In their years of growth, the body of a child is soft. That’s why even if they fall or hit hard, they are less injured than adults. Life is not fixed but is characterized by constant change. Even water will rot and smell with time. Similarly, a healthy church is also one that is consistently adapting to change. While things change, it is also important to gradually establish a developing system.

Although on the surface the process of change can look exciting, there are many adjustments needed and inconveniences when you look inside it. As a child’s body grows, they constantly need new clothes and shoes to fit, and you should throw away what they do not need to replace with the new ones. If you do not, the house will easily get messy.

Our church is a heavily changing church. Members change so frequently that as the years go by, the number of people you don’t know becomes greater while new gatherings continue to be created. Fortunately, with most church members being young and adaptable, we were able to keep up with such changes and continue to grow.

I also am adaptable and accepting to change. Although I will stubbornly push for things that I believe are important, I also rush into new plans and situations when I feel it changing. This style of thinking may be uncomfortable for many, so I am grateful for the church leaders that persevere and follow.

Although it happens every year, more members have gathered at both our Wimbledon and Central churches as we entered 2024 and the space for worship are getting crowded. I have thought purchasing a building would solve the issue for our Wimbledon church, but the prices in Central seem impossible. As a workaround, I am also thinking of creating an additional service for the time being.

There are many things to consider when considering having two services. Firstly, the ministry teams would have to be divided into two which will require more people. Secondly, cells will also have to decide which service to attend which will also be dependent on the certain cell members that are serving a team. There may be also a situation where there are multiple cell members serving different teams and services which may lead to members having to move cells also. If you have created close relationships in one team or cell, breaking the gatherings up can be very difficult for many.

We may not know all the reasons why God keeps sending more members to our church, but I believe that He wants us to serve the many fragile churches and take good care of the vulnerable souls that need help. Attending the service every week is precious, but when there is a need for change, I hope we all can pray and take part in serving the church to add strength to the community no matter how small.

I often say ‘In our church, even staying for 6 months is a long time’. Even if your main church is elsewhere and your stay here is only temporary, I hope that all who attend our church will believe that God has sent us here to serve as our church and become a part of the community.