Oak trees and the Gospel
What is the difference between a squash plant and an oak tree?
Maybe the most obvious difference is how long they thrive and bear fruit. Aimee Hedrick shares that their church-planting team has thought much about this question and about the value of planting and cultivating strong, fruit-bearing disciples that mature and endure.
This team has a great vision for a thriving church among the Tigaks that influences not only their island, but lands beyond. Paul instructed Timothy, “The things which you have heard from me…entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Tim. 2:2) This urging from Paul is the heart of the church-planting team there. They are striving toward equipping the Tigak believers to be spiritually mature so that in time the work of ministry can be entrusted directly to them.
And just what do spiritual oak trees look like?
Aimee reminds us that their family life is transformed. Husbands love sacrificially. Wives submit joyfully. Couples partner together in life and in ministry. These works of God’s Spirit are fundamentally different relationships from the traditional cultural view of Papua New Guinea and are strong outward evidence of God’s transforming power.
The church-planting team also longs to see maturity in areas such as the church’s identity and function, their ability to relate to unbelievers, and in handling God’s Word with integrity. Literacy is another big goal—so that the Tigak church can take ownership of the importance of people reading the Scripture for themselves. The final goal of the church-planting team is to “work themselves out of a job” when the church stands mature and ready.
It’s clear that growing Tigak oak trees is not a quick or simple task. Please pray for the church-planting team who work and pray and persevere to cultivate faithfully the soil of Tigak hearts and lives. Pray for God to encourage them in this task and remind them of their complete dependence upon Him to accomplish the task. Pray for the Tigak church to thrive and grow into a mighty oak forest for God’s glory.