We Don't Want To Grow 

We don't want to grow.  

I mean, of course we want to grow. In Ephesians 4.16 the Bible says, "Jesus makes the whole body (church) fit together so that it is healthy and growing and full of love."

So, yes, church growth is biblical. 

But it's not our goal. 

Our target is different. 

We want to reach others. 

The reality is, though, that our church is continuing to experience growth. We trust this is the result of people beholding Jesus and of His work in our midst. Many of you witnessed the 20+ baptisms at Point Holmes on Easter Monday and have heard stories of lives being transformed by the love and truth of Jesus. 

A second -and greater- reality is that there are so many others to be reached in the Comox Valley with the news of Jesus. Consider the fact that there are hundreds upon hundreds of children and teens in the Comox Valley that don't yet have a Christian friend. Consider the fact that entire streets and workplaces in the Comox Valley have no Christians befriending them yet. There are even neighbourhoods in the Valley that don't have a Jesus-and-His-gospel-proclaiming church nearby yet! 

We must reach others. 

Reaching others always means change. We've experienced change, and we're bound to experience more, as long as we are reaching others. And, let's be honest, change is always made more manageable when it is occurring because more people are coming alive in Jesus! 

I want to thank you for making room for others. I want thank you for praying for co-workers, classmates, and neighbours to experience Jesus. I want to thank you for giving, serving and sacrificing in ways that reaches others. I want to thank you for being flexible in seasons where reaching others means change (think: harder to find parking, someone's in 'your seat' - ha!, going from one to two services, serving in two services...even in the Summer - yes, we need to head in that direction! Thank you for keeping your eyes on Jesus as He does His Ephesians 4.16 work in our church and in the Comox Valley. 

Let's remember that each of us knows Jesus today because someone else -family, friend, co-worker- cared enough to reach others (you!). 


Pastor Mike 

Ps- if you happen to be wondering 'why does reaching others seem to matter so much?,' consider how Jesus never appeared to be trying to grow a crowd, but was focused on reaching others, and consider how much Jesus paid for you and me and others! (His blood).  

Pps - if you're looking for a simple way to help reach others, consider sharing this video about the story of the Dotel family's miracles on your social media https://vimeo.com/1076730597/086a2db341?share=copy

 Yup, this is one of the videos shown on Easter Sunday!