Published Mon, Mar 09, 26.
Written by Jared Duran.

---

God Causes the Growth

         “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

1 Corinthians 3:5-9

 

Our Part and God’s Part 

Often, I find myself thinking about the interplay between God’s sovereign work and my participation. On the one hand, it can be easy to believe that all the results of my life and ministry depend solely on me and what I do. On the other hand, it can feel like nothing I do matters at all, and it ultimately is just up to God. What’s so beautiful about this passage in 1 Corinthians is that it strikes right to the heart of this tension. Paul tells us here that each one is given an assignment by God, that God invites us to participate in the growth that only he can cause. Like little kids helping a parent, we bring nothing to the table, but God, our Father, still invites us to co-labor with him. 

The way this passage describes our partnership with God in the work of ministry gives me such excitement and freedom to passionately work with all of my heart in the assignment God has given me, but never too try and carry the crushing weight of what is only God’s responsibility. As John Piper once put it: “My job is faithfulness. God’s is fruitfulness.”

Here in Mendoza, our little church community has been experiencing the reality of this passage as we launched our first public English-speaking services! 

Public English Service 

On February 22nd, we started our service in the upstairs of the Vina Rock Cafe (where the Spanish church meets), and all three weekends so far, we have had new people visiting! There are already so many kids coming that we had to start a children's ministry! Each week we worship, take communion together, have a short teaching, and pray. After service, the whole group gathers for lunch at someone’s house, and usually, we all stay for hours before anyone heads home.

 

Here are some photos from those first few gatherings:

 

 

 

The week of the launch, every one of the families on the team had so much going on. A lot of unexpected things popped up at the last minute. In many ways, our launch of the first service was not “Ideal”, but God is faithful, and as each one in our group said yes to the small assignment that God gave, he started to do what he promised: build his church.

 

 

 

I think this analogy of plant growth that Paul used can also be applied to our own personal growth in Jesus. We don’t have the power to cause growth in our lives. We can’t make ourselves more like Jesus, but we can make sure to bring the water and nutrients that we need (The word of God, a life lived in the community of his Church, time spent with our Father in prayer) and pull the weeds (sin and distraction) but the only other thing we can do is wait for God to cause the growth.

My prayer for each of us is that we would be fervent in our weeding and watering, while resting in the goodness of our Father, the good gardener, to cause the growth.

 

Here are a few of the ways you can be praying right now!

 

• Pray that the leadership team for the English service would be solidified and that each person would find their role. Specifically pray for Ted and Michelle, and Mark and Leah, and their families as they take on these responsibilities and the weight that comes with them.

 

• Pray for some of the people coming to the service who still haven’t made a commitment to follow Jesus

 

• And please pray for my transition back home for this next season of getting married and preparing to relaunch out to Argentina for a longer commitment!