Why Grow?

All my life I have heard stories about how hard life is along the Sahara Desert on the African continent. The desert keeps creeping forward, and people are losing crops and livestock and the ability to feed themselves.

Today I saw a video about the Great Green Wall, where the World Food Program is working with local governments and communities to build a new ecosystem that collects water and allows plants to grow and water tables to replenish. People are now feeding themselves again and no longer need long-term food assistance from the United Nations. Wow!

This video helped me feel like we are making progress in changing people's lives. Communities are more stable and self-sufficient, and children are growing strong. I bring this up because part of the mission of the United Methodist Church is the transformation of lives, and sometimes it seems like that is a huge and overwhelming goal.

What if we can actually change lives? What if this isn't an impossible dream?

Right now, our congregation is growing with new members and new children. This is exciting, but it also brings change that can be uncomfortable. Some of us are sitting in new seats during worship. Some of us are making new friends. Some of us are hearing kids playing near us in worship. Sometimes we feel good, and sometimes we miss what we were used to.

So why grow? Why don't we just stay the same size with one worship service and the fellowship time we have? We know how to operate at this size, and we have systems that are working pretty well.

Just as the Sahara Desert creeps up and spreads out and causes change, our church family doesn't stay the same over time. Some people move on to join Jesus after their lives here come to an end. Some people move. Some people join other ministry homes. If our dream is to be a local church serving local people for the next generation, we need new people and growth to keep moving forward.

In Matthew 28, Jesus gives us the job of making new disciples. I'm sure the first disciples who heard this job assignment were overwhelmed and weren't sure what to do. For us today, the idea of switching to two worship services so we have seats for more people feels like a big move, and kinda risky.

Our worship services are changing lives. Some of the new people who have found us have shared that they needed a place to belong, or a place to connect with God, or a place to feel like they can serve and make a difference. Getting crowded is a good thing, but at some point we have to split and try something new so we can keep changing lives and obeying Jesus' job assignment for us.

Our African neighbors are taking a risk that digging half moon holes in the ground will change their landscape for the better. Are we willing to take a risk that expanding our worship services will connet more people to God and community? Let's take a chance and find out. Amen.

Pastor Anna-Lisa Hunter

November 12, 2025