Every Sunday was a battlefield for an already wounded team. We felt we needed a break from it all. The team went up a prayer mountain last weekend to quiet our hearts, refresh our commitments, and seek God.
Yes we have good stories to tell, but the numbers tell otherwise. The Wednesday seeker service continue to average at 10 contacts, and most of them are not our strong contacts. Our Bible study attendees are down to 12, most of them youth. There was one Saturday I invited 9 of our strong contacts for evaluation purposes, only 2 were there. Bottomline is, today, after more than a year’s ministry, the numbers are not yet enough to form a local church.
This may be our wilderness experience before getting to the land of promise. Maybe we need some hard lessons before we get there. Maybe last month we did so many things at the same time. Maybe we need to change strategy, or target area, or maybe this is not the right time. Amidst all these speculations, the difficult fact is… we’re losing steam. At this point, we covet your prayers so much.
Yesterday, I talked to an urban church planter based also in Sampaloc and gave me a question I could not forget. What if success is just around the corner and you stopped? He also said that Manila, particularly Sampaloc is a big challenge for church planting. It is like rocky soil, and all I’m doing now is to merely remove those rocks and tend the soil. One year is short for this kind of place plagued by animism and materialism. We need to do some more cultivating.
Brothers and sisters, I know I’ve only asked a year for your prayer support, but I can only go as far as you are willing to partner with me. Can you walk with me for another year?