The Parable of the Strawberry Plant

Once upon a time a hunter came upon a beautiful meadow. As he sat and reveled in its beauty he thought to himself, "An apple tree would be beautiful in the center of this field." The hunter quickly returned home to retrieve an apple seedling from his farm. As he was leaving his farm with the small tree he saw a few strawberry plants and decided to plant them as well. He returned to the field and planted the young apple tree and then planted a few strawberry plants on each end of the meadow. Five years later the planter returned to find the apple tree bearing much good fruit.

As he approached the apple tree he discovered that everywhere he stepped the ground was covered by strawberry plants. The strawberry plants had reproduced themselves hundreds of times! As he thought about what happened in the beautiful meadow he realized a profound truth. The local church can be likened to an apple tree as it grows and spreads its canopy there is healthy fruit. Many Christians around the world are busy planting apple trees. The strawberry plant is a small team of people (perhaps 4 or 5 at the most). They rapidly spread and start other teams. Disciple maker teams are likened unto a strawberry plant, which multiplies many times and spreads throughout the world.