Valuable lessons don’t come easy for me. On Thursday night, September 21, 2006, I remember staging our first small groups pastors celebration under the tented area at Maadi Community Church. More than one hundred and forty people who had undergone small groups’ pastors training since August, 2000, joined together to celebrate the amazing things the Lord had done through the small groups of the church. During this time I had opportunity to share several defining moments of our thrilling six and a half years of small groups’ development journey.
I explained that I arrived at MCC from Australia in May, 2000, full of confidence and enthusiasm, with a plan under my arm … ready to launch-out to establish networks of small groups that would help grow MCC through multiplying disciples and multiplying groups. I shared that it wasn’t long before I found myself flat on my face before the Lord, feeling shattered and defeated – crying out in desperation to Him … “Why hasn’t my plan worked? Why is frustration and failure the fruit of my labour?”
Through waiting on the Lord I heard Him whisper back to me, “For I know the plans I have for you …” (Jeremiah 29:11a). How naive and arrogant of me to presume that I knew enough of my new assignment to have raced ahead of God with “my” plan, without having consulted with Him. Through that sobering blunder I gained a better understanding and appreciation of Psalm 127:1, where the psalmist says, “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is useless”.
With a renewed perspective, the Lord began to reveal to me in small parts, His plan for small groups development at MCC. The plan that He unveiled was radically new to my experience. Over a number of months my dear wife, Beryl, patiently persevered with me to sketch-out God’s plan, with biblical specifications and illustration, on our home computer. The finished plan looked great, and I felt peace that this was going to work!
Following the plan the Lord revealed to us – a plan that is founded upon three great passages of Scripture (Matthew 22:36-40; Matthew 28:18-20; and Ephesians 4:12, 16), many in our church diligently laboured together to establish networks of small groups in our church that would … “Equip God’s people to do His work, and build up the church … so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love”. This great plan emphasises a balance of personal growth in four spiritual dimensions: Upward (Worship), Inward (Fellowship), Outward (Evangelism), and Forward (Discipleship).
At that time, more than 800 people had undergone small groups development training at MCC in the 6 ½ years. Although each trainee had the plan carefully presented to them, sadly not all kept to the plan. Those who kept to the plan tasted sweet-success and those who strayed away from it did not. God’s plan worked exceptionally well and still does – at any time, and in any place! Through sticking to His plan, Fredrick and Bosco planted one small group in a poor community in Cairo that grew and multiplied many times over and resulted in 91 small groups (with 947 members) in just two years!
Friends, I am so glad my plan did not work. My plan did not provide for multiplying churches and multiplying movements. It didn’t enter into my mind that this could ever happen. God, however, planned for this to happen – 297 groups, 2768 members, 5 daughter churches, and more than 1,000 new believers! All this, and much more, because of our resolve to stick to His plan!
