Rain

Just this past week I was sharing how God has drawn people from many directions to our church, but it seems like we've had very few from our town in particular. It could be that it's a mere 1.2 sq miles surrounded by many other towns, yet I don't think that is the case. I realized yesterday as I was trying to anchor a sign in the ground that hard and dry land is very difficult to work in. For farmers parched lands are simply unusable unless they invest some time and effort.
Could it be that God would desire the church to not only established new church plants in lush lands where many are open to the call of Spirit? God has called some to till the hardened soil, enrich it with the nutrients of prayer and fasting and wait until the Holy Spirit rains down the waters of the presence of God which will ultimately prepare the soil for seed.
In Jesus' parable of the seed and sower there was no fault with the seed which was symbolic of the Word of God. The main factor was the soil and it's condition to receive the seed(For deeper insight to this passage I encourage you to read Matthew 13: 1 - 23). Again, in this passage Jesus declares that the seed of God's Word will produce 100, 60 or 30 times what was originally sown. In other words when God allows His truth to transform one person's life it can effect many others as well. So let us work diligently to till the grounds of our communities in prayer, fasting and sharing the hope of Jesus, but let us remember that it is the Holy Spirit who completes the work (1 Cor 2: 10 - 12). Even as it may become difficult in the heat of life we must remember the words of Scripture:

"Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy"
Psalm 126:5

Made for This

As you drive down the street in our community you'll spot a ton of churches and some could ask: "why plant another church?" Of course as a church planter this thought crossed my mind as well, so I set off on a little investigation. What I found is that many of these 'historical' churches are as little as 25% full on Sundays with very little support from any congregation. So how do they exist? Well, all of these churches have daycares that serve as an economic engine for the church. However, is this what we the church was made for?If the church were created to be a daycare, then why would there by martyrs and why did Jesus die? We were made for so much more. To serve, heal, and save communities, families and individuals. These building can sometimes be held hostage from smaller new churches that are growing and in need of space. If churches are allowed to continue to be daycares that happen to have a few people that show up on Sunday, then we should be gravely concerned for the spiritual condition of families, communities and our society as a whole.
We trust God for all things and that includes space to gather and be a lighthouse for generations to come. However, let us pray earnestly that God will open the right space at the right for new churches so that we can exist and serve our community knowing that we were 'made for this!'