As I’ve been working with Quest this summer, I have been trying to focus the leadership on the goal of the program, which is to be a tool God can use to shift the trajectory of their lives 3 degrees closer to Christ. We only have four short weeks with the guys, and there isn’t time for in depth discipleship or mentorship in such a short, chaotic season. The same can also be said, to a lesser degree, of Basic Training. Even if a guy stays all the through to Graduation, that is not even a year of time spent here. If each guy lives a long full life, we have them for only about an average of about 1% of their life.

As I was thinking about that, and wondering if what we are doing in Quest is working, I was reminded of the Parable of the Sower. Here at Quest, we are living that parable out in real time. All we have time for is sowing seeds. We don’t have the guys here long enough to see if anything will grow. That is both encouraging and discouraging. Encouraging, because all we are called to do is consistently plant the seeds of the Gospel in each life. Discouraging, because we will likely never see the fruit of our efforts. We just have to be faithful in the task that God has given us, and leave the results to Him. Pray for faithfulness for my leaders as we wrap Quest up on Friday, and for the Battalion leadership as they finish 2nd Phase later next month. And pray that the seeds that we plant would fall on fertile soil and produce much fruit in the decades to come.