Scarlet Hope has had at least two different attempts at starting a regular Bible study for the men—brothers, fathers, boyfriends, or husbands—of the ladies we serve. In January 2014 I came aboard to lead the second effort as other leaders transitioned off into other ministries. At the time there was a core group of three men, not all of whom were believers. For the first four months we met each week and I would provide a Gospel-focused devotional and/or Bible study. Sometimes more men would show up, and sometimes no one would show up.
Of the handful of men who came in and out of the study, all heard the Gospel. But some were not interested, some simply did not want to give up their sin, and some, by the grace of God, surrendered their lives to the Lord and are now growing in their faith.
This reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the sower—or more aptly, the parable of the soils. Three of the four places where the seed landed, it ultimately didn’t grow to produce a harvest—that’s only a 25% success rate! But Jesus’ point wasn’t in teaching us success principles. He wanted to show us that it is God who grows the harvest; our job is to be faithful in casting the seed of the Good News.
Scarlet Hope doesn’t look for short-term successes by human standards. If we did, we’d be disappointed every week. Our desire is to follow the Lord’s leading and look at the long-term harvest. Paul later reminded the Corinthian church that one plants, another waters, but it is God who gives the increase (1 Cor 3).
God is not done with those men yet. Lord willing, He’ll send more men to water those seeds and will show Himself glorious through saving them to Himself. In fact, would you take a moment to pray for those men and for the future of the SH Mens Ministry right now? And if you would like to help serve in the Mens Ministry, contact alea@scarlethope.org to know more.
-Written by Anthony, Scarlet Hope Volunteer since 2013
