I grew up thinking that numbers mattered when it came to ministry.  The church I grew up in had a Hispanic outreach in a small town and they would count the number of people attending in order to share with our church.

Every Sunday someone would be taking the count of the attendees at our church and this has occurred in almost all the churches that I have attended including the church we attend here in Masatepe (El Shaddai).

Evangelistic outreaches would count the number of people who came forward after the service or raised their hands. Later, this would be shared with those who set up the event and who were praying.

I was involved in the Billy Graham ministry and during our training, it was shared that only 7% of those who came forward (to make a profession of faith) and filled out a card were still involved with a church a year later.  And yet, we were moved by the number of individuals that came forward.

About a month ago on the 19^th of October, I started an online Bible study focused on growing in Christ.  In the first group, there were four people and by the second week, that number had doubled.  But then two weeks ago the group only had three people attending and last week it was only two.

Initially, I felt discouraged.  Yes, I had not started the group.  Actually, two people had approached me and asked me if would do an online Bible study with them and their friends.  It was to be unique in that it was in English.  These were individuals who wanted to grow in Christ and also improve their English. That was very exciting for me to have others asking for a Bible study.  But, now the numbers of people actually attending had dropped to two.

I am learning a very important fact; depth not breadth.  Those two nights with only a couple of people, were the best nights of the whole group.  Such openness those nights! That might not have happened in a larger group, and yet it did those nights. One individual, with tears flowing down his face, expressed how he had lost his joy and he knew why. Once again I had to acknowledge the sovereignty of God.  He would bring the people to that group and He would determine the number.

It also made me think about the disciples.  How Jesus poured His life into just twelve men for three years and they were the mustard seed that grew into the great tree.  That tree and its message have changed the world, and it started with just twelve men.

It is easy to fall back into those old ways of thinking for me.  I tend to want to compare our ministry with other’s ministries and see their large projects and the big number of attendees at their events, and then to say, God what are we doing wrong?

After our previous experience with a large organization, doing big events and well-funded projects, I now ask, what has been changed by their efforts?  Did their efforts produce disciples?  One of the people in the online group is a long-term employee of that organization.  And, yet they were looking outward from their churches and organizations to find a way to grow in Christ.

What if one of these individuals is the Nicaraguan Paul and many are added to the kingdom?  How would I think about numbers then?

I will continue to stand by our initial belief that the Lord will bring to us the people and projects that He wants us to be involved in, and we will find comfort in the belief.  We are to serve where we are at and trust Him in ALL things.

Thus the name: N-Response2.

for His glory,

Stephen Goff
Stephen.Goff@N-Response2.com
www.N-Response2.com
www.n-response2.com/give/support-for-goffs (for our monthly support)
www.n-response2.com/give/to-give-relief-aid-to-nicaragua (for specific people, projects, and general relief aid)
My Blog Page: Nicamoments