Sep 25, 2019
Andy Samuels
Chief Executive Director
SDB Missionary Society
My Dad passed away on Sabbath, May 25, 2019, one month short of his 86th birthday, and on the very Sabbath I preached my last sermon as Pastor of the Miami Seventh Day Baptist Church. Like me, he was born on the island of Jamaica in the West Indies. When he was a teenager, attending Crandall High School in Jamaica’s capital city of Kingston, he had the privilege of being taught to play the piano by Mrs. Neal Mills, along with her husband, Pastor Neal Mills, who were serving as American missionaries on the island. Their mission sending agency was the Seventh Day Baptist Missionary Society. My Dad became very proficient on the keyboard and served his church as organist and pianist for the better part of two decades before he migrated to the United States, and also served the Philadelphia SDB Church in those capacities for more than another two decades.
As part of its mission-minded endeavor, seeking to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ, and taking the Gospel across the seas, Seventh Day Baptists had invested in my Dad.
Mission, outreach, and evangelism must never be seen as merely an expense, but rather as an investment. The ubiquitous question of, “How much will it cost?” should always be balanced with, “What will it accomplish?”
Here are six strategies for you and your church to employ when engaging in the fulfillment of your God-given mandate:
Inventory—Take an inventory of all your resources. This includes spiritual gifts, abilities, passions, experiences, personnel, finances, facilities, wounds, hurts, education, etc. The list is countless. Your present resources are a good indication of where, what, and who you should be investing in for the Kingdom.
Network—It could very well be that you may also need to partner with others who are like-minded, and similarly focused, to take on a particular assignment or task. Do not be afraid to embrace those partnerships, and don’t worry about who is going to get the credit. None of it belongs to any of us anyway.
Venture—Every investment involves risk-taking. We do not usually know for sure what the outcome of an investment will be, but with complete dependence on God, we venture out; we take the plunge; we become vulnerable; we sacrifice. We can venture into an investment because we know our Master’s character and we know His nature. We cannot afford to do nothing, be caught in stonewalling, or wait on elusive instructions.
Education—None of us knows everything or understands everything. Our lives must be characterized by the never-ending process of learning. Seek to be educated about God and about the things of God, and seek to educate those with whom God permits you to work. His Word is supreme and sufficient.
Soil—Careful consideration must be given to the soil in which we invest. Sometimes effort must be made to prepare the soil. According to the parable of the sower told by Jesus, there are at least four types of soil into which we can invest. We can ask the Lord for a discerning spirit to understand how to be the best stewards of what has been entrusted to us.
Time/Timing—Solid and legitimate investments do not usually provide instant yield. The return takes time. We need to exercise patience and trust the process. It’s also important to understand the best timing for an investment. Without that comprehension, we could miss out on opportunities, frustrate ready investors, or squander our resources.
We may never flawlessly balance or measure all these six strategies in impeccable proportions. But we cannot wait for perfect conditions in order to invest in the work of God’s Kingdom and invest in the lives of people.
Where are you investing for the vineyard of the Lord? What kind of return are you envisioning?
Almost 70 years ago, the Seventh Day Baptist Missionary Society invested in my Dad in a small Caribbean island, smaller than the third smallest American state of Connecticut. Today, I serve that same Missionary Society as Chief Executive Director. Very humbly, I say, by the grace of God, “What an investment!”