"It's not about numbers!" I've heard that statement a hundred times from different people, but most often from church leaders frustrated over small attendance. It's understandable. We are accustomed to numbering church attendance in the hundreds and Feast attendance in the thousands. A small church can be discouraging.

I've heard people express the sentiment, "I don't want a large group" and that's understandable too. Small groups are warm and personable. Interactive Bible Studies are enervative and exciting. But there is a larger issue. When Jesus commanded his disciples to go and make disciples did he expect the congregation to remain small forever? Or is growth natural for a healthy congregation just as it is for a healthy plant?

Maybe you've heard similar expressions, or even said them. Because the fact is, it isn't about the numbers. Our purpose is not to build a large political organization. It isn't to change the world by weight of political influence. It isn't to overwhelm people or churches through mass appeal to conform to our doctrines.

So why not be content with 5 or 10 people meeting in a living room and just be happy with that? Is that real religion? Is that true Christianity?

Not long ago a family in our group asked for congregational prayers for their granddaughter. The little girl was 13 months old and weighed only 11 pounds. The parents had discussed their concerns during visits with the pediatrician and at first he dismissed them believing the child was just small. Eventually the doctor recommended tests and found this tiny child had liver cancer. Lots of prayers went up, there was medical intervention and the cancer was eliminated. She is now a healthy 6 year old experiencing all the happy activities of others her age.

The family didn't love their daughter more after she gained weight than before nor did her intrinsic value increase. In other words their relationship with her was "not about numbers" but the lack of numbers told them something was wrong. And it would have been shear lunacy to refuse to look at the numbers because they loved her. In fact, it was because they loved her that they admitted the low weight revealed something important about her health.

What if the first century church had been satisfied with no growth? The answer is simply this; Christianity would have died a quick death. It would never have been more than a 1^st century Jewish sect.

Last Sabbath over 100 people were in attendance. It's nice to see growth in the congregation. May it continue. It's one of the things God has called us to do.

Until next time,