It is a little difficult to imagine now how uncertain things felt when our church first began.
I had to settle my heart that the church plant might fail, whilst at the same time trusting God for his favour. I don’t know what the others felt, but they certainly took a risk in becoming founding members.
Those early Sundays were interesting. A bunch of supportive people showed up for our first-ever meeting in late September, but in the following weeks, it was a little more shaky. We were essentially no bigger than a home group.
Eugene had found the venue and negotiated its use for a mere £10 p/h. Joshua set up the tech (about three cables and a couple of mics). Jenny and Sie made cakes and tried to keep the two kids quiet at the back. Irina printed some bulletins with song lyrics. Dan Tan or Jocelyn led worship (except that one Sunday when they were both away and it fell to me). Danny offered lots of much-needed encouragement whilst getting us registered as a charity. I preached my heart out, making sure my voice reached the second row (there wasn't a third). And we all prayed. That was pretty much it.
But then Annabelle showed up and said she wanted to join. She brought Hannah and Estera and Jamie. Shanice found us too. And so did Chloe, and then James and Tim. We were absolutely flying… as long as everyone showed up at the same time.
I reflect back now and I’m sort of surprised anyone stayed. I’m not sure I would have joined a thing like this.
But then I’m less surprised when I remember how much fun we had, and how incredibly passionate and enthused everyone was. And most of all, we were really quite certain that God was with us.
And so, early on, we settled it that it was important to mark certain moments to give thanks to God. Nothing is certain except his faithfulness and his goodness. So, we wanted to take our opportunities to pause and say thank you, especially with each year the church grew older.
Now we’re approaching 10 years. A decade. And God has been so faithful and so, so good. I would love for every one of you to join us to celebrate on 4th October as we mark this moment in the life of our church.
(Photo from Grace London’s first birthday)