Top Lessons from 2011- Be Faithful in Little

My next several posts will be lessons I learned or re-learned (the hard way) in 2011. All of them were learned through experience not books or in theory. Hopefully, I can save you the pain of learning them through difficult, so learn from my brokenness.

BE FAITHFUL IN LITTLE BEFORE BEING ENTRUSTED WITH MUCH

I started out 2011, leading Lifehouse with a vision to plant one new church this Fall and start 2 multi-sites, one on Saturday evening and the other as a 2nd campus on Sunday mornings. To be frank, I even shared with our team and thought privately that it was very ambitious and seemed impossible. I suggested that it's not really how churches function, even a thriving, healthy church like Lifehouse.

Then, I figured, "our vision for the Church should be overwhelming and seem impossible."

We planted Lifehouse- Hedgesville and it publicly launched in Sept. 2011! We're very excited about what God has done and is doing through Pastor JD and LHC-H.

BUT the lesson: we didn't start 2 multi-sites in 2011. We are still working on getting a multi-site service up and going and have it in the works for 2012. We very much plan on making this happen with God's help. However, we did learn a hard lesson: Be Faithful in Little BEFORE being entrusted with much!

God entrusts us with little so we can prove faithful and fruitful. Once, we've learned the necessary skills, lived the experiences, and developed the character needed to thrive in much, God will entrusts us with MORE. Then, MUCH!

We had not proven that we could launch ONE multi-site or plant ONE new church! So, it was not only ambitious to plan to launch 3 in one year, it was unrealistic. Not because God is unable, but because Kingdom- wisdom requires us to learn, be faithful in little THEN be entrusted with more.

We are planning on launching a multi-site this year. We hope to learn all the necessary lessons and gain all the necessary experience so that we can launch another.

What lessons do you need to learn in your area of "little" so that God can entrust you with "more"?


How can you prepare yourself rigorously for the dreams God has put in your heart?