When Missional Enterprise Success Looks Like Failure

In our ongoing series on the Fruit of the Spirit in missional enterprise, last week we discussed Faithfulness—God’s call to His people, not primarily to success, but to steadfast obedience. This call to faithfulness applies to all of us leading missional enterprises.

This week, we turn to a sobering reality: a commitment to faithful service often does not produce visible fruit in the near term, and sometimes not even within our lifetimes.

The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews offers profound insight into this in the “Hall of Faith” passage in Hebrews 11. Here, numerous Old Testament saints are commended for their faith, with examples of miraculous outcomes: Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Rahab, and David, among others, are celebrated for the tangible results of their trust in God.

But then, starting in verse 35, the tone shifts:

“. . . Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:35-40, ESV, emphasis added).

Take a moment to let that sink in: these saints of faith “did not receive what was promised.”

Even more striking, their names are unknown to us.

We know the stories of many of those whose faith brought visible, earthly rewards. But those who lived faithfully without seeing results—those “of whom the world was not worthy”—remain anonymous.

That For Which You Did Not Labor

Recently, I heard about two followers of Jesus who, centuries ago, labored faithfully in the Middle East, paving the way for fruitfulness after their earthly lifetimes. Their names were new to me, and, just a few days later, I must confess that I have already forgotten them.

Stories like theirs are countless even in the relatively short history of the modern business as missions movement. If we were to recount their lives in the style of Hebrews 11, it might read something like this:

Their businesses were closed, perhaps with no money in the accounts or even with funds owed to investors. They left behind no thriving body of believers, but only a faithful record of love, integrity, hard work, and seeds of the gospel sown. Their names are not well known, but years, perhaps even centuries later, future workers reaped the benefits of their investment.

Their stories remind us of Jesus’s words to His disciples:

“I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor” (John 4:38, ESV).

The implication? Those who labored before the disciples did not see the harvest. And perhaps there were even others before them who did nothing but prepare the soil.

One missionary once described their work as clearing the field of rocks—not sowing, not reaping, but simply making the ground ready.

While we rightly long for fruitfulness, we must remember that fruit is God’s work: “Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:7, ESV).

Of Whom The World Was Not Worthy

The lack of visible success in these stories was not due to wrongdoing or a lack of faith. These faithful laborers were like those the Scriptures describe as “of whom the world was not worthy.”

Today, let’s remember these saints—those who labored in faith without seeing the results of their work.

Let’s also renew our commitment to live faithfully, whether our journeys conclude as those “who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised” (Hebrews 11:33) or as those who “did not receive what was promised” (Hebrews 11:39).

May our faithfulness bring glory to the One who alone makes all things grow.

Verse(s) of the Week:

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:39-40 (ESV)

Consider again these last two verses of the “hall of faith” passage in Hebrews 11. Ultimately, we entrust all things to God, who in perfect wisdom faithfully works to make us like his Son, and one day bring all his purposes to completion.