Harvest Report: Growing a Tree of Life in Washington, DC!

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30

Our God is awesome! From February 8th to March 5th, the Church in Washington, DC has seen six friends baptized into Christ! To God be the glory! Since returning from an inspiring time with the Central Leadership Group of the International Christian Churches in Los Angeles, California in late January, Patrique and I have been motivated by God’s grace to “give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:3) The evidence of the grace of God has been incredible! It has been a joy to witness the hearts and devotion of the church, relying on our faith in God as we have planted and watered the seeds of the Word in the hearts of those around us! As Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” Through humility and faith, God can accomplish miracles! A successful spiritual “planting” will only occur if the foundation is on Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11). Without the proper nutrients of deep personal Bible study, surrendered hearts in prayer, faithful discipling to become more like Christ, urgent evangelism, and an uncompromising purity of heart and actions, anything that is sown will not survive for long. As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 3:12-14, “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.” With proper planting and watering, God can make even the smallest mustard seed of faith grow! (Matthew 17:20) In addition to the baptisms of Keith Jefferson (February 8th) and Cristella Tolliver (February 15th), four other souls have been added in the last two weeks!

On Thursday, February 26th, we saw three students baptized at the same time, and two of them were physical twins! Sherry Green (left), Jeremy Meredith (middle), and Sharon Green (right)!

Sherry and Sharon Green are both juniors at Howard University, have received Robert E. McNair scholarships and are majoring in biology. Since transferring from an honors program at a university in Florida they have continued their academic excellence at Howard with the goal of attaining MD/PhD degrees! Despite persecution they have been consistently effective at inviting friends to church!

Jeremy Meredith is a graduate student in social policy & philosophy at American University. His baptism was especially encouraging to me, as we had met and invited him to study the Bible in January. When we first met, he was an agnostic that had given up on his religious background and used his intelligence in an attempt to powerfully refute it. After examining the evidence for Intelligent Design, the truth of God’s Word and proof of the resurrection, he realized “the empty way of life” (1 Peter 1:18) of philosophy when compared to the love of God and decided to make Jesus Lord of his life!

On Thursday, March 5th, Khamal Patterson, a senior at Howard University majoring political science, was baptized into Christ! Khamal has aspirations to go to law school, but his real desire is to make films that will inspire others! He was encouraged to hear about the work that disciples had done to motivate others around the world by using their talents with film! Khamal was met by Kofi Adease, my “Timothy” and “true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2) at Howard, and has exemplified an eagerness to seek the truth and examine the Scriptures! Khamal shared with the church after his baptism that he was completely “lost” in the world, but it was the love of the brothers that inspired him to see the power of Jesus’ word and recognize his purpose to become a disciple of Christ (John 13:34-35)! Now this aspiring film director and seminarian have paired up to preach the word fearlessly like Paul and Barnabas on Howard’s campus!

Please continue to pray for us to grow in our faith and wisdom as we serve to strengthen our new disciples in the grace and knowledge of our Lord, while continuing to advance Jesus’ call to help all nations repent of their sins and be baptized into Christ! (Acts 14:21-22). Please pray for the campus ministry to pave the way as the next generation boldly proclaims the truth of God’s Word in spite of persecution! Please pray that God will continue to build a tree of life that will grow throughout Washington, DC and in the entire world! And to Him be all the Glory!

Andrew Smellie
Evangelist