Over the years of serving, it's really a priority to see the ministry grow. There is an unspoken rule to ensure that the people grow in numbers and in maturity. Not just remain in a happy-go-lucky club. At a recent news report of the mega churches in Singapore, s a pastor mentioned the need for all churches to grow and chided old churches that have not progressed because "the corpus christi must grow and not be stagnant."
Big is good, at least in some context. It surely has its advantages. When I first taught ER (then named Challengers) there were only four boys. Activities were limited because the number was too small. But as the years progressed and the numbers swelled to eight and thereafter to twelve, there was a healthy critical mass that allowed more things to happen. The entity of the group became such a powerful organism because there was enough people to do much and sufficient energy available without exhausting the original few.
However, being big and strong isn't the end and goal of our service in church. Therefore it is an important and sobering point to often fall back at the purpose of our lives and what we do for the Lord. Everything we do is to please Him. It is a good reminder to note that the ministry and whatever we do in church is because we do it to please God. Growth, assisting the needy or training excellence is just a by-product of our service to God.
Lord, make our hearts humble and let it rule over the pride and purpose driven nature that often makes us forget that we serve because we want to please our maker.
M.
