Fruit, fruitful, and fruitfulness. These words are familiar to Christian communities and in the Christian life. What are some Scriptures that come to your mind when you hear these words? The word “fruit” is used 210 times in Scriptures. Of those 210 uses, 43 are spoken by Jesus. “Fruitful” is used 35 times. Grow2Serve’s vision includes missionaries and ministers living healthy spiritual lives and having fruitful ministry. In an earlier post, we discussed missionaries and ministers. So then, what factors are necessary to be fruitful?
Spiritual fruitfulness is dependent on several factors, including abiding in Christ (John 15:2-8), yielding to God (Romans 6:13-23), and Christian effort (2 Peter 1:5-11). Missions and ministry mean nothing and do not bear good fruit if they are done apart from Christ or done without the leading of the Holy Spirit. John 15:5 says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (English Standard Version). We must feast on God’s word and abide in Him, being fruitful in every good work (Colossians 1:10).
A.W. Tozer (1994) writes,
If you will set aside the necessary time to search the Scriptures with an honest and open being, you will be convinced that fruitfulness and joy and peace and blessing and contentment are all part and parcel of what the Holy Spirit expects to provide in and through the yielded life of the Christian believer (Tozer Speaks, Vol. 1, p. 228).
One aspect of connecting missionaries and ministers worldwide is to form online communities that reach across geographical barriers. Communities that can encourage one another and draw each other into God’s word for refreshing and renewed purpose as they encounter hardships, language and culture barriers, and even celebrations.
We hope that our grow2serve.net course site and our grow2serve.com global learning network website will help you connect with others, grow in your ministry capabilities and bear much good fruit as you commit yourself and your family into God’s hands as he works His will in and through you