This past week we were celebrating and reflecting on 26 years of existence as a church. This allows us to praise God for his goodness and faithfulness over the years. The journey has brought tears of joy and sorrow. We have cried out in praise to God and equally cried out in grief to Him. We have heard testimonies of salvation and welcomed people into membership through the waters of baptism, but we have also heard confessions of sin from dear ones who have fallen and seen others depart from the faith with much grief. We have welcomed people who have become dear to the family and sadly bid farewell to others. In all the highs and lows, the Lord has been with us and led us by His grace. Here are a few points of reflection.
God always raises people for the time
It is amazing the number of people who come and go in the life of the church. You are welcoming and bidding farewell all at the same time. Some farewells can be quite discouraging because it means you are saying bye to dear people and usually to people who play a vital role or serve in some capacity. Such goodbyes can leave you deflated, however, that kind of discouragement soon proves to be foolhardy, because the Lord soon raises people for the time. This is either someone rising to the occasion or someone joining the church from somewhere else. In the Lord’s church, anyone and everyone are replaceable because God always raises people for the time.
The church is indeed a body
Every church whether big or small has people who serve in the limelight and those who serve in the background. Those whose roles are public and visible and others whose roles are private and unseen, though the results are always there for all to see. For the church to function effectively, you need everyone doing their role. We have seen how crucial it is for every member of the body to do their part. Let me illustrate from this past week. As I was working on the sermon during the week, someone worked to prepare the powerpoint for the songs, someone prepared the bulletin, someone beautified the church with flower arrangements, the music team met to prepare to lead us in singing, the ushers came early on Sunday to open and set up. During the service, two men went out and ushered cars so that there is proper parking, some people prepared food for our evening celebration, others set up the table arrangements and served the food, others coordinated the food to see who brings what and yet others cleared up afterwards. What a beautiful picture? I went home and sang, praise God from whom all blessings fall!
You don’t need to be big & rich to do missions
We are a relatively small church and we are not financially the biggest either, however from the very beginning, the people who started the church lead it to be missional and to consider church planting as a priority. By the grace of God, that has been the case. Indeed, a church does not need to be big nor rich to be engaged in the work of missions. The bible gives us an example of the Macedonians who in their poverty gave towards missions. It has been a blessing to see the church family grow in her commitment to missions over the years.
Growth is a steady and gradual process
All normal and natural growth is a steady, gradual process. No Christian suddenly grows into maturity from hearing one sermon, in the same way, no child grows into an adult from eating one healthy meal. Growth is a steady and gradual process. Being part of a church family and doing life together allows the family to witness the growth in each other’s lives. What a privilege that is ours as members.
These and many others are the reasons we praised God for 26 years of His grace and kindness as a church. May His name be blessed forever!
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