Zucchini Dreams

It’s harvest season in New England—a glorious time of year! Clusters of red apples fill the orchards, waiting to be picked or pressed for cider; pumpkins sit in giant bins awaiting jack-o’-lantern makeovers; neighbors harvest zucchini from gardens, giving away more than they can keep. All the season’s bounty began as seeds and dreams long ago.

Except the zucchini. They produce in a matter of weeks. Isn’t that convenient? You can be a successful zucchini farmer in just a couple of months – perfect for New England’s short growing season. We don’t grow avocados around here. If you plant an avocado pit, you’d better have a twelve-month growing season. Even then, you may wait five to fifteen years for guacamole. Sometimes, the harvest requires more patient tending and watering than expected.

Revitalizing a church in New England has more in common with avocados than zucchini. It takes years of patient, prayerful work. In a culture that celebrates fast-growing churches, patient revitalization can seem pointless. Why not just plant something new and pray for zucchini speed?

Psalm 126:4–5 says, “Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!” God restores. The Negeb is a desert region south of Israel. Its riverbeds were dry, and streams in the Negeb were something only God could provide. And the role of His people? Sow in tears and trust God for the harvest.

That sounds a lot like pastoring. I’ve been at the same church for twenty-one years, but those first ten were hard. I mean, Negeb-riverbed hard. There were tears and sweat as we watered the Gospel seeds that had been planted. Thankfully, my predecessors had done some work. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:6–7) Am I more like Paul or Apollos at this church? It doesn’t matter. I’m not the source of the growth, and neither were the pastors before me. God gives the growth. Every year has brought baptisms and testimonies of changed lives. We have harvested joy.

Some parched New England churches haven’t been tilled in decades. What should we do? Sell the farm? No. Abandon your zucchini dreams. It’s time to work like avocado farmers—patiently and prayerfully planting and watering. God will give the growth. And when harvest season arrives, it will be glorious.