Word from the Pastor – When the Church Is Full Again

I often wonder what it would’ve been like to pastor a church in earlier decades. Like, in the 1960s and ‘70s, every church in America was so full that most of them had to build bigger buildings. (Just like we did.) But for most of those churches in the 21st century, the opposite is true, since many have had to sell buildings instead. So I often wonder what it was like to pastor a church that is bursting at the seams. Well, I don’t have to wonder anymore. Because now we are!
 
In the first two weeks after the hurricane, I saw it happening, and I started getting excited. I could see us approaching the best problem to have: we were running out of space. Every room in the church was filling up! And that is still the case.
 
Thank goodness we were ready with some unused space when the hurricane hit. “We need rooms for a Food Pantry!” “Okay, use those two!” “Is there somewhere I can work since my office was destroyed?” “Yes!” “The place where our group met is flooded and moldy. Can we meet here?” “Yes!” What a service to our community. And what a blessing to us. People coming in to our building who never ever would’ve set foot in our church or any church. Now they know this is a place of welcome and love and compassion. Why? Because we follow Jesus! What a testimony.
 
Community book clubs, a Food Pantry, teen game nights, remote office workers, propane heaters, artists, pediatric occupational therapy, physical therapy, guitar lessons, ESL classes, Girl Scouts, recovery groups, and I’m probably forgetting some.
 
Now every space and room in our church has something happening in it at some point during the week. What a great problem! That hasn’t been the case for many years. What a blessing!
 
There are many verses in the New Testament that instruct us to “bear good fruit.” (Here are some.) “Good fruit” is the result of our actions and service; when we live like Jesus, good spiritual fruit is naturally produced. But there’s an important truth about fruit that every farmer knows: it’s seasonal. Different fruit grows at different times in different places and in different ways. You don’t produce grapes the same way you produce apples or bananas. So what does that mean for us?
 
For the last few decades, most ministers and churchgoers have wished that their church would be full again—which usually meant they wanted everything to look like it used to and happen like it used to. For better or us, that won’t happen, because people are different and society is different. But that doesn’t mean the church can’t be full again, because ours definitely is. And the best part is, we’re full in ways that our community truly needs today. What a blessing, to be a part of God’s neat, surprising, fruitful work.