By Brandon Miller, Director of Children's Ministry
In my first reflection, I shared what I saw and heard on a vision trip to North India with Frontier Fellowship: a conference with 150 church-planting pastors, stories of healing and suffering, and a network of churches that’s multiplying thanks to the presence of the Holy Spirit. So, what could this teach us at Blacknall? My trip left me thinking about some ways we can reflect on God’s work in our lives and at our church.
Trust God in the Midst of Uncertainty
There are so many reasons why a network of church plants like what I saw in India could come to a halt in a Western context: money, space to meet, and denominational requirements can all serve as roadblocks. I’ve wondered how in the West, our need for growth goals and success has prevented us from stepping into the fullness of God’s vision, even when what can be a “success” may not be clear right away. In contrast, I was struck by the willingness of these Indian pastors to step into uncertainty. And it’s a riskier uncertainty than not reaching a church budget or fewer worshippers than expected on a Sunday. It could include true suffering, rejection, and poverty.
But one thing I heard again and again was that if God has provided the vision, he will provide the provision — and not in a prosperity gospel sort of way. (The Christians I met in this region were well acquainted with the proximity of suffering.) But provision comes from a wholehearted trust that the Holy Spirit is guiding us. Is this something we’re practicing in our daily lives?
Be a Church Where You Are
I’ve meditated on Jesus’ words to the Gerasene demoniac in Mark 5. After Jesus miraculously heals this man, the man comes up to Him and asks to go with Him. But Jesus says, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19). From there, this man was sent as the first evangelist to the Gentiles in the Decapolis, “and all the people were amazed” (5:20).
The teachings of the Noor Network echo this passage; they encourage their people to go back to the cities and villages where they are from and to tell them about what the Lord has done for them. And in their own communities, they then form new worshiping communities.
I wonder how this might apply to our life at Blacknall. Are there people we could “go home to” and share about what the Lord has done in our lives? Do we have stories to tell about the awesome ways God has transformed our lives? (We do!) Could we draw our neighbors in to join us at Blacknall by sharing these stories?
Small Groups as Micro-Churches
Hearing from many of these church leaders about their in-home worshiping communities, I found myself wondering about the difference between what we call “small groups” and what they call “micro-churches.” Perhaps the most salient difference is that the in-home worshiping communities there are built to grow. From their inception, members of the group are encouraged to invite others in, urgently and repeatedly. The members of the group invite anyone with whom they have a personal relationship. And the church has grown!
We’ve experienced this in recent years with the growth of our own small group ministry at Blacknall. The number of groups has increased as more people have gotten involved, allowing new hosts and leaders to start new groups. During the latest New Members Weekend, more than half of the people who attended were already involved in a small group! It’s just one example of how something important is happening here. Let’s lean into the evangelistic strength of inviting others into our small group life together.
Invite the Holy Spirit
Something we talked about frequently in our discussion groups, and something I asked many of the pastors I met, was why there was such a proliferation of stories of miracles. In the West, we hear these stories rarely, if at all. Many theories were offered. Some said that we had an overly intellectualized faith, others said that we offered glory to science for what God was ultimately doing. I find myself struck by one hypothesis: In the West, we miss out on signs of miracles because we don’t look for them.
In India, I did not witness many careful, tightly articulated, or liturgical prayers. I witnessed messy prayers begging for God’s providence. These were prayers formed of a deep relationship with God, an earnest faith with many needs. I pray we would see the depth of our needs and invite the Holy Spirit into all spaces of our lives to guide us similarly.
Blacknall is an incredibly healthy community, and I love the way we follow Jesus. I hope that witnessing the ways that a community on the other side of the world is following Jesus in similar and different ways can help us to learn and grow as we live our life together on the corner of Iredell and Perry.