the best we could understand was that we were to continue where we were at. We endured leaner budget years and depressing church meetings. We remained thankful to God for his provision. And in the final season or two, our hearts got driven to our verse today.

Just keep doing good. Don’t give up. A harvest is coming.

It wasn’t too long after that when a larger church reached out to us for a possible merger. And after a season of praying and discussing, we finally got the answer to our prayers about the next steps for us. We as a church responded by voting to end. We decided to link our legacy with that of another. It was a tremendous act of faith and trust.

Paul’s harvest in Galatians presents an end-times hope. But the harvest is to be now as well. So we continued doing good and we seized the opportunity to reach our neighbors in a way that we hadn’t been able to previously. And what a harvest! Since the merger and church relaunch, hundreds have placed their faith in Christ. That parking lot is full most weeks. Praise of God occurs in both English and Spanish services.

And it was all because a little church took Galatians 6:9 seriously. We endured with hope that God was going to provide a harvest in due season. We never gave up doing good. We trusted God with our legacy and moved forward in faith. What difficult season are you in, my friend? Continue doing good. God will provide for you. He will use your story for his glory. The harvest happens in due season, but the goodness is to be lived now.–JMB