The Remnant Will Survive
God has been very kind to our church plant. A thousand words could not capture all the grace God has shown us. But one specific evidence of His grace is the amount of children we have in our church. It’s such a joy to see young families with littles running around on Sunday morning, to see groups of families meeting in the home, and to see the kids' tables filled. Children are indeed a blessing from the Lord (Ps 127).
Having a church full of young families is a blessing in the general sense, but it is also a blessing in the specific covenant sense. All over scripture you discover that the presence of children is a strong indicator of God’s blessing on a people walking in obedience to His commands (Gen 1:28; Gen 15:5; Deut 28:4). So as a church family we are thankful for the fruit of the womb, and we are also desiring to be obedient stewards with the fruit we have been given. And that means we are committed to teaching our kids the way of Jesus (Eph 6:4). And as we teach our kids to be obedient to Jesus we believe God will continue to multiply our blessing.
Our church is committed to coming alongside parents to help them with their responsibility to teach their children. One of the ways we serve young families in our church is by offering a Sunday morning kids program that seeks to saturate our kids with a knowledge of the scriptures and to show them that the scriptures point to the person of Christ.
And because God is blessing our church family with children, we are filling up the kids room in our Sunday gathering space. And that has led me to search for a larger space to house our kids. And that has led me to have conversations with people who own spaces in our community that are available to rent or purchase. And because some of those available spaces are old church buildings, that has led me to have conversations with members of other local churches in the area who have either had to close their doors or who are nearing the end of their life as a congregation.
The juxtaposition between their older congregation and our younger congregation is obvious and humbling for me. Listening to an elderly church member reminisce over bygone days can be heartbreaking. Listening to an older member of a local church that has seen a steady decline in membership for the past 10 years is difficult. The grief and loss is real. And one of the most obvious areas of heartbreak for a withering church is the absence of children. It really makes a group painfully aware of the fleeting nature of life. We are all dying men and women and it is only a matter of time before we all wither and pass on to be with the Lord. And after that we hope our children perpetuate what we have built and continue to worship our God. But sometimes that doesn’t happen. Life in a fallen world means that until Christ comes back everything we build is vulnerable to rust and rot as well as the destructive force of human flesh. This makes church groups and church buildings vulnerable to the volatile life cycles of growth and decay. Our church plant is not immune to this.
I know that our church is in the season of planting. We are in a time of newness and of growth. But I also know that there is a time for everything under the sun (Ecc 3:1). More than likely the church we are planting will also enter into a season of decline and will wither like an aging and spent fruit tree. The lord will do what he pleases with the work of our hands. One day in my old age I may have to hand the keys to our future church building over to another wide eyed church planter.
But this does not lead me to despair. I was reading in 2 Kings this morning and I came across a familiar theme in the Bible. It is the theme of “remnant.” The passage I read was this: “And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD will do this (19:30-31).”
The story of Israel’s Kings is full of highs and lows. From the heights of David and Solomon’s Temple, to the lows of Manassah’s idolatry and Israel's captivity, you see it all. Some moments of Israel’s life as a nation there was flourishing. Babies were born, the land produced plenty, and the people lived in peace and prosperity. But in other times there was famine and the children of Israel were stolen away by enemy nations.
The pattern seen in Israel’s kingdom is similar to the pattern we see in the life of the church. The Lord gives and the Lord takes (Job 1:21). There are ebbs and flows of growth and decay. There are seasons of gathering building materials and seasons of gathering the rubble. But we do not lose hope because all the while, in the midst of it all, God is preserving a remnant for his own possession.
Just like the nation of Israel, not every person in the church knows and loves the Lord Jesus. Like Jesus said, in every field there grows good crops and bad weeds (Mt 13:24-30). And like the reigns of individual Kings came and went, local churches come and go. But God has always preserved and blessed the remnant of people who stay faithful and keep their eyes on Him.
This means it doesn’t matter how dead or dying an individual local congregation a remnant will always survive. Because the church is ultimately the people of God not the buildings and programs. Even when the building gets sold off and turned into a brewery, the church will remain the house of God. Even when the state no longer recognizes our 501(c)(3), God will keep the church incorporated for eternity because our founding member conquered death. Jesus promised to preserve a remnant from every family, from every local church, and from every nation on earth when he said “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18).
So wherever you find yourself in the life cycle of growth and decay, know this. You will survive. You and all who have pledged their allegiance to Christ will be preserved through the remainder of your years on earth and into eternity. Any church member that has to bury their articles of incorporation and sell their building can walk away a survivor. Any church member who has been burned by a church leader and has had to walk away from the church they found Jesus in can walk away a survivor. Even if something man has built has crumbled around you and you find yourself an exile and a wanderer know this: The Lord will root you again. This is because you are not just walking away from the ruins of your past, you are walking toward Christ. And in Christ there is life and a future.
Keep your life centered on Christ and your roots will grow deep. And as Jesus himself promised, you will bear much fruit (Jn 15:5). Abide in Christ in all things and no matter how hard the wind blows or how hard the storms rage. In Christ your roots will be deep and your fruit will grow high. This is a promise you can bank on because God himself promises to do it.
So in all things look to Christ. And in all things you will bear much fruit, no matter the circumstances.