By ROBERT ADAIR
Our fruit grows on other people’s trees...
I recall thinking, “He stole my idea,” several years ago during a staff meeting at my Japanese church. A few days earlier, I had shared an idea for ministry with my pastor, and he seemed intrigued. Then he shared the idea as his own at our regular staff meeting!
The group was excited about it and decided to give it a try. To be honest, the idea itself wasn’t that impressive. If I remember correctly, it was something like having a barbecue and inviting friends from the community.
But in that moment, sitting at the table, I was less concerned about whether it was helpful; I just wanted everyone else to know that I thought of it. For the sake of this discussion, try to dismiss whether my pastor should have done what he did. You could argue that he should have given me credit, but you can also argue that, coming from him, the idea was able to get traction in a way that it wouldn’t have coming from the new missionary. The point is that I was overly concerned about who got credit for the idea.
This is the third of four articles in a series on postures of ministry where the missionary disappears or, at the very least, does not dominate the process. For this article, I would like to explore the topic of the fruit of our ministry, particularly in the context of collaboration.
When I came to Japan in 2005, I wrote in my Bible that I would “plant churches that plant churches that plant churches, etc.” In our newsletters and when we are back with our sending churches, our partners want to hear how many people are coming to faith. People regularly ask us to tell them about the fruit of our ministry. But the story of how people come to faith typically involves multiple people, various contexts, and often happens over an extended period.
I remember struggling after the 3.11 disaster, seeing the same story of one person’s conversion being referenced by multiple groups, each taking credit. I believe there are understandable desires—as well as unhealthy temptations—around the topic of fruit in ministry.
Counting our fruit
“Our fruit grows on other people’s trees.”
“Our fruit grows on other people’s trees.” As a first-term missionary, I was deeply impacted by this phrase that our leader at the time regularly referenced. It is often challenging to measure the actual fruit of our labor in Japan—whether it is someone we introduced to the church who became a Christian years later, a short-term volunteer who is somehow encouraged by us to come back as a long-term missionary, or Japanese colleagues who are able to better navigate a difficult season because of our presence.
That is because the results of our work often aren’t seen in the immediate time, location, or relationship where we are focusing. Our fruit really does grow on other people’s trees.
This phrase echoes what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:4–9, discussing the conflict between his followers and those of Apollos. We intellectually know that it is God who is responsible for the fruit of ministry. There is also a real and understandable desire to point to how our work mattered or to champion people who really are gifted. Paul did the planting, and Apollos did the watering.
For example, I helped connect a young man to the church I worked with in Kyushu, and the pastor I worked with led him to faith years later. Ministry is interconnected. We each provide a piece of the puzzle, but it is God who creates and completes the image.
Tension or paradox
This puts us in a tension that can feel like a paradox. Scripture is clear that it is God who changes hearts, saves people, and is ultimately responsible for the results we see in ministry. So does that mean we should just be passive? Obviously not.
Paul calls us to run the race. Jesus sent out the disciples to do greater things than he did; the church has expanded throughout the globe and history through the efforts of men and women.
We are situated between two extremes. On one side is a self-oriented approach to ministry where “I am responsible for what goes well (or poorly) within my sphere of ministry.” This road leads to pride, burnout, and other sins best avoided. On the other side is a passive approach where “Nothing I do ultimately matters. Since God is in charge, what do I need to do? Whether I try or not, the results will be the same.” This can put us on a trajectory towards laziness or being poor stewards of resources.
Following the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, I had the opportunity to lead a few teams in the Kathmandu area to assist with the recovery effort. During that time, I got to know one Nepali pastor fairly well as we often stayed in his home. He is an avid gardener (among other things), and each morning, we would walk around his house checking the various plants he had grafted together. Branches of one tree were grafted onto another, living, and bearing fruit.
In the first few verses of John 15, Jesus paints a beautiful picture of this grafting dynamic. We are grafted into him and bear fruit through that connection. He particularly points out, in verse 4, that the branch cannot bear fruit by itself. Here, Jesus directly addresses the fallacy of believing that we bear fruit on our own. Then in verse 5, he goes on to say that by being grafted into him, we will bear much fruit.
We are all bearing fruit as branches on God’s vine. We also often have a role in producing the fruit that grows on someone else’s branch. The truth is that we have never produced any fruit on our own. Embracing this reality allows us to have a thankful heart toward God and avoid the temptation to be competitive, appreciating the fruit that is growing on other branches without feeling threatened or competitive.
Some questions to chew on
- How do you think about fruit in ministry?
- Who should get credit when someone comes to faith (planter, harvester, the One who makes things grow, key relationships along the way)?
- Who should get credit when ministry goes well (idea or execution)?
- Who should get credit when multiple people, teams, organizations, or churches collaborate on a specific ministry?
- What do I do if I put in the most time, effort, or energy for something, and someone else gets the credit?
- What is God already doing, and maybe, asking me to join?
I think we are called to recognize the efforts of others, be thankful, and give appropriate credit. The question is how do we respond when we get credit or, challengingly, when we don’t get the credit we think we deserve?
Collaboration starting point
I wrote this article thinking about collaboration. A few years ago, I was having a conversation with friends in leadership positions of their respective organizations. We were seeking ways to collaborate effectively, leveraging the strengths of our organizations to achieve a broader purpose. What were the things we could do together that we couldn’t do on our own? At some point, the conversation shifted to the idea of how to measure the success of this approach. One friend responded, “When you win, I win.”1
It is my hope that all of us ministering in Japan can daily grow in internalizing this perspective. This posture is the only way we will truly be able to work together with one another and the Japanese church. If our starting point is competition or insecurity, we are destined to fail. If we can truly view the wins of others as our own and set aside our own (often selfish or prideful) desires for recognition, I truly believe we will see fruit beyond what we currently experience. It’s my prayer that we will all be able to rejoice when we see the fruit of our efforts growing on other people’s trees.
Robert Adair
NOTES
- Given the theme of the article I didn’t know if I should or shouldn’t give my friend credit . . . but I can tell you if you are curious.
ROBERT ADAIR is a Texan who serves in Miyagi Prefecture through a partnership with Shiogama Bible Baptist Church and as the Vice President for A3 Missional Partners. He is married to Roberta and the father of four energetic boys.
This article by Robert Adair is reposted with permission and was originally published by Japan Harvest Magazine in its Autumn 2025 edition here: https://japanharvest.org/collaboration-and-the-fruit-of-ministry/
Header photo of orange tree courtesy of Brienne Hong on Unsplash
Japan Harvest is the official publication of the Japan Evangelical Missionary Association (JEMA). The purpose of the publication is to promote the evangelical church in Japan and the ministry of the association. Japan Harvest encourages, inspires, and equips the JEMA community and those seeking to reach the Japanese people with the gospel.
