God Does Not Owe You a Big Church

After sacrificing very good ministry jobs at mega-churches to plant a church, I thought it would only be a matter of time before God made the church that I pastor, a BIG CHURCH. It sounds ridiculous, but I know I’m not the only one. In addition, there are still tons of people who know me and my background who wonder “what’s the problem?” “Why hasn’t his church exploded with growth yet?” I’ve spent my first 21-months of pastoring either trying to prepare for a crowd or trying to figure out why the crowd hasn’t come yet. In the process I neglected the needs of the small number of people whom God had actually sent to the church. I have consumed myself with way too many church growth books, blogs, and conferences during my short tenure as a pastor. In hindsight, I should’ve been focused on growing myself as a Christian to be better equipped for the members that God has given me. At the end of 21-months I have accepted that fact that I may never preach to the large crowds that I ministered to as a staff member at the mega-churches. It is very humbling, but also very liberating. Now I can stop trying to figure out how to make our church the “it” church in our community and start focusing on true discipleship. I’ve come to realize that God doesn’t owe me a big church. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not the automatic reward or grand prize for being faithful in ministry.