Seasons of Sowing: Trusting God in the Waiting
If you’ve ever tried to grow your own vegetables, you know there’s a stretch of time that feels like nothing is happening. You water. You wait. You check the soil. You wait some more.
Church planting often feels the same way. You pour your heart into relationships, preaching, prayer, and community outreach — yet weeks or months can pass before you see visible fruit. The waiting can test your faith. But it’s in that quiet season, when the soil seems still, that God is doing His deepest work.
In Galatians 6:9, Paul writes, “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” The “proper time” isn’t always the time we’d choose, but it’s always the time God knows is best.
This November, as farmers bring in their harvest and the fields grow quiet, we’re reminded that there are seasons to sow, and seasons to wait. The sower’s job is faithfulness — not control over the outcome. God calls us to plant seeds of the gospel, nurture relationships, and water with prayer and good deeds. He promises to bring growth in His time (1 Corinthians 3:6–7).
At Passion for Planting, we’ve seen it time and time again. Church planters who labored for years with little visible progress suddenly experience breakthrough. Teams who prayed through dry seasons discover that God was preparing hearts all along. The fruit comes not because of our strategy, but because of God’s faithfulness.
So as you enter this season of Thanksgiving, thank God not only for the harvest you’ve seen, but also for the seeds still in the soil. The waiting season is not wasted — it’s sacred.
Keep sowing. Keep praying. Keep trusting. The harvest is coming.
-Patrick Bradley, Director of Operations
November 2025 – Content
- Faithfulness Over Flash
- Reinvigorating Vision
- Small Seeds, Big Impact
- The Work In The Waiting
Faithfulness Over Flash
In a world that measures success by speed and visibility, church planting reminds us that faithfulness often happens in the shadows. God’s greatest work grows slowly—like roots spreading underground.
When your efforts seem small or unnoticed, remember: every prayer, every invite, every message is a seed. Your job is to plant faithfully; God’s job is to bring the fruit.
Take heart—your calling isn’t to be impressive, it’s to be obedient. The early church didn’t explode overnight; it multiplied through consistent, unseen acts of obedience.
If you need a fresh reminder that God is the one who brings growth, read Brett Andrews’ free eBook Give God Some Credit. It’s a powerful look at how God builds His church when we stay faithful to the mission He’s given us.
Reinvigorating Vision
One of the main reasons church planters grow weary—or even consider quitting—is because their vision starts to fade. The dream that once burned brightly becomes clouded by exhaustion, slow progress, or discouraging results. When vision dies, so does motivation.
That’s why it’s crucial to keep your eyes on the horizon. As Helen Keller once remarked, “The only thing worse than being blind, is having sight but no vision.” That’s certainly true for church planters. Without a clear picture of the preferred future, we lose our sense of purpose in the present.
The Horizon Storyline tool can help you rediscover that picture. It guides leaders to articulate a vivid, Spirit-led vision of what God could do through their church in the coming years. When you can see what you’re working toward, hope returns, and endurance grows.
If your vision feels foggy, take some time this month to revisit it. Sketch the horizon. Pray through it. Share it with your team. A renewed vision might be exactly what God uses to give you strength for the next season of sowing.
Small Seeds, Big Impact
Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed—tiny, almost invisible, yet destined for surprising growth. Every church plant starts that way.
Don’t despise small beginnings. That living room Bible study, that coffee with a skeptic, that first volunteer training—each is a seed with eternal potential. God delights in multiplying the small and unseen.
When you need encouragement that your “small” faithfulness matters, read 5 Lessons for New Church Planters from The Gospel Coalition— 5 lessons from a church planter who’s learning how to persevere through roadblocks and seasons of waiting.
The Work in the Waiting
Every farmer knows: you can’t rush the rain. You prepare the soil, plant the seed, water faithfully—and then you wait. Waiting isn’t idleness; it’s trust in motion.
Church planting is full of “not yet” seasons. You’ve prayed, preached, discipled, and planned—but nothing seems to grow. Take heart. The waiting is where God deepens your roots.
When the results seem distant, revisit Galatians 6:9: “At the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
To see how other planters have persevered through dry seasons, check out Prayer, Perseverance, and Small-Town Church Planting from Rural Ministry Network—real stories of God’s faithfulness through patient endurance.
The waiting is holy ground. God is working under the surface.