"A Christian married couple I know of
had to move out of London and leave
their church to go north with the
husband's job."
"Much to the surprise of some of their
long-term Christian pals they began
attending the little and very local
Anglican church in the village to which
they had moved. The Christian friends
of the couple had concerns. The church
was small, the teaching was not
heretical but it was not great, and
there was nothing there for their four
children.
"It was while talking through these
concerns one evening with one of their
friends that the husband made a comment
which was highly significant. He
said, ‘How could we drive past one
church to go to another?' They felt,
before God, they just could not do it.
"They refused to dismiss the little
church because it was in a poorly
state. They were more concerned to help
Christ's cause there than they were for
their own immediate welfare
or ‘enjoyment' of the ministry.
"To join a big and thriving church is
not always wrong, but it is frequently
the easy option. To join a little,
needy congregation is not a decision to
be taken lightly. It will probably
require far more guts, love, resilience
and spiritual exertion. But how the
devil would love to herd Christians
into a few big city centre churches,
getting them to travel miles from their
communities, and leaving vast tracts of
our country with no viable witness for
the gospel.
"This book is written as a plea for
Christians to think again about getting
involved with a small church. Ask
yourself the question, ‘How can we
drive past one church to go to
another?'"