What's Certain in the Year Ahead? The Church.

In 2021 is anything certain? After an (dare I say?) unprecedented 2020, is there anything we can depend on in the year ahead? Our hubris an artifact, we wonder if the kids will be in school next year, if we’ll ever make it back to the office full-time, if we’ll ever again be “normal.” We walk with a newfound flexibility and humility, and somewhat of a limp. Never before have we said “if the Lord wills” (James 4:15) so many times a day and really meant it. 

People say the only certain things in life are death and taxes. But there’s one more. There’s one certainty we can count on, come what may, in the days, years, and millennia ahead. It’s been around for over 2,000 years and it hasn’t waned yet. 

It’s the church.

The New Testament church has survived plagues and pandemics, genocides and gendercides, persecution and famines, politics and polarization, economic booms and busts—everything history has thrown its way. Generation after generation, the church remains. 

Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:15-18). 

The church will always stand because Jesus is the one who builds it. Our God is everlasting. Eternal. Beyond time. Before Jesus ascended to heaven he called his disciples to go and make disciples. He ordained the church, that we might know him, serve him, and shine brightly so that others might meet him. He is the head of the church. In everything Jesus is preeminent.

So if you want something to count in 2021 and forever and ever after that, it’s the church—Jesus’s treasured possession. We aren’t going anywhere because he’s not going anywhere. I know we’re far from perfect. We fail and falter, sin and repent, and try again. But our God is perfect. And he’s sovereign. He gives life and breath and everything. And he’s the one who builds his church. 

When we, the church, walk as we ought is there anything better in all the world? When we follow our Lord we: mourn with those who mourn, feed and clothe the needy, offer cold water to the thirsty, seek justice and love mercy, consider others better than ourselves, count it all joy when we suffer, and lead people to the saving and unconditional love and mercy of the Savior. In step with the Spirit, the church is the single most beautiful and humble force for good across all of time and space. 

So then, church planting is a joy and a gift. True, it can be scary and hard, sacrificial and faith-requiring. But there’s nothing I’d rather do, no place I’d rather be. Our family has participated in church planting in Asia, Europe, and the United States. We’ve seen Jesus build his church in multiple languages and amongst myriad people groups. We’ve seen the peace he gives, the new life he brings, the soul security he provides to anyone who calls out to him in the midst of a storm. 

If you are a church attender, church member, church leader, or church planter, rejoice! You are a part of something that will never pass away, something as certain as our risen Savior. You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16). 

In 2021 and every year forever we can walk in joy, faith, and rest. Jesus will build his church, and nothing, not even the gates of hell, will prevail against it. That’s the promise of our risen Savior. Christ and his church are certain. 

(We always say we will never sacrifice our family for the mission, but we will always sacrifice as a family for the mission. Along with other families and amazing friends our kids have always played an integral role in church planting. Zoe helps with tech stuff, Abby helps with worship, and Hannah helps with the kids’ ministry. It’s a good to be on mission together as a family. It’s a joy to raise our girls to be contributors, rather than consumers, of the church. It’s for their good and they like it!)