Wellspring Women’s Ministry Blog and Online Community

Last Sunday Michael and I ministered in a church in Virginia that is undergoing drastic change. It had been founded over 200 years ago as a denominational church, but had gone without a pastor for several years and dwindled down to about 20 members, all of them over 70. Those 20 faithful had prayed about their options: should they take the risk of trying to find a new pastor (and put up the money to pay him!) or should they just give up and shut down the church? They decided to find a new pastor.

What they found was a guy who is an old and dear friend of ours, a man with deep mercy wells inside, sensitive and caring and gentle but also not given to compromise. Our friend is a musician as well as a pastor so he became not only the new pastor but also the worship leader for the small congregation. It has been over 2 years since he moved in with his family and most of the 20 he started his ministry with are still there. Last Sunday the sanctuary, which seats about 75 comfortably, was jam-packed with young people, mostly in their late teens and early 20’s. The music was lively and contemporary and there was dancing in the aisles. The pulpit, altar rail and choir loft were all removed and electric guitars had taken the place of the organ. A digital projector and screen have replaced hymn books and the rest of the altar furniture is scheduled to be removed in order to create more space in the sanctuary because they are growing!

Families with young children have begun to come on Sundays so a children’s church has been started, and one of the men has built a deck on the back of the building to accommodate covered dish dinners. Things are changing! And things are changing QUICKLY! I couldn’t help but wonder how the “old guard” felt about the change — did they still think they had made the right decision?

After church on Sunday there was a covered dish dinner and I got to visit with one of the “old guard.” I asked him how he liked all the changes. He said God had taught him something important. God had reminded him of when his father had died, of how sad he was because he missed his dad, but how happy he was because his father was no longer in pain and was in the presence of the Lord. He was happy and sad at the same time, and that is how he was feeling about his church right now. “I love the old hymns,” he said. “And I miss the old altar rail and the old pulpit and it makes me sad sometimes. But I don’t think I have ever been so excited about what the Lord is doing! I don’t want the old things back; I am so looking forward to seeing what God is going to do with us!”

I fell in love with that old gentleman right then. What love for Jesus and His Church was revealed in his life through his words! As Michael and I drove home, praying for Church on the Rise, I was reminded of Psalm 133:
Behold how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes,
It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing — life forever.

Lord, command blessing on this church and cause her to prosper and grow and bring glory and honor to Your name!