One day several years ago I was the Rivergate shopping center when a man approached me to strike up a conversation.
“You came to my house a couple of years ago to invite us to church,” he said. “And I just want you to know that we’ve been coming ever since.”
Now: that visit was part of what we call “Bless This House,” a high-touch, low-threat approach to sharing our faith in which we visit newcomers to the area and give them a refrigerator magnet, an invitation to church, and, when appropriate, a prayer over their new home.
I had some memory of that particular visit to that particular man’s house.
But I had no idea it bore fruit.
That’s the way it is with a lot of ministry, I think. You scatter seed, hope to do some small things well, pray that the accumulation of small things will lead to big things, and then leave it to God.
Many times, the results are negligible.
But every so often, grace breaks through and it gives you the encouragement to do one more massively small thing to the best of your ability.