I HOPE MY CHURCH DOESN’T LOOK LIKE MY YARD.

Matt Rice
Minister of Church Plant
mattrice@apexbaptist.org
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My yard looks terrible. It took a severe beating this summer due to the lack of rain. I have never been one to water – it is too expensive. I basically do enough not to have the neighbors mad at me. I am used to my lawn turning brown and crunchy by early July. But this year, in addition to my crunchy grass, I lost several bushes. You see, in order for your yard to survive it must have enough sunlight, water, soil, and air. All four of these elements are vital to the survival of your yard.

As I sit and think about “planting” a church in NW Cary, I have learned some early lessons about what I don’t want the church to look like – my yard. I have not cared for my yard nor provided the balance of the four elements needed for it to thrive. Therefore, I have a yard with weeds who masquerade themselves as grass and bushes (I have some left) struggling to make it.

The four elements necessary for a plant to survive are equally applicable to a church plant. First, the church needs light. In I John 1:5, John proclaims, “God is light.” Jesus said in John 8:15, “I am the light of the world.” Light provides growth to a plant. If this church will grow it will be because of Christ – nothing else and nothing more.

Second, for a plant to grow there is a need for water. In John 4:13 we find that Jesus provides water unrivaled for the believer and the church. This water satisfies and is eternal. The church must “tap” into this water to avoid becoming brown, crunchy, and thirsty like my yard.

Next, there is the issue of soil. Vital to the growth of a plant is the foundation it has. My kids know from the song, “The wise man built his house upon the Rock….. and the house stood firm.” Another song proclaims, “You (Jesus) are the air I breathe.” Air and soil are critical elements needed for a plant to survive. The church must breathe the air of Christ as she is planted on the Rock (Christ).

I do not want my church to look like my yard. I also don’t want my life to resemble my yard. What does your life look like? Is it brown, crunchy, and thirsty? I encourage you to open your eyes to the light of Jesus, drink from the tap Jesus offers you, fix yourself on the Rock who is Jesus, and breathe the air He allows you to breathe.

“”Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

I want my church (and my life) to look like this verse…..not my yard.