I’ve been on the international mission field for four months now. My feet have landed in multiple countries. And I have done so many radically different types of ministries, from hand mixing concrete to lyrical dancing, that I wouldn’t be able to name them all if I tried.

At this point in the Dominican, I have gotten a taste of all four types of ministry that we focus on at this base in Lajas de Yaroa (click here to read all about them!), and I have come to a halting realisation: Most every type of ministry, no matter where you are in the world, is not something that you will see the results from immediately. Or maybe even at all. 

And that’s so dang tough. 

My flesh genuinely desires to tangibly see the results of the work I am doing. I want to have proof that I am actually making a difference in the kingdom. And in full disclosure, there have been many days where the ministry I am doing feels pointless. 

Last Monday morning, the guy’s team led squad church and the Lord got me thinking about this. Alex started talking about how we carry a new freedom in Christ. He asked us, “What are you doing with your freedom? Are you choosing items of the flesh or items of the spirit?” Because when we choose to walk in the spirit, we bear the fruits of the Spirit. And when we choose to walk in the flesh, we will reap death. 

This stuck out to me because ministry is the spreading of our faith, fulfilling the Great Commission, leading people back to the Source of real freedom and life; therefore, it means fulfilling God’s command and walking in the Spirit. And when we walk in the spirit, we will reap fruit. 

In John 15, Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…This is my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

I get to trust that in ministry, even if I don’t see any results, any sort of sprout, any outcome at all, there will be fruit if I am partnering with the Lord and walking in the Spirit. No matter what. It’s a guarantee. Not because of my own doing, but because I am choosing to be connected to the source of every good thing.

And when I'm talking about fruit, there’s two different definitions that are used in this sort of context. The first one is the tangible results of any type of work. For example, having a conversation that leads to the fruit of someone giving their life to Jesus. And the second definition refers to the fruits of the Spirit that can come to fruition in our own character: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Most missionaries come into the mission field expecting to see physical results of the work they are doing (that was definitely me), which we should, as it is written, “Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). However, when we just expect physical fruition, we often completely miss the fruit that we bear in our own lives.  

What if the fruit I get to see from what feels like "insignificant" ministry is not something I am going to get to see in someone else’s life, but the Holy Spirit working in me a godly patience? Or kindness for my neighbour? Or joy in all circumstances? Or love when I get nothing back? And by reaping fruits of the Spirit in my life, the outcome of my ministry no longer just effects the people in the mountains of the Dominican republic, but ultimately I get make an impact for Jesus wherever my feet happen to land. All because God chose to also work on my heart and make it look more like His.  

And even when ministry clearly benefits other people's lives in Jesus' name, as His hands and feet, we don't always get to see it happen. I don't get to see how God used the note I wrote full of scripture to work in the life of the prostitute it was given to or how the hours I spent covering a neighbourhood in prayer during a prayer walk is effecting the lives of the people there. 

I have to trust God that what I did was not in vain. I have to trust that He can and He will use both the ministry I don't get to see the results of and the ministry that feels ineffective.  

All for His glory!  

¡Gracias Dios!