Ten Years of Arrowhead Greeneville
Pastor Lee & Mindy at the Arrowhead Greeneville interest meeting on Dec. 6th, 2015.
When you were ten years old, you felt like you had lived a lot of life. You’re in the double digits now! There should be some respect given to you since you made it a whole decade! That seems like a long time when you’re only ten, but as you get older, a decade moves by pretty fast. As you add more decades to your age, you realize that you knew nothing at the age of ten. I kind of feel like that as we celebrate the 10th birthday of our church. It seems like it took a long time to get here, but at the same time, our first service on April 10, 2016, seems like yesterday. As I reflect on these ten years, I feel a sense of pride that this faith family has endured its first decade of life, but I also feel like there is a lot more to learn and grow into. Allow me to share with you a few things I have learned over the last ten years.
1. Faith is a Must-Have
You have to have faith when stepping out into anything new. Planting a church is a large task. Having never planted a church before, I didn’t know what all I needed, but I did know I needed God’s help. I knew I needed the Holy Spirit to guide us and bless all we did. I knew I needed Jesus to be the head of the church, not me. So faith was a must-have.
As the church began and we faced growth issues, my faith was often weak. I needed the faith of the other core and launch team members to pull me along. The faith of others often encourages you to have a stronger faith yourself, and this was the case for me many times in the first few years. Even now, as we are stepping into a new phase as a church, I see the growth, but I also see the holes in my faith. I have become more aware of my need for other people’s faith to encourage my own. The Lord is at work, but sometimes it’s hard to see. Sometimes it’s hard to have the faith that is needed. So I’m thankful for the faith of others that makes up for my weak faith at times.
2. The Faithfulness of God is Awesome
Even though our faith may be weak at times, God’s faithfulness is always certain. He does not wane or falter. This has been a great comfort over this first decade. God will always be faithful, even if it seems the situation is too far gone. Jesus will build his church (Matt 16:18), and it doesn’t matter what limitations I or anybody may have, Jesus will build his church His way and in His timing. His faithfulness is truly awesome. I don’t use that word lightly. I truly mean that I am in awe of the ways that God has provided for this church and the other Arrowhead congregations over the years.
He has provided what we needed, when we needed it, and many times over what we needed. He has been faithful in bringing amazing staff members to us throughout the years. He has equipped and made elders available to us at the right time. His faithfulness is truly AWEsome.
3. The Gathering of God's People is Life-Giving
Sundays are life-giving for me. Even though I am exhausted once it’s over, the gathering on Sunday morning is a B-12 shot. It boosts me. I hear people’s stories of how Jesus is changing them and growing them to be like Him, and it encourages me. I hear the “great sermon, Lee” comments, and it helps me to know that God is using the preached word. I also get the “Hey Lee, I didn’t like what you said” comments, and even though those aren’t as fun to hear, they are helping me grow as a preacher/teacher, and that is life-giving.
God’s people are called to “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom 10:12). Many in this church have done this for my family and me, and I am truly grateful. I also see this being done with others in the church who are not in leadership. We should love each other so well that the world knows that we are disciples of Jesus. This is what the church is to be about - helping other believers in their walk and helping those who don’t know Jesus get to know him and follow him. This is life-giving work.
4. Although We Have Grown, We Have Much to Grow Into
As I reflect on the growth of our church over the past ten years, I am humbled that God would use me to be a part of something like this. But my mind goes very quickly to the next ten years. The numerical growth may not be the same in the next ten years, but the spiritual growth should not slow down.
This is what I hope and pray that we continue to see over the next decade or even century: the local body of Christ called Arrowhead Church Greeneville growing in Him, following Him, and living it out in their homes, at their jobs, and around the world. We have work to do, and it’s to get the word out that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Let’s not slow down, but keep going as hard as we can. We don’t know when Jesus is going back, but let’s be found faithful when he does!
To learn more about our church and our history, click here.