When you’re comfortable in your role as a small church pastor, you get some interesting questions. Like, “but don’t you want your church to grow?”
The answer is yes.
Yes, I want the church I serve to grow.
I want us to reach more people for Jesus. I want to see more people worshiping with us. I want to see more folks discipled and active in ministry.
I want this wonderful congregation to grow, spiritually and numerically.
But, even more than I want to see our local church grow, I want to see the church grow.
Being In The Right Place ≠ Settling For Less
If the best way I can serve Jesus is to see numerical growth in my local congregation, I will do that as best I can.
But if the best way I can serve Christ’s church is to pastor a healthy small congregation, I will not just accept that role, I will celebrate it and put all my heart and soul into it.
Accepting that Christ has placed me in a smaller environment and doing my best in that place is not settling for less. It’s an act of full commitment.
Don’t Neglect Your Now For Your Later
If you find yourself in a smaller ministry than you expected, don’t gripe about it. Get to work at it!
Yes, pursue numerical growth. But not at the cost of giving less than your best in your current situation. Don’t put so much energy into a hoped-for future that you shortchange your right-now life and ministry.
Set goals. Keep the drive alive.
But serve your current small ministry well.
Ask God to use it for his glory, no matter what your numbers look like.
That’s what kingdom growth looks like.
(Photo by Nils Stahl | Unsplash)
