A garden was planted this past spring -- where one had never been before. And it was quite a job.

First the carefully chosen patch of backyard was dug up and fertilized. Next the seeds were evenly spaced and planted according to schedule. Then came the watering and watching for any signs of life. And soon all the effort was rewarded as tender shoots began to sprout -- only to suddenly disappear.

It was discovered that rabbits were getting in and eating anything as soon as it popped out of the ground. So a fence was built to protect the garden. But even then, it was still continually guarded and weeded and tended carefully. Why? Because the real goal in planting the garden had not yet been achieved. All of the hard work would be for nothing if the plants never reached maturity and began to produce the life-giving food they were created for.

And so it is with church planting. The goal is not just to plant a church, but to have it grow to maturity and be producing in the end. It’s planting (and planning!) for a feast -- however long that may take. And that was the goal when NTM missionaries arrived in Papua New Guinea and began to plant the Lamogai tribal church -- where one had never been before.

First the hard ground was broken by learning their unique culture and language. It was exhausting, mind-breaking labor. But the secrets of the tribal words and actions finally yielded to understanding. And slowly the dark Lamogai soil turned over, exposing the deep roots of their beliefs and traditions.

The Lamogai people have always been in a race for their lives. It’s been a pushing, shoving, clawing, climbing race to gain more and more status and respect among their people.

This involved continually working, striving, planning, scrimping and saving to get as much shell money as they could to fulfill their cultural obligations and not "lose face" in front of others. But at the same time, they also wanted to "outdo" everybody else to gain even more status.

One of the ways the people were always trying to make a lot of money was when somebody died. Since Lamogai families aren’t supposed to bury their own relatives, they needed to pay someone else to do the "dirty work" for them. So leaders from different groups that the dead person had business dealings with would start showing up at the grieving family’s door -- to pressure them for the job.

Sometimes it was subtle.

"Don’t worry about the work," one leader would say. "We are partners, right? I will just tell my boys and they will help you in this hard time. No, no, don’t worry about the payment. I’ll be fair."

Other times it was outright.

"You better give me the work! You owe me big time for when you cleaned me out before! But don’t worry. I won’t let my boys harass you. I’ll keep it nice."

And whichever group the family felt that they "owed it to" the most or who had the most business leverage over them, would get the job.

Then after the burial, in front of all the relatives and visitors that gathered for the funeral, the group would demand their price -- 20 to 30 and sometimes even 40 strings of shell money and a pig. And that was anything but fair or nice.

But in order for the family to "save face" in front of all the people and not appear stingy or less "well-to-do," they had to pay the exorbitant amount.

One of the cultural obligations that the Lamogai people needed these excessive amounts for was the circumcision celebration of their firstborn son. While the other sons are circumcised shortly after birth, firstborn sons had to wait till they were 11 or 12.

"A big party would be held and much shell money and food would be given to the relatives and visitors," said NTM missionary Jan Wols. "It would multiply their status if they were able to out-give what others had given before [at their son’s circumcision]."

This kind of celebration would be equivalent to a very large, extravagant wedding in our culture. The party took years to plan and save for, consuming all the Lamogais’ time, energy and focus. And since they gained an even better position in the community if they could out-give everyone else, it ended up costing a small fortune.

And into this status-driven, rivalry-breeding soil, the truth of God’s Word was liberally applied -- full strength. It soaked in and powerfully began to break the cultural clods that had held them captive for centuries and fertilize their hearts for what was to come. Then the Gospel of Jesus Christ was firmly planted -- and the missionaries held their breath and prayed. And one day, new Lamogai believers began sprouting in the jungle.

A church was born.

But even in the midst of the celebrating, the job was far from over.

Planting and sprouting alone won’t put food on the table. If the ultimate goal is a feast, the young Lamogai church now needed careful tending and protecting to make sure it reached maturity and began to produce on its own. Otherwise, the church doors would be left wide open to all kinds of "rabbits."

So the vigilant missionaries stood guard -- with the Word of God in one hand and a living example in the other.

But sometimes, rabbits can still sneak under the fence -- when you least expect it.

"We didn’t see it coming," Jan Wols remembers. "But it wasn’t rabbits -- it was giant foxes!"

At the appropriate time in their growth, the missionaries began to teach the Lamogai believers about "church leadership with the purpose of helping the church to recognize and appoint elders," Jan related.

Since the whole goal is for missionaries to work themselves out of a job and leave a maturing, self-functioning church, this was vital teaching.

But when introduced into a culture that had always been in a breakneck race for status, the combination was explosive. It ignited old cultural flames that had been flickering unnoticed just below the surface.

And unaware of these smoldering embers, the missionaries left for their scheduled home assignment.

"Once we had kindled their old cultural ways by teaching on church leadership," said Jan, "some wanted to bring the old ways of gaining status into the church so they would become the recognized leaders."

But the old ways of gaining position -- like being a firstborn son, a good hunter, gardener, speaker or having lots of money -- were clearly not the biblical criteria for choosing church leadership.

And without the needed protection, the giant cultural foxes rushed in with tails on fire -- and soon the garden was ablaze.

"In our absence, the church went to battle over control," said Jan. It started to "split along family lines and deals were made to pull others into their group."

The garden was getting trampled.

But God was very aware of the rabbits and foxes and fires that were seeking to destroy the little tribal church in Papua New Guinea. And He provided the ultimate protection. He worked faithfully through His Word and through His Spirit -- and drew their hearts to His. The Lamogai believers "came to understand what they were doing" and sought help.

"A group of five church leaders from the neighboring Mouk church was invited to counsel and disciple the Lamogai believers from their own experience," Jan said.

And over time and teaching, the hungry little cultural beasts were ultimately shooed out of the garden and the church continued to grow.

But through it all the goal was never forgotten -- a wonderful feast. And God’s Word lit the way to the table -- up and down every row. Weeds were yanked. Bugs were sprayed. Bunnies were chased. And change sprang to life.

As the believers learned and grew in their desire to apply God’s Word, they discovered a disparity between their constant struggle for status and how the Bible says to live. It just wasn’t matching up. And neither was there time to do both. They couldn’t read and study Scripture for themselves or teach anybody else and still keep up the endless race for a better position.

Slowly, the light dawned. The only position that mattered was their position in Christ. The all-consuming cultural quest to outdo everyone else was not pleasing to God or helpful to their families or the community. So one by one their time- and money-gobbling practices began to fall away.

The feasting had begun.

Today, when someone dies, instead of trying to "make a lot of money over the back of a family in mourning," said Jan, "now they do the work [of burial] as a ministry to those in sorrow."

Or as the tribal people put it, "We do not want to continue this business of our dead relative’s bodies any longer!"

The believers also reevaluated their elaborate circumcision celebrations.

"Again the church leaders looked at what they were giving themselves to," said Jan. "They recognized that they were living for their own honor and glory … but wanted to start working for God’s glory."

As Mosio, a Lamogai man, said, "I did not want to use my son to do business for my glory. And now my son has a boy and I help him not to give in on the pressure to do this."

Believers still joyfully celebrate the occasion -- but around a nice family meal.

And released now from the bondage of status and money, the believers are free to serve God fulltime.

"Today, the Lamogai church is sending out two families to the coast to teach five families the Good News of Christ in the coastal dialect," said Jan. "They are not paid by anyone, but trust God to provide for them in much the same way we trust the Lord to provide through our partners at home."

Their church and their families helped the new Lamogai missionaries build their houses. They collected the money to buy leaves that the two families would need for their roofs. Then some of the men went to cut the wood and do the actual building. Others are providing food and other necessities.

And the Lamogai feast goes on.

But as these new missionaries move forward on their own, their guiding goal is still clear and in this case, even more dear. It is the same goal that brought Jan Wols and other NTM missionaries to their tribe in the first place and completely changed their lives -- the goal of not just planting a church, but planting a mature church.

And with their hoe now poised above the coastal soil, the two Lamogai families stand ready to begin planting for a wonderful feast all over again. Rabbits beware!