Stewardship Week: Friday
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
1 Corinthians 3:6
Today is Friday, October 16th, 2026. On this date in 1945, representatives gathered in Quebec, Canada, to establish the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. World War II had ended, but the work of caring for a wounded world was far from finished. People needed food, and communities needed the ability to produce and distribute it. The organization’s founding vision included better nutrition, stronger agriculture, and improved lives for rural communities. The need was immediate, but the work also required looking ahead. Feeding people meant caring about both the food available now and the harvests still to come.
That relationship between today’s work and tomorrow’s harvest speaks directly to our stewardship theme, “Faithful Today, Fruitful Tomorrow.” A seed held safely in a packet will not feed anyone. Someone must prepare the soil, plant, and tend what is growing. Hope becomes practical when we are willing to begin.
The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” Paul and Apollos each had work to do, but neither could claim to be the source of life. That belonged to God. What a freeing reminder for the church! We are responsible for faithfulness, not for controlling every outcome. Our United Methodist tradition also teaches that feeding the hungry and caring for people in need are works of mercy. They are not distractions from spiritual life. They are ways of living our faith and encountering God’s grace as we love our neighbors.
At St. Andrew UMC, our giving helps us care for people now while preparing to serve those who will come after us. We want children to grow in faith, families to find community, and people of every age to encounter Jesus Christ. Some of that fruit we may see quickly. Some may take years to appear. Think of the people who planted faith in your own life. They could not have known every challenge you would face or every person you would someday encourage. Yet their prayers, teaching, and generosity continue to bear fruit through you. What a blessing to be part of a story that reaches beyond a single lifetime!
As you prayerfully consider your 2027 pledge, remember that you are helping sustain that living ministry. You are making a faithful commitment today so that someone else may find hope tomorrow. We cannot know all their names yet, but God does. Let us give thanks for those who planted before us. Let us offer our own gifts with hope. And let us trust the One who gives the growth. The future does not rest in our hands alone. It rests in His faithful love.
Let us pray:
Dear God, thank you for those whose faithfulness has blessed our lives. Help us plant generously, serve patiently, and trust you with the harvest. May generations to come find hope in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Rev. Geoff Beakley
