Five Gold points
Today marks my fifth year leading Royal Tribe Church. As the church’s leader, I stood on the altar for the first time on January 14th, 2018 to share the vision that God had placed in my heart for the congregation. I lacked any previous church leadership experience, as well as any formal or informal instruction. All I had was a passion for God’s work and a willingness to pursue it.
A part of me thought I would never succeed as I stood in front of the 108 people there.
I mean, I had just relocated to a new city to work for an investment bank six months before. How was I supposed to pastor a church when I was living in another city?
At this point, the church had been around for about two years, and neither the members nor the leaders knew much about me. It seemed I was set up to fail.
But there was another part of me I was committed to cling to. It was the part of me full of faith, the part of me that was scared but willing to do it, scared. A part of me that knew that every experience in my life had led to that point. A part of me that knew that the commitment of God to always be with me was sufficient for the road ahead.
As I look back 5 years on, I reflect on the enormous journey we’ve been on as a church as well as my individual journey.
By December 2018, we had discovered that we would no longer be holding services in the same location and were unsure of our next location. Our congregational membership reduced drastically when we relocated to a building on the outskirts of London in a much more remote area. It was tough and challenging.
By 2019, we had to move again to a more permanent place and our attendance dropped even more. We prayed and planned and intended on relaunching with bigger plans and dreams. We had no idea a global pandemic was coming our way in 2020.
We did not have a church service for the first three months of the pandemic. We had little to no expertise with streaming services and lacked the necessary tools, but God worked things out, and we soon started streaming weekly services on our YouTube channel.
Within the same 5 years, my personal life was just as dramatic. I got engaged, married and unmarried (I know!), visited 11 countries, changed jobs 3 times, and moved homes twice. Frankly speaking, at some point, I didn’t even think there was going to be a church after all of this.
Despite the congregational and personal turmoil, I’m most grateful for where we currently are. Someone asked how I feel, and I thought I’d write to express it.
I would rather have a small group of combat-ready individuals than a large number of weaklings.
I feel like I understand the demands of my role better. I wasn’t told or taught anything when I assumed my role. I had a lot of figuring out to do. The demands of this plus a demanding full time job was tough.
I feel like I comprehend the fundamental purpose of prayer. Knowing my flaws and inadequacies, I started to pray more. Without God, I knew I could not succeed. I realised I needed him and had to hold onto him.
This was not my work; it was his. He was going to give me the tactics, I knew that. One of the most difficult jobs on the earth is dealing with people, and I think it is even harder in the church.
I was aware that everything required God.
I feel like I get how the church as an organisation operates. Unknown to me as I started, the church involves more than merely gathering on Sundays to hear sermons. It involves establishing systems that will function without the leader. It is creating a culture that will represent the church in private.
I feel like I value my relationship with God more now. I can only say that I would be dead if it were not for God. As dramatic as that sounds, it is the real deal. I would be physically and spiritually dead.
I feel a bigger burden, yet I am not as scared. I sense a heavier burden in my heart. I feel a deeper sense of urgency and more sympathy for the people. However, I am less frightened because I think the God who brought us here will be with us all the way to the finish.
I feel like we haven’t started. Eyes have not seen, neither have ears heard what awaits us. We are still in hiding and at the appointed time, God will make us known as he instructs us to go take the nation for him.
I feel like we have more structure now than ever before. This makes us ready for the rain. The clouds are full, and the rain is about to fall. God has enabled us to put structures in place for the rain, and I’m most grateful for that.
I feel like we’re more spiritually equipped than we’ve ever been. We are less in number now than when we started, but we have a stronger structure and are more spiritually equipped than we’ve ever been. I would rather have a small group of combat-ready individuals than a large number of weaklings.
Finally, I feel like I am part of a family, not just a church.
I sense safety, authenticity, and genuine love.
Forever grateful for how far we’ve come and really optimistic for the future. You can read about my vision for the future in the sister post to this: The Church I See.
PS – the featured image is a picture of the current leaders of RTC as of the writing of this post.
