A Harvest in the Making!

“”My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.”" John 4:34-36

In this passage, Jesus calls us to obey and complete the will of God. In order to finish the Father’s work of reaching the world for Christ (Matthew 28:18-20), we must set our personal expectations aside! Expectations based on our merit alone are nothing to what God can do through us! Normally in Israel, it took at least 4 months between the latest sowing and the earliest reaping. But in the Lord’s work the sowing and harvesting are taking place simultaneously! “Even now” is stated twice in vs. 36, an indicator that God can move the hearts of others to make an urgent and radical decision to make Jesus Lord of their lives, not according to our timetable, but to His own! As a result, those who sow by working to make disciples of Jesus will rejoice with those who have received the grace of God and are reaped from the corruption of this world! As disciples of Jesus we have the opportunity to reap a harvest that others have sowed and labored over. The work of Jesus and His apostles, as well as past heroes of the faith have set the foundation by blazing a trail of true discipleship. Now it is our charge to lead people to the truth, and finish the Great Commission that Jesus has assigned to us!

As a result of taking Jesus’ admonition to heart, our church has a goal that will prayerfully move the heart of God to increase the miracles in DC! From February to March, we praying and relying on God to produce much fruit through a Harvest! It is our hope that over the next two months we can have weekly baptisms in addition to restorations and those placing membership! According to God’s will, we have already seen the fruit of our labor as Keith Jefferson was baptized into Christ on Sunday, February 8th after service! Keith is the brother-in-law of Conset Jefferson, who placed membership at our Inaugural Service! Please pray for his Keith’s brother and Conset’s husband, James Jefferson, to be restored! This past Sunday, February 15th, Cristella Tolliver, a married mother of three was baptized! She is a receptionist who works at the front desk in our apartment building! With tears she shared how inspired and grateful she was to be part of a sold-out fellowship where everyone was called to the standard of Jesus, and where discipleship and evangelism was not only talked about but was actually put into practice.

Many of those who lack the urgent conviction of saving souls as their “food” don’t appreciate the fact that the work of a disciple is truly an extension of Jesus’ work. In John 20:21, Jesus states, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” It is clear from this passage that Jesus’ focus must be our focus, and we must make sure we are prepared to put his commands into action. Please be praying as the 31 disciples of our church now have over 55 studies! Last Sunday we had 66 in attendance! At this pace we don’t expect to last much longer in the room we are renting at the YMCA! To God be the Glory!


In Colossians 4:2-6, we see the effort it will take to make these two months a fruitful experience in DC. The Scriptures state, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let you conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” In order to have a successful harvest, God calls us to rely on him as we prepare to give Him our best! Through our devotion to prayer, we will be watchful and thankful for souls who have never known of the grace and truth of our Lord. As a result of our faith and effectiveness (Acts 14:1), many will prayerfully be inspired to know the saving grace of God, repent of their sins, and make Jesus Lord of their lives.

With such a faithful goal, we are prepared for the attack of the Enemy to tempt us to feel that we don’t have what it takes to help others to know God. In Mark 6:30-44, we see the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000 with only five loaves and two fishes. He had compassion on the crowd because they were like sheep without a shepherd. As a result, he took the time to teach the truth to them. In this situation, His disciples were unfaithful, rationally thinking that there was no way to provide physical satisfaction for this multitude of people. Instead of catering to their unbelief, Jesus dealt with their lack of faith by directing them to feed the people with the meager resources they had. Jesus thanked God for what they had, and through an extraordinary miracle, all of the 5000 were able to eat and went home satisfied! Even now disciples of Jesus can be tempted by Satan into thinking that our meager resources will not be enough to win this world. This is a lie to discourage us from obeying and completing the Master’s work! If Jesus could instruct His disciples to use their meager supplies of bread and fish to feed thousands, how much more can He do through us now to win the world for Him? Pray for us as we put our plans before the Lord and watch as he blesses our faith with much fruit! And to God be all the Glory!

Andrew Smellie
Evangelist