Magnificent Creation

I'm reading Entering the World of the Small Church but Anthony G. Pappas and I had to stop and post this quote because it is just so beautiful and I felt I needed to share it.

"[Quality leadership] cares about the small church. It believes that each congregation is a magnificent creation of the almighty God and that each congregation is called to a ministry that it alone can accomplish. It believes that each congregation, no matter how small, is a mission outpost in its time and place. And it believes that each congregation has its own wonder and beauty that, by believing in it can be released."

I have been trying to put how I feel about Bethlehem in words for awhile. The other week when I was at a first call event in Massachusetts I was trying to describe how strongly I felt about the need for small churches and the life that is in Bethlehem. Many people may write off Bethlehem as not worth the time and effort to keep it alive since it worships "only" 30. But this quote hits the nail on the head.

Bethlehem is a magnificent creation of the almighty God that is called to a ministry that it alone is able to accomplish. It is a community of beauty and wonder and I hope for the entire world to experience that beauty and wonder.