August 2021
"So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase." (1 Corinthians 3:7)
Progress Inspires Us
How can we inspire hope and motivate our inner self? When there is a sense of progress, even if it is small, we can experience meaning and joy. Bearing fruit and making progress is intrinsic to our human nature. We are created to bear fruit: “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful.'” (Genesis 1:28)
Power In Celebrating Small Wins
There is power in celebrating EVERY win, rather than celebrating just the BIG ones. When we celebrate small wins, that inspires us to go for another small win. Each small win then sets in motion the power to go for the BIG goal. The 15 baptisms we've had this year at our church are a great example of small wins setting big progress into motion.
A young man wanted to get baptized during “sheltering in place.” His decision inspired a young woman to get baptized and her decision inspired her fiance and daughter to be baptized. I baptized all four of them at our church’s Community Park. Since then we have baptized eleven more believers.
God is the God of small things: “For who has despised the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10)
Don’t Let The Big Goals Make The Small Wins Insignificant
When you measure small wins, it makes you realize that the big goals are attainable.
Small wins are also significant because they inspire and motivate you to go forward to your next goal.
I met a young man at the park who was battling anxiety and depression. He had an accident at work, which left him with a broken hand. He was looking for hope and meaning. I listened to him and at the end of our long conversation presented Christ as the way to an abundant life. The young man took Christ’s offer and decided to follow Him.
He was the first person to make a decision to follow Jesus during COVID-19. One salvation is significant. You may have many goals to reach, numbering perhaps 10, 100, or even 1000, but reaching one goal is as significant as reaching all of your goals. This young man's conversion inspired me, and two more persons soon came to Jesus.
Build Momentum In Challenging Times
Over 80% of our church members are in a Bible Study LIFE GROUP. This is a BIG deal because, in our most recent church survey, Bible reading and Life Groups were the top two factors that were helping our church members' faith grow. And the number of church members participating in a Life Group grew during the pandemic.
According to a report on the churchexecutive.com website:
“Attendees of large churches — defined as 1000+ people — don’t necessarily have the highest rate of Bible study participants. Just a little more than half (52%) of church members in these large congregations participate in Bible study, while members who belong to a church with an attendance of 100 to 500 attend Bible study at a rate of 60%, and members of small churches (fewer than 100 members) attend at a rate of 59%.” (www.churchexecutive.com).
Based on the percentage of our members who participate in Bible study, we are probably among the top 1% of churches of our size in America.
What we have learned from COVID-19 and pre-COVID-19 is that Life Groups are ESSENTIAL for our spiritual and physical life. Let’s keep the momentum going!
We Celebrate
1. The 3 people who made their decisions to follow Jesus.
2. The 15 people who took the next step of faith by getting baptized.
3. The 3 new members who joined the church.
4. The 43 members who are mentoring and discipling one or more persons.
5. The financial blessings the church received during the pandemic, as the giving was more than the church could have expected because of the negative impact on church-going during the pandemic.
6. The increase of our church membership in Life Group participation to 82%, which is a 25% increase over last year's total of 66%.
Let us celebrate every win with God and “...in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1)