The very first Union Church event is officially on the calendar. We will host an interest meeting in our home to pitch the vision of our church on May 30. Over the last year we have developed relationships with about two dozen Auburn/Opelika residents who have expressed some level of interest in partnering with our church plant.
Technically, this is the second official Union Church event. Almost a year ago to the day (May 31, 2017) I was invited to participate in a community wide prayer meeting in Opelika, representing Union Church as we prayed for new works to begin across Lee County. Just under a year later – here we are – with towers of still-packed boxes in our garage and a partially furnished living room. However unsettled as we sometimes feel, we are still overwhelmed that the Lord provided this opportunity and this house – and it continually serves as a reminder of his provision and answer to those early prayers.
As we head into this initial interest meeting I’m reminded that God uses small things to advance the Kingdom.
“He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches…” Matt 13:31-32
Because when I catalog Union Church’s assets it’s hard to imagine us making much of an impact here:
- 1 partially furnished house
- 1 partially completed website
- 1 partially funded budget
- 28 potentially interested contacts
But then I read passages like this:
“And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied…” Luke 9:16-17
Specifically, for this meeting and broadly for our church’s entire ministry, our prayer is that God would use our small, slow, ordinary resources and supernaturally multiply them to feed people in this city.