Church growth is an exciting thing to experience. Seeing churches go from largely empty rooms to mostly full… Going from one service to two… Going from three Small Groups to eleven… And it is happening in Los Angeles!
One of the things that growing churches produce is more churches. To that end, the Pacific Presbytery is, through its Mission to North America Committee, very excited about its challenge to each member church – which includes Church in the Canyon. The challenge is this: be involved in church planting. Plant a daughter church eight miles away. Or maybe join with another church in planting – send a couple of families. Participate by sending a significant amount of money to assist a new church work. The opportunities are endless.
And the need is so very great. How many folks live in our communities who don’t attend church at all? How many of our neighbors have not heard the gospel? How many communities would benefit from another site of gospel preaching and faithful worship? The answer to all of those questions is probably, “A lot!”
So here is a challenge for us as we put together our lists of what we will be giving to whom: Begin praying earnestly that God would praise up church planters to target the communities in the great Los Angeles area. And as churches are in the process of organizing small groups into daughter churches, pray that God blesses those works in every way. Start a Bible study in your neighborhood – and dream about the day it becomes a daughter church of Church in the Canyon!
And, most important of all: invite your neighbor to come to Christ! Share the gospel; be an evangelist. In the book of Acts, the sharing and preaching of the gospel is done in the community – by apostles and believers alike (Acts 8:4). Those who believe are “added to the church.”
Over the next year, we as a church will have opportunities to participate with our presbytery in the awesome task of planting churches, whether through our prayers or other means we have available. Let’s think big and think forward. By his Spirit, God can accomplish far more through small groups of poorly equipped folks who are committed to his plan than he ever deigns to accomplish through those whose grounds for confidence are divided (think Gideon – Judges 7. Can you imagine a more poorly equipped rag-tag band than that?). What might God do in our valleys? How might he use us to participate in the establishment of other churches?
Let’s get out into the world for the sake of Christ’s kingdom and do whatever we can to see new churches planted. What a gift to Los Angeles another church would be!
Your Pastor,
Bob Bjerkaas
