Location and TimesII Kings 19:30 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah Shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
This obviously is a promise to the nation of Israel and what God was going to do with them but it does have a definite principle that applies to the life of every missionary. To bear fruit one must first take root downward.
So often we have depended on pastors and others for our spiritual food. The exciting Bible Conference, Camp Meeting, or Revival meeting has been what kept us going. I have heard Christians comment and say how much they needed the Wednesday night service just to get through the week and although the pastor may love to hear how much they depend on him we must teach them to take root downward.
Christians should become “self feeders”. We must learn to get from God and His Word what we need to continue on in our spiritual live and what we need to bear fruit. Every Christian should be taught in basic discipleship how to have a personal time alone with God everyday.
He must learn to pray, to read his Bible, to meditate in the Scriptures so that he can stand alone. The great conference meetings are a blessing but not a necessity when you get something from God personally everyday. Immediately start discipleship by teaching them how to glean from the Scriptures and the messages preached by the pastor to gain what they need as Christians. Our spiritual lives are not based on emotion but on commitment and discipline to spend time with God everyday.