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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