Commentary: Three principles for sowing the gospel amid opposition

The gospel is good news, so I want to start, not with opposition, but with sowing.

Three principles of sowing the gospel

There are three principles from Scripture about sowing the gospel.

1. Accessibility

The first principle we find in Scripture regarding sowing is accessibility.

Paul reminds us: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15).

Pretty straightforward.

Gospel sowing requires accessibility. In other words, we cannot sow the gospel from a distance. It won’t work.

God showed us the example. The Word became flesh and planted his tent among us (John 1:14). Accessibility.

2. Generosity

When we think gospel sowing, immediately, the parable of the sower comes to mind. This parable is central to the synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark and Luke.

According to the story—one sower who sows the seed of the word of God, which falls on four different types of ground. The result? The seed will only grow in one of the four soils.

We think, “What a waste!”

Although the passage doesn’t limit the reception of the word of God to salvation, it still maintains that for the word of God to take hold in someone’s heart, they need multiple exposures.

In other words, we should be sowing with generosity, not scarcity.

I find the passage in Ecclesiastes particularly informing in this regard:

“The who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the word of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good” (Ecclesiastes 11:4-6).

I love it. Don’t overthink it. Just sow. Morning, evening. In good times and in bad times. That’s exactly what the sower of the parable did.

3. Transferability

Accessibility and generosity ensure, at some point, the seed will fall into the right soil, and the work of the Spirit will bring the seed to germinate and to produce new life—30-, 60-, 100-fold.

The seed produces grain Matthew tells us are sons and daughters of the kingdom. Brilliant. The seed becomes a person, who in turn will take the seed of the gospel and sow into other soils. Transferability.

In every person in whom you sow the seed of the word of God is the potential of a future sower.

There is more. Transferability ensures greater accessibility, because more people can be sent. Full circle.

Full circle

Think of Philip the evangelist. He is in Samaria when an angel tells him to go on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. So, he goes. Accessibility.

Next thing, the Spirit says, “Catch that chariot.”

So, he runs. Generosity.

Then he sows the gospel and baptizes the Ethiopian, who becomes a son of a new kingdom. Transferability.

What does the Ethiopian do? He brings it back to his own country. Accessibility.

You see the logic?

Sowing the gospel amid opposition

I come from Quebec, Canada. There are three numbers to understand in my context: 24, 1, 500.

• The percentage of Canadians who speak the language of Moliere is 24, roughly 9 million people.
• The percentage of evangelicals living in Quebec, which is 2.5 times the size of Texas, is 1.
• The number of evangelical churches in Quebec is 500, versus just the 10,000-plus Baptist churches in Texas alone.

The numbers point to the largest unreached people group in North America, just a 5.5-hour flight from Dallas.

I live in downtown Montreal. Montreal has beautiful architecture that goes back to the 1700s. Downtown Montreal has the highest concentration of students per square foot in North America. Staggering. Of the 100,000 people who live there, most are between 18 and 35, single and have no religious affiliation.

Guess how many evangelical churches you can find in downtown Montreal that speak the language of Moliere? Zero.

The principles in play

When you minister amid opposition, you like to complain, lament: “Lord, do something about this!”

And so, he did. He told me, “Why don’t you go?”

Absurd!

I am a denominational leader. I have other important things to do, like emails and meetings.

After a Jesus moment, I moved my family downtown.

Accessibility: 1. Raphael: 0.

When you minister amid opposition, the task seems impossible.

“Me against 100,000 people? Where do I start? Do I even know how to start? This seems like such a waste. I don’t know the neighbors. Am I to run after cars like Philip? Denominational leaders don’t have non-Christian Ethiopian friends, Lord.”

After a second Jesus moment, I moved my office to a coworking space.

Generosity: 1. Raphael: 0.

That move was really scary.

The owner of the place asked, “So, who are you and what do you do exactly? You’re a pastor? And why do you want to rent an office here?”

“To evangelize you. I am super nice, I promise.”

So, I started a micro-church right in the middle of the downtown district. We meet on Wednesday evening after office hours. Why Wednesday? Accessibility.

No one is downtown Sunday morning. Forget it. Folks work from home on Mondays and Fridays and come downtown for work Tuesday through Thursday. So, Wednesday it is.

I invited the owner of the coworking space to come along.

“What a waste,” I thought. “He’s never going to come.”

This is often what comes to your mind when you minister amid opposition.

But he came! Who knew?

We decided to do a series on the Sermon on the Mount using Dallas Willard’s Divine Conspiracy material. For three weeks in row, he came and even took communion for the first time. I couldn’t believe it. As if the word of God has the power to work in the life of Quebecers, too. Who knew?

The following Wednesday, we had gotten to the part where Jesus says, “The one who is great in the kingdom of God is the one who obeys the law and teaches others to do the same.”

He came to me at the end of the service and said: “I am traveling to France next week. I need to know what you will be teaching next week.”

I said: “Why do you want to know?”

He said: “Did you hear what you just said? I need to know what Jesus asks of me so I can teach others to do the same. Isn’t that what you just said?”

Transferability: 1. Raphael: 0.

Who’s the opposition?

Yes, I sow the gospel amid opposition. But sometimes, I become the opposition to the very gospel I want to sow.

So, don’t do it like me. Do it like Philip. Sow the gospel through accessibility. Sow with lots of generosity, and watch the seed’s power toward transferability. Believe Jesus, the Author and Sustainer of the gospel, who says, “I am with you always—even amid opposition.”

Raphael Anzenberger is the executive director of the French-speaking Baptist Union of Canada, the founder of the innovation hub Station M, the president for imagoDei and an adjunct professor of intercultural studies. This article is adapted from its original presentation to an Ascent curators gathering in Alexandria, Va., on March 19. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.