This summer will see Grace Church shrink by a sixth as two families leave us. One family is our assistant and family who came for 3 years to be trained in pastoral ministry and having been trained is taking up a pastorate of his own even further north (Yes southerners, Doncaster is in the North but there is more north beyond it - that may have come as shock!). The other is family who have been with us about 5 years who are relocating down south to be nearer family.
It's interesting thinking about the challenges such movement poses to a small church. If everyone was there on a given Sunday - which never happens - we'd be about 60, which means we are losing a sixth of our church family. And that will be immediately obvious as from September if everyone is there we'll be slightly less than 50. That's quite a big change. But God is sovereign even over that change, God knows the challenges and opportunities that this summer poses to us as a church. God knows and cares about them too, because it's His Church. And here's the thing they aren't leaving the kingdom, just moving to serve in a different part of it.
It will mean we feel smaller, especially on weeks when others are away too. It will mean we are more stretched than we currently are, but that will simply open up opportunities for others to serve, as well as opening up new ways of doing things for us as a church.
It will be sad to see them go and it should make us sad and we need to acknowledge that. I'd worry more if it didn't. When part of your family moves away there is a right sense of loss. But God knows what he has in store for us and for them. God is at work growing his kingdom in their going as he was in their joining us.
No comments:
Post a Comment