When a New Year comes knocking at the door, many churches begin it with the crushing question, How are we going to survive? We may make it through to the end of this year – but what about the end of this decade? Will too many of our members have died off by then for us to carry on? In many churches this is the reality: dwindling congregations make ‘How long will we be able to carry on?’ a frighteningly real question to have to answer.
However, this contrasts starkly with some words spoken by Jesus that I happened to read this morning. In Mark 4 Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to “a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground” (verse 31). But He then goes on to say that, “when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade” (v.32).
We saw in church a few weeks ago that the Kingdom of God can be under- stood as the rule or reign of God. So the words of Jesus quoted above mean that the rule, or influence, of God in a given area may start off very small – but that the potential for its growth is virtually limitless.
What body of people concerns itself with extending the rule or influence of God in the world? The church does! Promoting and demonstrating the Kingdom of God is the business of the church. My point is that, to put it crudely, the advancement of God`s Kingdom or rule is a growth industry! Jesus appears to be saying that, while the Kingdom of God has small beginnings, the expectation is that its influence will spread widely.
So what does all this say to us here at St. Andrew`s? If you will once again forgive me for expressing myself crudely, Jesus has given His church the most extraordinary product to market: the Kingdom of God! What are the characteristics of God`s Kingdom? It is marked above all by love; also by purity, joy, wholeness, righteousness (living rightly according to God`s standards), truth, peace and contentment. God has designed His church to be a place where these things are lived out and experienced – and what the words of Jesus appear to indicate is that a community that teaches and practices these things in the power of the Holy Spirit should expect to be a growing community.
It is most encouraging that towards the end of this year, we at St. Andrew`s have been seeing the first tiny green shoots of growth: people have joined the church through Alpha, others have been helped by the support and financial advice offered by the CAP Money Course – and we are now seeing children (still only a very few, but it`s a start) returning to Sunday School in the form of Lighthouse. No one is saying we have turned a corner; but we might at least be beginning to peer round the corner.
We should be encouraged by this – but not surprised. We are aiming to promote and live out the Kingdom or rule of God, which Jesus likened to a seed which would grow into a plant which would be a shelter and oasis for many. Few things are as sad as a church which is only just hanging on to survival by its fingertips because it has lost sight of its core message of God`s Kingdom. At St. Andrew`s let`s “seek first [God`s] Kingdom and His righteous- ness” (Matthew 6:33). This means starting the New Year on the one hand rolling up our sleeves for the hard work that will be needed, but on the other hand living in faith-filled expectation of seeing growth from the seeds of God`s Kingdom that we plant. Let`s put the New Year into God`s hands and see what He will do!
