NEWS

 E-mail This Page 
 Printable Format 
 Feedback 

Daily Scripture
 
"Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person."

Psalm 31:23

MY AVOCADO TREE DIED

April 8, 2008

by Ian Fallis

Have you ever sprouted a seed? Maybe it was in science class, or Sunday school. Maybe you were making bean sprouts or alfalfa sprouts, or just having fun.

Did you know you can sprout avocado seeds? If you slightly poke in toothpicks to suspend them in the mouth of a jar of water, so their pointy end is up and their rounded end is in water, they’ll send down a tap root and send up a stalk with leaves.

I did that for fun one time, and then thought, “Hey, I really like avocados. I should plant this!”

So I did.

It died.

OK, OK, I appreciate the sympathy. Really, it was a long time ago. I’m over it. I really only brought that up because it has a lot to do with New Tribes Mission.

You see, there’s a big difference between planting a seed and growing a tree, and that’s one place where New Tribes Mission differs from many other organizations. Someone said to me the other day, “Well, everyone plants churches.” And there’s a lot of truth to that. A great many organizations say they plant churches.

What sets NTM apart is that we grow trees.

In essence, even a few believers in fellowship constitute a church. But there’s a lot more to a mature church.

Last week one of our leaders gave me a 12-page booklet that is a summary of NTM’s mature church model. The model gives our missionaries a target to shoot for, helps them make sure they are on track, and gives guidance for how to get back on track.

If I had had something like that for avocado trees all those years ago, I would probably be enjoying fruit today, and for years into the future. And when it comes to planting churches, that’s the point, isn’t it?

I’m glad our missionaries grow trees.