God is Already at Work There
The amazing thing that I’ve seen time and again in these merger scenarios is that God has been laying the foundation for them long before the lead churches get engaged.
Oftentimes we see joining churches who have tried multiple things over many years to reach their community. For whatever reason, those efforts are not bearing the fruit that the team in the joining church was finding satisfactory. Maybe God was leading them through that process so they would come to the decision to join your church.
We know that many joining churches have been trying different things in an effort to reach out to people, but those things may not be working or resonating. Today would be an incredible time for you to begin connecting with churches that could potentially want to join you. But remember, God has already done an amazing thing in that community. He’s been at work there for a long time.
The work of God doesn’t begin when you open a church. You get the opportunity to join with him and partner with what he’s already doing.
Don’t Let False Humility Slow Your Church Down
Can we be honest for a minute?
I think the best church leaders to lead these merger scenarios are the ones who have a real sense of humility. The ones that aren’t sure why another church would want to join them in the endeavor. However, that can sometimes bleed over into a false humility that ultimately limits your church’s ability to reach more people.
If your church is growing and making a difference, I believe God may be calling you to be a lead church in this season. What you’re experiencing at your church is different than what is happening in other churches across the country. You have something different to offer to the body of Christ, and this could be your next step.
However, if you pull back and hesitate to lead out of a sense of false humility, you may actually limit the work that God wants to do through you. He could be calling you to be a part of what he’s doing to make a difference in this new community.
Let’s be honest, it’s God that’s at work in your church, not you. It’s his work. So why not try to see your role in the spread of his work into new communities?
Your Community and Their Community Need Thriving Churches
The good, hard work that will have to be done in your heart, leadership, systems and approaches in order to merge will honor the Lord and ultimately help grow his plans for your community and beyond!
Taking time to actually love the joining church leadership and their community will have a profound impact on you as a lead church. Take time to think through what it would look like to translate your church into a different community and think through the systems that will be needed to move the mission forward.
We know that a minority of churches are in the same position as yours. Your community, and the community of the joining church, need more thriving churches.
2020 is a perfect year to think about merging.
This article originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
