Jesus and the Harvest

With Pastor Pat preaching at Lahaina Baptist on Maui, Thomas Costello brings the message. He starts with something he hates: moving. He and his wife have lived in 10 homes in 22 years. When they left their church in Madison, Wisconsin, in 2019, he expected a few people to help. About 80 showed up, everyone carried one box, and the pod was loaded in about 12 minutes, long before the four pizzas arrived. That, he says, is the church working together, and it is our assignment.

Matthew 9:35-38 closes the church’s “God of Miracles” series and turns from Jesus doing the ministry to Jesus sending his disciples. The big idea: there is no such thing as a passive Christian. Thomas asks three questions.

First, do you have his compassion? Jesus looked at crowds and felt compassion. Thomas admits crowds make him impatient, like a busy Saturday at Costco. While writing this message at a Popeyes, distracted by a crying baby and an arguing couple, he read this verse and felt convicted. Compassion is a choice we can pray for. A sheep without a shepherd has no defense, and without God, “life is very short and eternity is very long.”

Second, do you sense his calling? The harvest is plentiful and urgent. When Thomas pastored in Santa Rosa, harvest week in wine country meant everyone worked from 5 AM to night. He remembers his dad’s pool cleaning business, where good help was always hard to find. Churches often run on the 80/20 rule, and Thomas says the fault lies with the 20 percent, who keep asking each other instead of inviting others in.

Third, will you show your commitment? Jesus asks the disciples to pray for workers, knowing they will be the answer. Thomas walks through rough estimates of the church’s growth, from 12 to 120 in the upper room to about 2.7 billion people who identify as Christians today, to show that growth came by multiplication, not addition. With 30,000 people in Hawaii Kai, the church’s mission of every heart and every home alive in Christ will only happen the same way.

Every role counts. Thomas mentions his own church marketing company, where technical work helps churches reach new people. Rocking babies, setting up chairs at 6:30 AM, helping in youth ministry or posting on social media are all part of the harvest. He invites people to fill out the serving card, with no guilt attached, and prays for workers.