55 Never Looked So Good

55 people attended English Christian Fellowship this past Sunday. This was, by far, the largest attendance since Pam and I arrived. The hotel meeting room was packed. It was amazing! Most of the new people are finding their way to ECF through our billboards.

What we had hoped and prayed would happen is actually happening. English-speakers who are looking for a Bible-centered, love-saturated and outreach-focused church are finding their way to ECF.

When I first arrived, I told our tiny congregation that when growth occurs a church does not become a bigger version of what it had been. Every time a church doubles in number, it becomes an entirely new church. Relationships change. Ministries change. Worship changes. Leadership changes. Organizational structure changes. Everything changes. I have seen this phenomenon repeatedly in the churches I have served.

People who once knew everyone, eventually know only a handful. The larger church is no longer “their church.” It feels and looks very different. As you might imagine, this is difficult for some people to process. Your prayers are now more important than ever! Pray for Pam and me as we seek God’s wisdom about what adjustments need to be made immediately and what things can wait. We want to move forward wisely…not too quickly but not too slowly, either.

However, one thing has become abundantly clear: there is a cavernous need for the Jesus-centered ministry ECF offers. At this point, it is not hard to envision God raising up a thriving congregation of hundreds of people.  But that will happen one step at a time. One answered prayer at a time. One person at a time. One wise decision at a time.

In the past few days, Pam and I have asked ourselves this soul-searching question: What kind of a church do we want to lead? If you were building a brand-new congregation, how would you answer that question? There are all kinds of answers. None of them are wrong, per se. Around the globe, God uses many different kinds of churches.

However, this week, Pam and I resolved that we want to invest our ministry efforts in Costa Rica to build a spiritually deep congregation.  We pray that the thumbprint of Jesus becomes stamped so deeply into ECF’s DNA that it would amaze the world around us. 

We know that God-honoring ministry “is not by might, nor by power, but by his Spirit.” So, we are learning to depend on God to plant in the growing ECF family a hunger to go deeper. We are also beginning to see spiritual seekers who want to discover more about Jesus and his amazing grace.

The journey continues. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Steve and Pam

P.S.

There is still time to join us on our trip to Israel, November 1-10. Click on ECF’s website (ecfcr.net) under Events to see the details.