Two Years
/Pam and I just completed our second anniversary serving with English Christian Fellowship in San Jose, Costa Rica. The past two years have brought a whirlwind of changes in our lives and in the church we serve. This seems like an appropriate moment to pause and reflect. What have we learned?
SERVING IS GOOD
Over time, it’s easy in ministry to develop a sense of entitlement. This is especially true for someone like me who “served his time” laying down carpet for 3+ years at the Sparks YMCA while we were planting Summit. It happened slowly. Almost imperceptibly. I didn’t even notice. But, bit by bit, I began to think that it was someone else’s turn to do the “grunt work” in ministry. Without realizing it, I began to think I was above certain tasks.
Then we arrived in Costa Rica to lead a motley crew of 10 people from ECF who were tired and discouraged. And there was no facilities team to carry boxes, no secretary to look up addresses, no worship pastor to craft services and no kids ministry leader to recruit volunteers and find curriculum. That was a rude awakening.
This meant that Pam and I had to begin doing things that we had not done in many years. Boil it all down to this: we had to serve. And serving is good. It makes us more like Jesus. After all, wasn’t Jesus the one who washed the muddy feet of the disciples?
I heard his voice more clearly than ever one Sunday as I was carrying boxes of equipment into the hotel for church. Under my breath, I said, “God, what’s wrong with this picture? Why am I carrying boxes? I used to have people who carried boxes? Good grief, Lord, I have a Doctor of Ministry! Isn’t this beneath me?”
Then, Jesus whispered into my soul, “Steve, never get too big to serve. Serving is good.”
GROWTH IS GOOD
The first six months in Costa Rica were discouraging. Pam and I poured our hearts out and, yet, we saw little progress. We had almost no visitors. The few that did come looked around at the tiny group who were meeting in a room large enough to seat 500+ people and practically ran out the doors when the service was over. Most never came back.
It is desperate when even the Pastor doesn’t want to go church! Desperate times require desperate measures. So, we said (in proper Christian terms, of course), “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!”
We moved the service time to Sunday at 11:00 AM. (The church had met for 40+ years at 5:00 PM Sunday evening.) We moved the venue to a hotel with a meeting room small enough to not feel swallowed up. We asked someone we hardly knew, someone who had not picked up his guitar in several years, to lead worship. We spent $50,000 on billboards plastered all over the city telling people about ECF. And we prayed.
Surprise, surprise…new people began showing up. They trickled in. One family and then another. Singles. English-speaking people from around the world. Some stayed. And the church began to grow. Slowly and steadily. This has continued for the past 18 months. Last Sunday we had 127 people in our service and the room was full of energy and life.
Growth is good. It gives life and hope to a congregation. Ben Merold was the pastor of my home church when I became a Jesus-follower. Ben once told me: “Steve, work to make this year’s highs next year’s lows.” The churches Ben served (and the churches I have served) have followed this trend. Perhaps the growth isn’t spectacular. But it’s growth. It’s is “up and to the right” slowly and steadily. And growth is good.
DISCIPLESHIP IS GOOD
In God’s wisdom and sovereignty Pam and I were introduced to Rooted a few years before arriving in Costa Rica. I’ve often said that Rooted is the best combination of head, hands and heart discipleship I’ve ever experienced. We have been able to use the 10-week Rooted journey to create a new culture at ECF that’s biblically sound, relationally healthy and Jesus-centered.
Next week, Pam and I will begin the seventh Rooted group that we have had at ECF since we arrived. Each of these experiences has provided the brick and mortar that gives spiritual substance to our emerging congregation. To become a Jesus-honoring church, it’s not enough to simply attract a crowd. The crowd also needs to be transformed into a biblically functioning community. Discipleship is good.
SURRENDER IS GOOD
The past two years have been a season of constant surrender to God’s loving purposes.
· Many times, Pam and I have both been incredibly lonely. We have had to surrender that loneliness to Jesus.
· We have had to surrender again and again the ache in our hearts from living thousands of miles away from our children and grandchildren.
· We have had to surrender the people who were once part of ECF but then decided to leave. This is always one of the hardest parts of ministry.
· We have had to surrender Pam’s health.
· We have had to surrender our finances.
· We have had to surrender what we thought ECF would look like.
· We have had to surrender comforts…Costa Rica is not the USA.
· We have had to surrender to Jesus. Over and over and over.
After two years, Pam and I are different people and ECF is a different church. It’s been quite a journey. We asked the Lord for a new adventure. A new adventure is what he has given us. We thank Jesus every day for the unspeakable joy of living for him.
Warmly,
Steve and Pam
