Jesus said, “…One sows and another reaps…I sent you [disciples] to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” (John 4:38)

When Jesus wanted to teach His disciples about evangelism, in John 4:35-38, He used the analogy of farming. He didn’t talk about reaping alone. He didn’t talk about sowing alone. He didn’t talk about cultivating the soil alone, either. No, He taught His disciples that evangelism can be directly compared to farming. Farming is a process that goes on over a period of time in order to produce a harvest. Farming comprises many facets, including cultivation, sowing, watering, fertilizing, weeding and reaping. Therefore, to be a successful farmer one must be patient with the process.

evangelism is a process that will take time and that it demands patience

At Quest Ministries, we believe that this same patience is needed in the evangelization of a soul. God is in the process of cultivating the soil of men’s hearts. He may use us to prepare them for the seed, or to plant a seed of truth or water the seed of truth that they already have. But it’s important that we recognize that evangelism is a process that will take time and that it demands patience.

When we think about it, very few important decisions in life are made quickly. Most major decisions are the results of many mini-decisions. One clear example of this is marriage. The decision to marry a person typically is preceded by many mini-decisions involving attraction, courtship, compatibility, engagement, and finally marriage. The same is true of one’s spiritual journey. When a person makes the final decision to trust in Jesus Christ, this is usually been preceded by numerous mini-decisions along the way.

Farming, to use Jesus’ analogy, involves many decisions addressing how to approach cultivating the soil, sowing the seed, watering amounts, weeding and ultimately how to reap the harvest. Perhaps we should look at evangelism as including all these components—components that take time in a person’s life and demands patience on the part of the laborers.

The Apostle Paul said it well in I Corinthians 3:6-7; “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God make it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” Evangelism is farming and farming is a process.

Do you view evangelism as a process or as a one time event? Our goal is to point out Scripture’s teaching on this subject and therefore broaden our definition of Biblical evangelism. To do so we have attempted to help believers identify that process in the hearts and minds of their lost friends and family. The following illustration is a practical tool that we have used to assist believers to more effectively “farm” and to be patient with the process.
• 10 Antagonistic
• 9 Atheist
• 8 Agnostic
• 7 Resistant
• 6 Hesitant
• 5 Uncomfortable
• 4 Apathetic
• 3 Sympathetic
• 2 Very Open
• 1 Seeker
• New Christian

Your unsaved friends or family members fall somewhere on this continuum. Ask God to give you the wisdom to know approximately where and then pray for them and assist them to make little decisions that will move them closer to the ultimate decision of giving their life to God. One practical way that this idea of process can be applied in through the ministry of gift giving. There are books, movies, and music that can be given to a lost person on a special occasion. We can attempt to “hit a home run” or we can be winsome and give a gift appropriate to where they are in their spiritual journey—we encourage the later.

The following are some of the benefits of viewing evangelism as Jesus did—as a process.
• As laborers, we all get to rejoice together in the harvest. (John 8:36)
• Even though we might not all get to see the harvest we are all “farming”.
• Assisting the lost in making small decisions towards Christ is “doing” the process.
• Wisdom in evangelism is realizing where our lost friends are spiritually and providing what they need at the time.