In Matthew 13:31-32 Jesus told the parable of the mustard seed. He declared that the Kingdom of God is like a very small mustard seed that is planted and when it grows up it becomes a huge plant that birds come from all around and nest in its branches.
The church is intended to be a foretaste, a downpayment of sorts, of the Kingdom of God. And since Jesus often used agrarian illustrations, I feel like it is appropriate to adopt that model at ReCAST Church.
The seeds of ReCAST Church were planted back in 2008 and God sent out a team in 2009 to start this small church. There was a season where the growth seemed to be primarily about depth. We were sending down roots into the soul of God’s Word. We did not experience much visible, “above ground” growth, but God was strengthening the plant to bear the weight of other growth. Recently, we entered a stage of significant numerical growth.
The branches have spread out, and people are coming. We are working through space issues, and many have come to nest in the branches. It has been an exciting time, and it is energizing to pack people into our small church and preach the Word.
But, I want to point out, that it can begin to feel like we have finally arrived when the beaches get wider. Above ground (numerical) growth is more visible and measurable. But my desire is that we not forfeit the deeper growth in exchange for what is happening in the branches.
We are a church that will live or die on the connection between us and God. My prayer for ReCAST as we go through this phase of rapid growth is that we never cease to be a church/people that surrender deeper growth for wider branches.