Small Beginnings

Small Beginnings

Lydia

Read: Acts 16:11-15

Anne hung up the phone after listening to her friend rave about her church’s holiday program with its special effects, orchestra, and large cast. Once again she had urged Anne to leave the tiny country church she had attended for forty-eight years. We may not have the equipment and resources that many modern churches have, thought Anne, but we don’t lack faith. She mentally listed what their little group of fourteen members did have: meaningful Sunday services, special celebrations and meals together, and a commitment to meet for Wednesday-night prayer meeting—something that her friend’s larger church had dropped.

Lydia also met with a small group for prayer. Although she was a Gentile, she worshiped the God of Israel. She must have longed to learn more about this God of the Jewish people, but in Philippi there was no synagogue. She faithfully met with a little group of women on the Sabbath to pray, and one day, God answered Lydia’s prayers and hopes.

Paul had a vision of a man begging him to “come over to Macedonia and help us!” (Acts 16:9). Paul and Silas immediately sailed for northern Greece. The next Sabbath, they went outside the city and found the women gathered at the riverbank. Lydia responded to the gospel and became the first convert in that part of the world. She had a crucial role in the church as it spread throughout Europe.

It’s easy for us to get caught up with numbers and play the comparison game. We may feel that our little church or Bible-study group is not as important as bigger ones, but God is concerned about the state of our hearts, not the size of our groups. God will respond to our desire to know and serve him, whether we’re in a tiny country church or praying with a few women on a riverbank.

[Jesus said,] “Where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

Matthew 18:20