5 Lessons from the Parable of the Sower
Ministry can be discouraging.
Perhaps you’re:
A youth leader preaching to a dozen blank faces
A pastor preaching with little fruit
A door-to-door visitor, tired of your invitations being ignored.
Whatever you do, ministry is discouraging. And rural ministry is particularly discouraging.
No ministry is easy. However, in a sparsely populated area, it is likely that gospel growth will take longer to come.
This is not a surprise to Jesus. In fact, he prepared us for it. In this article, we’re going to look at the parable of the sower and see what it can teach us about ministry.
1. You Must Sow the Word
Jesus starts his parable by simply saying: “The farmer sows the word” (Mark 4:14).
That is the heart of ministry, but it is easily neglected:
How many pretty village churches are more concerned to request donations than preach Jesus?
Or carefully avoid offence so you’ll keep coming to their messy church?
Or have become a haven for theologically astute Christians, who have no desire to ever speak to a non-Christian?
Brothers and sisters, we must sow the Word!
The word in this context is not just preaching the Bible (though it includes that). Rather it is proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. The news that he has died for sinners, that whoever believers in him should not perish but have eternal life.
You don’t get to adapt the message to your hearers. You don’t get to drop out the bits you like.
If a farmer wants corn, he must sow corn seeds. And if a church wants disciples of Jesus, they must sow the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. You Will See Hard Hearts
Jesus, however, acknowledges that sowing the word doesn’t always lead to the fruit we desire:
Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
(Mark 4:15-16)
Some will not even consider the message about Jesus. The minute they hear it they will reject it.
I remember one occasion when I was preaching at lunch for retired people. One Christian woman had managed to get her husband to come for the first time in years. There was lots of prayer from her Christian friends that this would be the time he finally responded.
The message was received well by many. But not by this woman’s husband. He loudly complained as he left and gave his wife an earful for bringing him along to this nonsense.
I was new to the church, so I spoke to church members to ask if I’d been too harsh. They assured me that wasn’t the case. Sometimes, people will not listen to the gospel.
You need to be prepared for this.
Whether you are a pastor or a youth leader or a Christian witnessing to their neighbour, you must be prepared that in the vast majority of cases, they won’t even listen to you.
It isn’t because you were particularly sinful or unskilled. It’s just how gospel farming works. You will see hard hearts.
3. You Will See Fair-Weather Followers
Occasionally, though, you will gain a hearing. Perhaps someone might announce with joy that they’ve become a Christian. But over time, these people withdraw from church life. What is going on?
Jesus warns us:
Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
(Mark 14:16-17)
These are fair-weather followers. They will enjoy the fellowship of a church family. They may even joyfully scribble down notes in preaching. This can bring great encouragement to smaller churches.
But, they are put off by trouble and persecution.
Perhaps a season of suffering comes and they don’t have strong enough roots to endure it. Or maybe they start to suffer for their Christian faith. It’s not hard to imagine that in our current age, this danger will increase all the more.
It’s worth considering whether we prepare our church members well for suffering and persecution. It has been the experience of many Christians that soon after baptism trouble increases. You may find it helpful to buddy up young believers with experienced Christians to weather the storm with them.
Nevertheless, all the preparation in the world will not stop fair-weather followers appearing. Jesus warns us not to be discouraged but to keep sowing the word.
4. You Will See Worldly Worriers
Jesus warns of another danger, that of worldly worriers:
Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
(Mark 4:18-19)
The phrase “worries of this life” is less anxiety and more what concerns fill the mind. Jesus emphasises wealth and the desire for things. So the issue here is not so much suffering, but the very opposite: wealth.
Once I spoke to a pastor in a beautiful Yorkshire market town. I asked him how the work was going and he let out a sigh, “Our town is such a wonderful place to live, I don’t think people see their need for the gospel.”
Perhaps this rings true for you. Some rural communities are deep in poverty. But for others, a home in a rural area is the goal in life. Nice family in a nice village with a nice school and a nice car.
So often, rural churches see their promising youngsters becoming more interested in career progression than the gospel. They haven’t gone off the rails, like the prodigal son. They are just taken in by the middle-class dream. This will happen.
5. You Will See God’s Growth
I once heard someone say they found that in evangelism they had the same results as in this passage. 1 in every 4 people would believe. I don’t know about you, but those statistics are way off for me!
It can be easy to be discouraged when there is little fruit. Why do we keep going?
We keep going for v.20:
Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.
(Mark 4:20)
Amidst all the discouragements, there will be some who amaze you. Learn the stories of the people in the church and you will hear some fantastic tales:
The hardened mum and dad who refused to go with their daughter to church, until they did and were saved.
The naughty boy in the Friday night youth group from a non-Christian home, who grew up to be a missionary.
The millennial mum who loathed the church’s position on LGBTQ+ until God opened her eyes and she came to believe in Jesus.
These stories do happen. In the small fields of rural areas, it may take a long time. But when these stories come it is worth it.
How do you get there? Not special tricks. Not the LatestEvangelisticStrategy™. Sowing the message of Jesus.
Conclusion
I have extended family who are farmers. Every Christmas and Easter, I would sit down with them and ask how the year had been. Each year, without fail, they would complain. It was too wet, it was too dry. It was too hot, it was too cold. Judging by what they said, you’d imagine they never grew anything!
But that’s the nature of farming. You will never get perfect conditions, but somehow the crop still grows.
Christians aren’t too different from farmers. Our community is too old or too young, too rich or too poor, too familiar with the gospel or too ignorant. But somehow, God still grows believers.
Don’t let the discouragement stop. Keep sowing the seed, year after year, and see if God doesn’t bring a crop that amazes you.
Questions for Reflection
In what ways do you sow the word at your church?
Can you think of times where you have seen the three bad soils in your ministry?
What are the encouraging good soil stories in your church?
(All Bible quotations NIVUK)
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Tim Wilson
Tim Wilson is pastor of Wheelock Heath Baptist Church in South Cheshire, England. He is part of the Rural Project steering committee, focusing on online content. He graduated from the Union School of Theology, is married, and has three children.
