He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” — Matthew 13:31-32
Small is Big. Less is More.
Small is Big. That is one of our underlying themes within A3.
We’ve seen mighty moves of God through investing in just a few leaders at a time. Just like Jesus spent much of his time with just 12 disciples, we come alongside a few at a time and see mighty harvests develop over time. Sure, Jesus also spoke to the thousands periodically so we believe in a both/and approach but it is surprising how often something small, like the mustard seed, can become mighty.
Even on a personal level, my wife is tiny, but she has a lot of influence. Or, even my colleague Kareena, she is even tinier but she’s a force to be reckoned with!
Digi-Church
Most recently I was asked to share about a revolution happening via digi-churches and the formation and expansion of micro-churches is astounding. Check out my article on these movements at Global Missiology...
As Silk and I were preparing to move back to the U.S., we thought to best lead A3, we should be practitioners of what God is doing worldwide. Given how God is moving in micro-churches, we thought perhaps this is something the U.S. could use too. As increasingly younger people are disinterested in church, we approached our home church, a larger regional church in the South Bay of L.A., about experimenting in synergy with them and they have blessed us in this effort.
Launch Time
So, this summer Silk and I will be leading a, or several, micro-churches as part of our night jobs. Don’t worry, A3 remains our primary engagement but on the side, we’ll be leading micro-churches to see if God might be doing something new for the U.S. while we watch these movements flourish globally.
Pray for us and pray for the Church worldwide as these fresh expressions of church life keep growing. Perhaps we’ll see what we’ve been hearing about from China and the Philippines. May we see a revival of his church across Asia, into the farthest reaches of our planet and even here in the United States!
Rev. Joseph W. Handley, Jr., Ph.D.
President, A3
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@jwhandley
@jwhandley
More Information
- Related article: Digi-Learning: Accelerating Theological Training and Leader Development during COVID-19
- Fresh expressions of the church: ekklesia
- Articles related to "Small is Big" concept
