Adventure. Results.
Life is wild sometimes. Oct ‘23-Dec ‘24 was not what I had expected. Let’s look at the direct results of co-working with God himself (2 Cor 6:1).
The year didn’t exactly start off right here. This is just me receiving my conditional ordination—it’s a way in which my ordination was transferred from one province (ACNA by means of the Church of Nigeria) to the Anglo Catholic Church in the Diocese of the Holy Trinity. Bishop Scarlett may be a bishop, but he still put my deacon’s stole on the wrong side. 🙃
But let’s back up to October. There were 9 people in mass the day that Ishi (my fiancé) and I arrived. I know because I checked the book. At the end of this blog, we’ll revisit the massive growth we’ve experienced since then.
Regardless of such small numbers, I knew this was precisely where God had called me. I left a thriving church that I was helping grow—a church with much money. I did this because, as usual, God told me what to do and when to do it (that’s the short version). He’s always directed me with perfect clarity. Some times I have to wait quite some time for an answer of “when,” even though he’s already given me clear direction. Other times, he gives it instantly. In this case, he’d told me roughly one year before my arrival that I was to move to Denver. And, shortly after my arrival (i.e., in under a month), I, through the Lord, made a convert in one conversation. Remember, the Lord Jesus Christ says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
This is Bryan, our sexton. He is here head deep in his summer harvest.
There’s stuff in the way, but he’s in the midst of harvesting a fruit that’s ready to be picked.
I’m showing you these photos for a purpose. We were both laughing, for reasons I won’t go in to, but do you see how he reached right down and picked the whole thing? That’s how easy it is. Now…cleaning the fruit, shucking the corn (etc.)…that’s discipleship. Harvesting is simply picking something that’s ready to be picked! And that’s exactly what I did with Biswanath. He walked in while I was doing some altar training with Abbot Patrick. I gave him my number, he texted me a few days later, we set a date to meet up, and we met up. In that simple conversation, he converted from Hinduism to Christianity. I didn’t argue, I didn’t debate, I didn’t convince him. God had already done the work. But he did the work, in part, through me (2 Cor 6:1). If you will pray daily for God to send you a convert, and you will offer your life to serve him, you too will make one as easily as I did. And Biswanath (pictured below) was not my only one in the year I’ve spent here at St. Mary’s.
In other news, BMX, motocross, and riding my BMW has been something I haven’t participated in very much this past year. I tore my ACL and I broke my ankle. I’ve been riding BMX for 28 years and I’ve only been majorly injured five times. Two of those five times have happened in the past year and a half. Still, I’ve done a tiny bit on my bike. And you’d better believe that didn’t stop me from dreaming about upgrading my current BMW to either a new one or a Ducati! At least my youngest son got a new dirt bike and we all got to ride together.
We’re going to be studying Ecclesiastes starting on the 16th, and I’m writing here about BMX because God, in Ecclesiastes, explicitly lets us know he wants us to know that his GIFT to us is to enjoy our lives and the wealth He has given us. I’ll expound on this starting Thursday, Jan 16th. Come check out the class. This concept is super important to understand because, from the beginning, Abraham and his descendants were blessed to be a blessing. This concept is not regulated only to the OT. The principles of Ecclesiastes are littered throughout the NT. Want to learn more? Come on Thursday nights for an in-depth study on the book. We will take a comprehensive look at what the Bible has to say about money, possessions, joy, and happiness (check the calendar page for the schedule).
Naisha was a Christian before she arrived at St. Mary’s. But this year she was baptized and confirmed. And David—a guy who described himself as a “disgruntled, secular Leftist”—converted to Christianity. He too was confirmed, having been baptized as a youth. God has been at work in St. Mary’s. In fact, He has been sending us between 2-5 new people every single Sunday.
There’s a couple at St. Mary’s that appear to be trying to single-handedly repopulate either our church or the world. I’m not quite sure which one. Either way, in the time I’ve known them, Lydia had just had a baby and then gave birth to another one. Three girls for the parents, four girls for the husband to deal with. 😬 What’s interesting, however, is that they were the only young family with kids when they arrived a while back. Since then, our local growth has brought in six families with kids. And we delight in hearing them in the mass and during our Bible studies.
On a totally unrelated note, here are two of my favorite shots I took in 2024.
As the church has grown, the community has grown. God has almost exclusively been sending us people in their 20s-30s. There is an apparent youthful interest in ancient Christianity, and, Sunday after Sunday, we have many following suit. The result has been a fuller congregation, lots of food being eaten, and possibly lots of weight being gained. Possibly.
The three most significant events of 2024 for me personally have been the incredible growth we’ve witnessed as a church, the opportunity to offer deacon’s masses (above) and my proposal to my girlfriend (above). Before April 21st—when I encouraged the whole church to pray daily at 12 noon for growth—our average attendance hovered around 18-25 people. But prayer changes everything. Bishop Scarlett once told me how an African bishop came to his church and told his congregation, “You cannot grow your church without prayer and fasting.” I believed him and, since April 21st, we’ve experienced a dramatic increase in attendance. Remember David from earlier? His story is a powerful example of this. After our congregation began praying, God interrupted David’s life in an undeniable way, and through His providence, he found his way to us.
What prayer are we praying? “Lord, fill St. Mary’s, fill us with all boldness to speak your word, and send us someone to disciple.” At St. Mary’s, we strive to focus on spiritual disciplines and advancing God’s kingdom. Worshiping God on Sundays is just the beginning—it’s also about going out and being the instruments of His reconciliation in the world (2 Cor 5:18-20). I often remind everyone here that we’re not called to argue, convince, or debate; we’re called to reap the harvest. Just like Bryan did above.
There’s been a clear connection between our church adopting the 12 o’clock prayer habit and the growth we’ve seen. Our phone alarms are set. They go off every day at 12. And, wherever we are, we stop and pray our short prayer. The timing of my sermon, our adoption of prayer, and God’s intervention in David’s life—followed by his journey to faith and the parish’s subsequent growth—are undeniably linked. Since implementing the noon prayer, our average attendance has skyrocketed from 25 to 40-65 every Sunday. That’s over 100% growth in just six months! (Not to mention the fact that, in 2023, we had 35 people at Christmas, and 84 this year).
Do you want your church to grow? Fast and pray. Are you looking for a new church to join? Check us out. Do you have children you want baptized? Father Bell will take care of that. Are you looking to learn more about the Bible? We’ve got a women’s Bible study, a men’s group led by Abbot Patrick, and two adult education classes (Thursdays and Sundays). The opportunity is there for all of us, and we all experienced an amazing last year, though life has its struggles. All of this was simply my past year (or a bit more). And I fully expect that, by the end of 2025, we will have tripled the size of our congregation, made more and more friends, made more converts, baptized more people, become more equipped to do the work of the ministry (Eph 4). I hope you come and join us.