The Value of the Seed

Dear Friends:

I am not a farmer by any stretch of the imagination, but I do know that seed is valuable. When we were missionaries in Arusha, Tanzania, and just 80 kms from Mt. Kilimanjaro, I planted broccoli in our garden. The whole process went well as I waited with anticipation to see the result. The harvest was bountiful and brought joy to my heart! I was a success as a farmer! I planted, watered, and the Lord brought the harvest! A problem then arose because I had too much broccoli! One can only eat so much of it, one can prepare it only in a limited amount of ways, and one cannot give it away as my friends were unsure as to what it was.

While that story is the entirety of my farming days, I know that if you want to reap a harvest then you must prepare the soil, plant seed, water and maintain the ground, and wait for the harvest. Once the harvest comes, you must act quickly to get it into your house or it will be ruined and your endeavor will be wasted.

At Network211, we sow the seed of the Gospel into the hearts and lives of people who are seeking desperately for help, hope, and answers to life’s dilemmas. Today, over one-half of the world’s population has Internet access and many will go online first to find solutions to the issues that interest them or even trouble them.

Yesterday, I read an article that stated that one of the reasons people go online and share their innermost feelings and thoughts is that they are more comfortable sharing with someone they do not know, and maintain a sense of anonymity and security, than with someone in their real world. They believe that this protects them from being judged, labeled, and even subsequent repercussions.

Individuals around the world search for answers to important life issues such as anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. They seek actively to find ways to cope, ways to live victoriously, and even for reasons to live to see tomorrow.

With your partnership, we can present Jesus Christ as the Answer they are seeking. This message is the seed of the Gospel that we can sow into their hearts and minds as we interact online. They may not respond immediately but, at the very least, they encountered Truth and must then accept or reject it.

Together, we are sowing seeds of the Gospel in individuals in locations where worshipping openly comes with a price such as China and Saudi Arabia, in nations where they worship all gods such as India, in remote locations such as Nauru, and in major cities of the world such as

Paris, Nairobi, and San Paulo. We have sown seed into the lives of over 33.4 million individuals and in 244 countries and territories.

We encourage these individuals to allow us to continue to journey with them as they search, we present, we connect when they write to us, they grow in our online discipleship content, and we direct them to belong to a local church.

But, even if we do not journey with them immediately, the seed of the Gospel was planted within them. The Holy Spirit takes over to convict and convince as He can penetrate even the hardest of hearts. And in the locations where one cannot worship openly and we cannot have a Network211 1-2-1 Connector team in country to respond, the Holy Spirit is the Connector!

Please continue to journey with us as we scatter seed, like the Sower in Matthew 13, so that we can “proclaim Christ to all people” as mentioned in our vision statement. For every $1 given to us for evangelism, we can present the Good News to fifteen (15) individuals around the world.

The seed of the Gospel is valuable as the Good News transforms lives for eternity. Our role is to scatter as much seed as possible, to journey with those who will allow us to do so, and allow the Holy Spirit to move as only He can. And, God gets the glory!

Blessings,

Dr. Mark Flattery
Network211 President