Jesus was emotional as he looked over Jerusalem and observed the people–from the religious to the marketplace (Matthew 9:35-38). He saw the opportunity for people to discover God in a new and life-giving way. His heart was broken because something was missing that could bring an abundant harvest of goodness to all the people–WORKERS. So Jesus tells his disciples to pray for workers to go into the harvest.

Question: What kind of workers does Jesus mean?

On every Altar retreat and in so much of our writing and speaking, we refer to Matthew 16:26 – What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit (or lose) their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 

It is an interesting verse. At the heart, Jesus is telling us that our life is always forming into something. Our soul is something we can forfeit or lose. Something that can grow or shrink. As Irenaeus (c. 115–202 AD) said, “The soul is always forming, the question is, into what?”

At Altar, we see these workers from the church to the marketplace leaders every day—faithful leaders laboring in a demanding harvest while carrying deep responsibility, fatigue, and often isolation. As believers in Christ, we know we are all workers. We are a called and sent people to build the kingdom of God in every sphere of planet earth. Every one of us is significant and carries a mission. The question then is…are we living and growing in such a way that we become not just toiling workers, but harvesters?

Altar’s mission is to serve leaders to serve the world. We are committed to the worker not just working harder so leaders harvest more from their life. We pray and roll up our sleeves to help those we serve to become harvesters from the overflow of a healthy soul. We are committed to teaching and equipping people to know how to build a healthy soul and then planning intentional steps to go, grow and harvest.

 “The glory of God is man fully alive.”  (Irenaeus). Perhaps the fully alive worker is what Jesus had in mind as he observed the harvest.

Altar exists to provide this sacred retreat space, where leaders can be restored in soul and spirit, gaining clarity and strength to return to the harvest renewed, grounded, and ready to serve with longevity and faithfulness.

FOR REFLECTION

• On a scale of 1 (dead) to 10 (fully alive) how would you describe the state of your soul, honestly?
• Is the trajectory of your soul in this season of life growing more alive or feeling like it is slowly (or quickly) shriveling up? Explain.
• In your personal leadership (in whatever role(s) you serve in life), are you a harvester? Why or why not?

_{Eric Camfield | February 2026}