Sharing the Gospel

One of the things that seems to concern folk in the mainline Christian denominations in the UK these days is the fact of the church's shrinking. There are notable exceptions, but broadly that is what is happening, and it ought to concern us. However, it is always worth reminding ourselves of our primary task. As somebody said to me recently, what we are called to do is 'not to grow the church, but to share the gospel'. Putting it another way, we are not called to be successful, but we are called to be faithful. Of course, it is encouraging when churches grow, and we should rejoice when we see that happening. However, when things are going in other directions, there is no need to despair. Our role is to tell the story - and doing that is what matters.