Size Doesn’t Matter
I saw this picture on Facebook yesterday and immediately my mind went to discipleship. As Christians, we are commissioned by Jesus Christ to share the Good News. We have an amazing opportunity in our daily lives to touch people with the hope of salvation.
Several years ago, I reviewed The Cause Within You by Matthew Barnett. At the age of 20, Barnett and his father, Pastor Tommy Barnett, arrived in Los Angeles to bring spiritual health to the declining Bethel Temple. Two decades later, their ministry, Dream Center, “finds and fills the needs of over 80,000 individuals and families each month” through medical and rehabilitation programs, a shelter for victims of human trafficking, job skills training, counseling, Bible studies and more.
My family attends a small, but vibrant, local church. Our congregation can’t be more than fifty people. For years we have felt on the cusp of growth. We have prayed for it. But at the end of the day, size doesn’t matter. Whether a congregation is two or two thousand, the commission does not change. Our focus must be on God’s will for our church, not on how large our ministry grows. This one picture posted by a friend on Facebook feels like God’s subtle reminder that the world needs our little church just as much as the Barnetts’ amazing ministry. One person at a time, we must fulfill our destiny of drawing people closer to Him.
