Scripture
Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23
Shape: Sowing Triangle
Generally speaking, this is a picture of the relational process by which People of Peace go from being disconnected from God and community to being fully integrated into God’s Kingdom and community life as a disciple of Jesus.They meet people who know Jesus, they see God’s power at work, they experience the overflow of Christian community, and eventually, they hear the good news of Jesus and respond to it.
The concepts behind the Sowing Triangle are largely taken from a book called "Sowing, Reaping and Keeping", by Laurence Singlehurst. The overall progression is fairly simple and can be seen in Jesus’ parable of the sower:
Sowing Stages:The seeds of the gospel are sown to many people, with varying degrees of depth.
Reaping Stage. In some people’s hearts, the gospel seed sprouts and grows, and they respond and decide to follow Jesus and step more into life in God’s Kingdom.
Keeping Stage.The people who have decided to follow Jesus continue to grow deeper roots as they join discipleship rhythms, becoming more mature, and they begin to sow and reap with the others in the community.
Story
Our community of believers is steeped in a traditional, attraction model of "doing church" where we put on entertaining worship and children's programs and hope to attract people to our stuff. The missional model of going out to seek people and share the gospel is generally diluted to "Maybe I planted a seed in the way my life is an example of Christian principles". Viewing the parable of the sower as an instruction to us (rather than just as a description of how things are) generates hope and power...a belief that "we can actually do this"....we can identify relationships where God is already at work, and we can invest in them and cultivate deeper roots in our discipleship commitment.