Movement and Growth

When Emilee and I moved to serve where we are a little over a year go, we really had no idea what to expect. With this being my first full time ministry position we had little to go on. Plus, we were moving from a decent sized city to a smaller town. And on top of that our church is in a very rural location, super rural. Not only was this not where we expected to be, it was the last setting we had even considered being in.
But, God's calling was so obvious that there was nothing we could do but surrender to it. So we got married (my favorite part of the story!), packed up, and moved. You spend your whole college career expecting to get the dream job as soon as you graduate and you even think you know what it will look like. But for many of us in ministry, we have no idea what it looks like. I definitely didn't expect it to be an average size rural church just 2 hours from my hometown. Honestly though, serving here with Emilee is my dream job.
There is a beauty about serving average/small local churches. It's much easier to see movement and growth. I know when our students are growing spiritually because I have a close relationship with most all of them. And I know when we are growing numerically because I can look out from behind the podium and see it. We have had an unusual amount of first time visitors to our church this past month and it's been obvious. I know who they are and I have the opportunity to connect with them.
It's also much easier to see movement. In our small town context, our congregation is able to serve the church so easily. When things are getting done you can see it. You can see forward motion when committees get together and work, when Sunday School classes are serving together in the community, and when business meetings are full of conversation about ways to improve our worship.
So, if you are a small town church leader today. Thank God for your calling! Thank Him that you get to personally interact with and see your people move and grow. It's an exciting thing to watch and an important thing to be a part of. God's people are at work all over the world. They are moving and growing in awesome ways. And they are doing it to bring Him glory and honor. Small churches, big churches, churches that are ancient and churches that are new are filled with the growth and movement of the Kingdom of God. Wherever He has placed you, be there! Get in and get your hands dirty serving with your church family!