Providence was planted with two main goals: (1) Grow and multiply, and (2) be a home for RUF. These two goals are easy to remember, but loaded with meaning.
(1) Grow and multiply
For many years our denomination (the Presbyterian Church in America, or PCA) has wanted to plant a church here in the Hub City. There are only three other PCA churches in west Texas, so Lubbock is a strategic launching pad for more. The long term goal for our church is to grow to the point where we can branch off and plant other churches in Lubbock and west Texas. So instead of trying to be a big church, we seek to multiply into a network of churches in our area.
The statistics show that the best way to reach non-believers with the gospel is to plant new churches. People in church plants tend to be very conscious about reaching out to the community. That is why we are committed to the church planting endeavor. We have been fortunate to see lives changed through Providence, and we pray that we will see many more.
In order to multiply, we must continue to grow. Our prayers for growth are not for the purposes of being a large church, but so that we can launch new churches in the hopes of seeing the gospel flourish. I know of several congregations who have been able to birth daughter churches when they have reached 250 people. So our goal is not to be huge, but to multiply.
So, what is involved in seeing a church grow? There has been much attention to this topic in recent years. Providence's approach to this is the same as many PCA churches and church plants – be healthy. Healthy things grow, and so we seek to be a healthy congregation. The research shows several key indicators of health, such as loving relationships, an interest in outreach, a spiritually minded congregation, a desire to multiply into other congregations, holistic small groups, and others. By holistic small groups, I mean groups that are more than just Bible studies. Thus we have a rule of thumb that less than half the time in a small group can be spent in Bible study. These groups are a lot of fun and very informative, but please note two important goals – get to know others better, and bring friends. Small groups provide an outstanding opportunity for new people to get involved in the church. Our Sunday school classes will be for Christian education, but small groups are focused more on fellowship and relationships. Most people join and leave congregations not because of doctrine. They stay or leave based on whether they are connected to others.
(2) Home for RUF
The second reason Providence was planted was to be a home for Reformed University Fellowship (RUF). RUF is our denomination's campus ministry. One of its distinctives is that the RUF campus ministers are under the authority of our denomination. Providence provides RUF encouragement, financial support, and a church home where students can hear the same perspectives as they hear from Marc and see what it means to be involved in a church. One of the most exciting things about the RUF ministry is that a very high percentage of the students in RUF are also attending local churches. This is very unusual in an age where students look to campus ministries as a substitute for church.
The future
So far we've been talking about the reasons why Providence was planted. We should also ask, "Where are we now and where are we going?" God has been very good to us. People in Texas and in the whole denomination are very excited about how things are going here. God has met all of the church's needs so far, everything from raising financial support before the church was planted to bringing many new people into our congregation.
Our church has grown from a few families in 2001 to being financially self-supporting within five years. We are in the process of electing our first group of elders and deacons. This is a very exciting time for Providence. It is very tempting to look around and think, "We've arrived" and lose our zeal for evangelism and outreach. We are at the stage where many congregations throttle back the engines, level off, and are content with "cruising altitude." But remember the vision – to grow and multiply. Therefore, we continually look for folks that we can invite to church, to small groups, and other events. Even if you don't feel like an evangelist, one of the most strategic things anyone can do is simply invite friends to worship and existing activities. It is God who causes growth, but He uses people like you and me to build relationships with people and introduce them to what is happening here.
So keep up the good work – in light of the growth we've seen, let us not lose focus of the challenges that still remain.