I believe that almost everyone who works at Teen Challenge is an idealist.

By that I mean that we believe that anyone who comes through the doors of our program can experience a complete transformation in their life—no matter how hopeless and addicted they may be.

Eventually our experience is that not everyone who darkens our doors will receive the complete change of life that we know is possible. Sometimes we may have an explanation for why the change did not take place: they did not want to change, their family was a bad influence on them, they were not willing to open up their life completely to God, etc.

However, whether we think we know why a person did not change or not, the truth of the matter is there are many times we do not see the results we want or expect to see!

Why is this? We are called by God, we have good motives, and yet we still fail to see the results we believe that God wants us to have. Why? Many of us are Type A personalities, hard workers, after all, and we do our best to be spiritually sensitive. Why do the results of our ministry so often fall short of our expectations?

1. We do not see the results we want or expect, because God uses indirect methods.

“Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.” Eccl. 11:1

This is a familiar verse that we use often in the area of giving but I believe it has a more accurate application for ministry.

This verse used to puzzle me. When I was a boy we would go down to the neighbors’ boat dock in the evening armed with a small length of fishing line with a small hook attached on the end. I would talk my mom out of a piece of bread and we would put bread balls on the hook to catch bream, perch, and the occasional small bass. We spent many hours out there enjoying catching fish too small to eat, but it was fun nevertheless!

But one thing I knew was, if the bread stayed in/on the water very long it would begin to dissolve and eventually would be gone. So how could your bread come back to you ‘after many days’?

The Hebrew word for bread can also be translated grain. This is probably a reference to when the Nile River would flood in Egypt. As the water was receding the Egyptians would cast their grain out in it. The grain would follow the currents of the river as it receded and would work its way into the silt left behind. It would eventually sprout and grow, but of course the Egyptians did not have any idea of exactly where it would come up. But eventually there would be a harvest.

You see, we cast our grain, we perform our ministry on the water, and God spreads it around just like the Nile River did for the Egyptians. If you have been in Teen Challenge very long, you like me, have your stories of “unexpected successes.” Students who struggled in the program, students who took two, three or more tries before they completed the program, students who completed but had to come back through because of difficulties, students who you just did not give a “plug nickel” for their chances, but students who eventually were successful serving God.

You know you scattered the seed and yes, you prayed, but you seriously questioned God whether there would ever be a harvest. But, lo and behold, you found out this student was living for God and not only that, was producing spiritual children and grandchildren in the kingdom! Sometimes these seeds were sown five years before, ten years before, fifteen or more years before but they finally brought forth an abundant harvest.

2. We question the results of our ministry because often the seeds are sown in tears.

“Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Ps. 126:4-5)

Our seed is often sown in sorrow because we do not see immediate or conclusive results.
So many times we go out in sorrow and we sow in tears. It is hard! We do everything we know to do, we give all we know to give and all we seem to get is an emptiness inside that causes us to cry out to God, “God, what am I doing? God, why am I in such a desert place, seeing so few results?”

Then again, you may say that the verse says that we will reap in joy. Yes it does, but it does not say how long the time in between the sowing and reaping will be!

I am not a crier. I have often times wished that I was because I would like to better show on the outside what I feel on the inside. But like you, I have sown field after field in sorrow, wondering when I would, wondering if I ever would reap a harvest.

Sorrow is painful. Tears are grievous when they accompany seed that seems as though it will never reap a harvest; but that is how God works!

3. We question the results of our ministry because the work of God is mysterious.

“And He was saying, ‘The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the ground; and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows—how he himself does not know. The earth produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26-29)

When we look at this parable we must remember that we are talking about the farmer of the Ancient Near East. He did not study agriculture or agronomy; he just sowed seed.

Night and day he waits. Day and night he waits even still. He knows enough to pray for rain but not much beyond that.

Then, almost imperceptibly, it starts to come up. It sprouts as a small plant, then it produces the head and then it yields the full grain.

What does the farmer do? Thankful, he comes along and puts in the sickle, certain that he has once again experienced a miracle.

As we look at this parable the farmer almost seems irrelevant to the process. I heard of an agricultural magazine from in the 1930’s that said that what man does to produce a crop is 6% of the process but what God has to do to produce the crop is 94%! The percentages may not be exact but it is clear that God also has to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to changing lives.

We question our ministry because we recognize that we have very little to do with its success!
We work hard and we should. We pray hard and we should. We sow our seed and do our best but when it all comes down to it we must realize it is not us but God who brings about the harvest!

Even when we are blessed to see fruit we realize that it is not about us. There are only two things that we can give to God throughout this process: obedience and faithfulness. Everything else that brings results in our ministry comes from God.

4. We question the results of our ministry because the true harvest is not seen on this earth but in heaven.

“Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.” (I Cor. 3:12-15)

The truth of the matter is that none of us will fully know the results of our ministry until our efforts are tested by the Lord with fire.

Then it will not matter how big or small our program was or what the size of our budget was. It will not matter whether we had recognition from others in Teen Challenge, others in the ministry, or others in the church; what will matter will be what is left after our works have been tested by God’s fire.

Paul tells us in I Cor. 4:1-5 that the results, those evaluated by us as humans, are not important. What is important is the praise that we will receive from God!

What am I trying to say? I am trying to say that we should not grow weary in doing good, in doing what God has assigned us to do, no matter what the results may seem or not seem to be.

We do not grow weary in doing good, because we will reap if we do not give up! (Gal.6:9) We just do not know what or how much we will reap because ultimately it is God’s process and God’s judgment.

So dear friend, remember that though as idealists we will never see all the results we want to see, if we are obedient and faithful to God we will see the results God wants us to see. And in the final analysis, that is what matters!