Hi Calvary Family,

At the close of last week’s message, I shared a brief, small portion of Rosaria Butterfield’s conversion story. Her story is a beautiful illustration of the reality that the journey from unbelief to saving faith in Jesus Christ takes time.

Just as there is a time gap between the planting season and harvest season in the agricultural world, there is also a time gap between the planting of the seed of the gospel in a person’s heart and the fruit of Christian conversion.

Fruit takes time.

I have been reading Randy Newman’s book, Unlikely Converts: Improbable Stories of Faith and What They Teach Us About Evangelism. Randy does a fantastic job of demonstrating that people generally come to faith gradually, often through a series of events and the witness of various believers over a period of weeks, months, and even years. While Randy demonstrates this through many stories in his book, Paul already taught us this principle when he wrote,

“After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.” - 1 Corinthians 3:5-8

None of this implies that there is no sense of urgency in the task of evangelism. The urgency to preach the gospel to influence people to believe in Jesus Christ permeates the New Testament. The Spirit tells us, “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Therefore, the Spirit has also told us that “repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his (Jesus) name to all nations” (Luke 24:47).

The task is urgent, but we must also remember, “The Lord...is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (Peter 3:9). If God was patient with us, let’s not lose heart, lose hope, and give up. Instead, let us continually and patiently pray, love, and speak God’s word to those God has placed in our sphere of influence.

To hear more about Rosaria’s story, click HERE

- Pastor Randy

Calvary's Newsletter July 24, 2026