The Numbers on the Board
51. 45. 37.
Have you guessed what those numbers are? They are not (as far as I know) the combination needed to open a safe somewhere. They are not winning lottery numbers. They are not any number of things you may be thinking.
We could go on and on with various possibilities, but it’s probably better not to do that. They are the numbers I observed on “the board” of a small rural church building not long ago.
You do know what I mean by “the board,” don’t you? It is the board that is placed in the front of many places of worship. Sometimes, it is one of two boards. One of the boards lists the songs that will be sung during the worship service. The other board has information about the number of people who attended Bible classes and worship services the previous week. Sometimes there is also information about the amount of money that the members contributed.
In this particular congregation of God’s people, there were fifty-one people who assembled to worship on Sunday morning, forty-five who worshiped on Sunday evening, and thirty-seven who attended Bible study on Wednesday evening.
Some who read those numbers and understand what they mean may view them as discouraging. They may be thinking in terms of only fifty-one people deciding to worship the Lord on His day. If those who may be thinking this way could see where the building is located and how few houses are in that area, that might change their perception somewhat. The phrase “middle of nowhere” would not be too much of a stretch.
I’m hoping to change our perception a little. In fact, I would like to suggest that, instead of the numbers being discouraging, they are just the opposite. When I first saw the numbers, I was encouraged. At the same time, I also saw them as challenging.
What is there about such relatively small numbers that could be encouraging? To me, the answer is simple. It is the small difference among those numbers. It appeared to me as I saw those numbers that there were/are very few people who “punch their spiritual ticket” only on Sunday morning. A very significant number of the members of this congregation assemble to worship again on Sunday evening and return to study the Bible on Wednesday evening.
What is the challenging message? I’ll answer that by asking all who read this (including those who worship with me) a couple of questions:
What are “the numbers” where you/I worship?
How do they compare with this small, rural, kind of out-of-the-way church?
In some places, Sunday evening worship has been “officially eliminated” and Wednesday night Bible study is seen as a relic of the past. It appears to one observer (me) that this happened because, over the years, enough people “voted” for these changes by merely not showing up. Since I understand that an eldership of a local congregation is charged with the oversight of that congregation alone, those are the only observations I’ll make about that.
I will be honest enough to admit that meeting one time for worship may fulfill the minimum requirement found in the New Testament for “assembling ourselves together” (Heb. 10:25). It seems to me, though, that nobody who truly loves the Lord, His work, and His people should be satisfied with meeting minimum requirements for anything. I’m wondering if “the numbers on the board” might be at least one indicator of the health of a church and of its individual members.
I know from experience that those numbers can serve to encourage and/or discourage those who spend time, energy, and prayer in preparing sermons and Bible classes. These preachers and teachers are encouraged when people think enough of their efforts to benefit from the worship or study period. They are very discouraged when people choose other, less important, things to do (and maybe post those things on social media).
Maybe an analogy would help to communicate what I’m thinking. Let’s suppose that you and your family had invited some friends to your house for an evening. A meal was prepared and activities were planned.
Let’s suppose further that, while a few people did show up, some were conspicuous by their absence. Some of those might have even said something like, “Yeah, we’ll try to be there.”
How would you feel if, later that evening or maybe the next day, you were scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, or your “platform of choice” and you saw some of those people at a ballgame, a concert, on the beach, just “hanging out” with other friends, or some other activity? Would you have some trouble believing that these people really care about you and your efforts?
Of much more importance than all of that, there is One whose name we wear and who gave His life so that we could wear that name. Do you think that He is pleased when people who claim that He is their Lord will let almost any other activity keep them from assembling to worship Him and study His Word?
What are your plans for this coming Sunday evening and Wednesday evening?
AUTHOR Jim Faughn
