Drumroll please.
Unity Presbyterian Church officially has 600 members.
Why is that important?
Well, it is and it isn’t. Allow me to explain.
Why its not important
The focus of church should not be the number of people attending. A healthy church is not necessarily a large church. The health of a church can be measured in other ways. For example, a church is a gathering of people, called for a purpose: to praise God and spread God’s love into the world. A healthy church is one that embraces both of these roles wholeheartedly.
More so, the church is the body of Christ on earth. A community of believers should seek to act in the same way they believe Jesus would act in the world.
A church can do this faithfully with 1,000 members or as few as 12. I can’t help but think of those first 12 disciples that Jesus called into ministry and the ways they began the work that our church continues today.
In a sense, the number of people in a church matters little. What matters is the church’s passion and focus on pursuing the things of God.
Why it is important
Unity has been steadily growing for years. This tells me two things.
One, Unity’s members are great at inviting their friends into worship. A special shout out to the communities of Trilogy and 3 Cherry Way— you guys are excellent at inviting people to church! A healthy church is eager to invite others into the community.
Two, people who come to Unity find a home here. I believe there are many reasons for this.
I’m told by many new members how kind and loving our community is. People feel accepted as soon as they walk through the church doors.
I also think Unity, as an intergenerational church, offers something for every life stage. From children to our seniors and everything in-between, we seek to disciple every phase of life. Many churches skew towards one demographic— Unity is blessed to have all of the generations present.
Something about that just feels right.
This conversation makes me think of something Jesus said to his disciples:
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
—Matthew 9:37-38
The harvest indicates the amount of people in the world that have yet to know God, or of God’s purpose for their lives. Unfortunately, when we look at churches across America, all too often there appears to be too few laborers to spread this message of joy.
When we find this to be the case, what did Jesus tell us to do?
Pray earnestly to God for more laborers.
I believe this is our role. Let us pray for people to sense God’s presence and respond in a tangible, vibrant way. Let us pray for the laborers.
So take a moment to celebrate a growing church and a thriving community. By the grace of God we go. Then roll up your sleeves and commit to continuing to invest in a church we all love so much.
This Sunday is Week Two of The Story of David. We arrive at possibly the most famous story of David— his battle with Goliath. Want to read ahead? It is found in 1 Samuel 17:1-58. It is a familiar story, but the details may surprise you.
See you on Sunday!
Pastor David
