It’s an absolute delight that our church family here at St
Francis has grown over the past few years, both in numbers
and depth of encounter with God (judging by conversations I
have now, willingness to share what God is doing and to give
and receive prayer, as well as growing home groups) . We’re
also able to offer more ministries to the community thanks
to our brilliant staff and volunteers - think GP Chaplaincy,
Footprints, Café.
Whilst we can celebrate, it isn’t to be smug or complacent -
not at all! Rather, we need to recognise the changing
needs we have in order to respond to them. In Acts
chapter 6, we read that the disciples were increasing in
number (v1) and therefore more help was needed with the
practical aspects of running the new church (v2-4). Stephen
was appointed to essentially be the operations manager (v5)!
Stephen was no less spiritual - he was ‘full of grace and
power and did great wonders and signs among the people
(v8).’ And of course he was the first martyr in the church. The newsletter on the church website outlines how we can respond to a growing church.