Church growth is a big deal for pastors. We sometimes pretend it isn’t, but inside most of us want our churches to flourish numerically and are worried when they do not. This is partly for our own validation of course. We, like almost every other person in the western world, want others to see us as valid and successful in some way. However, much of our angst is also for the kingdom of God. We want people to come to Christ and grow in Christ. The motives are mixed and we must admit that up front. Part of the way the Spirit sifts our motives and helps us mature personally is by adjusting the size of the church, even from week to week. It makes us check our priorities and brings our thoughts back to him.
I received a simple and practical piece of advice from an older pastor that has helped me tons through the years. He told me that on Sunday he would only think about, pray for, and teach to the people that are there, not the ones who aren’t. I once overheard a member comment during a slim summer service (lots of folks were on vacation), “Hey, where is everybody?” It stunned me and tempted me to obsess on the empty rows instead of praying for the full ones. That fellow was focusing on the church instead of the Lord and I needed to avoid slipping into the same Slough of Despond. We should trust the providence of God, the work of the Spirit that brings precisely those on this morning that He wants here. It’s an exercise of faith for us as pastors! Isn’t that what we’re telling our folks, to trust the Lord? The habit of focusing on the people I am with at the time, of being “all there” when I’m in ministry situations, has strengthened and stretched me much over 35 years of pastoral work.
Just a Thought,
Pastor Rick