Called to Fruitfulness, Not Projects

By Ianpassion

Cassava I harvested

I recently harvested the cassava I planted last year. It all began when an excavator passed by our house to dig a trench for the village water pipeline. After the work was finished, the soil was left soft and loose. I decided to plant cassava trunks in that ground, and after a year, we were able to harvest them. My wife shared some with one of the Agape members, who used it to make a Thai dessert, while I boiled the rest with coconut milk and a little salt.

As I reflected on this, I was reminded of the parable the Son told about the sower. He taught that seed planted in good soil will surely grow and produce a harvest, some thirty, sixty, or even a hundredfold. But seed that falls on rocky ground, among thorns, or on the path will not bear fruit.

The principle is clear: we must carefully consider the kind of ground in which we are planting. If the soil is hard, shallow, or unprepared, our time, energy, and resources will be wasted. In the same way, we need discernment in life and ministry, ensuring that what we plant, whether our words, our efforts, or our service is placed in the right soil, in hearts willing and grateful to receive.

Yet, there are times when people refuse to recognize bad soil. Strange, isn’t it? Even when they see that the ground is not good, they continue planting. Why? Because their focus is not on growth, transformation, or fruitfulness, but on the project itself. They measure success by reports or displays—by activity rather than outcome, by appearances rather than changed lives.

But the Son did not call us to projects; He called us to fruitfulness. Real ministry is not about how many programs we run, but about how many lives are truly transformed. It is not enough to simply plant or scatter seeds just to say we have done something. The goal must be growth and transformation, fruit that multiplies and change that glorifies the Father Almighty, impacting families and, eventually, nations.