Growing Deeper to Grow Out: What Does This Mean?
We are right in the middle of our fall sermon series, “Growing Deeper to Grow Out.”
Why are we doing this series? Let’s arrive at the answer by comparing two scenarios: traveling by airplane with young children versus traveling with older children.
Scenario 1: Imagine an entire day of flying with multiple children—an infant, a toddler, and a preschooler. You have to carry all of the baggage because the children cannot handle the weight. They also need to be carried, or beg to be carried, rather than walk on their own. You have to navigate the TSA line without losing a child or a piece of luggage. The first plane ride feels like a hostage negotiation. One child’s ears hurt, and he is crying; another won’t be quiet about how bored he is, and the other doesn’t like her free airline snack and is on the verge of tears. The Wi-fi is down, and you didn’t download anything on the iPad, so Paw Patrol can’t come to the rescue. The plane finally lands, and you find out you have a three-hour delay before the next flight. You feel like Moses in the wilderness, one inch away from being stoned to death by the Israelites. You wonder, “Why are we taking this trip again?”
Scenario 2: Add about ten years to yourself and the children. As a parent, you’ve acquired some skills and confidence you previously lacked. You’re a bit more resilient. But also, your kids have matured enough, both mentally and physically, to carry their own luggage. You still need a certain degree of vigilance so no one leaves their bag behind, but at least even the youngest can manage her bag. On the plane, everyone has a book to read or a game to play. There are a few low-stakes stressors or disagreements, but not enough to make you question the entire journey. There are some setbacks—a flight delay and a last-minute gate change—but nothing the kids can’t endure. The trip isn’t easy, but it’s not a nightmare. The destination is worth the journey.
What’s the difference between the first and second scenarios? Many of the circumstances are the same. The key difference is the level of maturity. The younger children weren’t able to weather changes, difficulties, or uncertainties, whereas the older children had matured enough to handle these same challenges with greater unity, harmony, and self-regulation. Maturity makes all the difference.
About a year ago, our board of directors conducted a series of strategic planning sessions. The aim of these sessions was to prayerfully discern where the Holy Spirit is leading our congregation in the next 5 to 7 years. While there are a number of background strategies involved as intermediate steps, they all roll up into the overarching consensus we arrived at and later shared at our November 2025 voters’ meeting, which is this: Grow deeper to grow out: In the next 5 to 7 years, the spiritual transformation of our members will lead to the targeted transformation of the Kearney area in a new or expanded location.
In other words, our prayer is that the Lord would continue to give us growth that will eventually overflow into a new or expanded location. This expansion could take a variety of different forms. Those details are still in the early stages of research and development. Our board has formed a group dedicated to thinking through our options, and we will most certainly keep you posted as things progress.
However, the specific details of expansion are not nearly as important as the deepening maturity of each member. We cannot responsibly and peacefully grow outward unless we have experienced deeper inward transformation. Our congregation will only be able to weather whatever comes next to the degree that we are mature in Christ. To apply the previous traveling scenarios, maturity is the main factor that determines resilience and success on the journey from point A to point B. Our goal is to be disciples who, amid the discomforts of the journey, can carry our own luggage, wait patiently in line, and avoid throwing tantrums or constantly complaining. Maturity means we can see the destination, play our part, and weather the inevitable ups and downs along the way.
Hence, the sermon series—growing deeper to grow out. Our goal is that during this series, all of our members would embrace the discipleship habits of worshiping, growing, and serving together. These are the necessary habits that keep our faith strong, our unity intact, and our sense of purpose clear. When the majority of our congregation embraces these discipleship habits, we will be ready to pack our bags and head toward whatever is next.
I close with a Scripture that often comes to mind when I think of the challenging, seemingly impossible unknowns of the future. It’s a prophetic utterance spoken when God had commanded his recently returned exiles to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem:
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts (Zechariah 4:6).
May our Lord accomplish in us, among us, and through us, far more than we could ever ask or think, all by his Spirit. Amen.
