Big Dreams and Small Beginnings

Do you have any secret dreams that look so out of reach that you don’t even consider pursuing them because it would be too scary and impossible to try?


Last week I told you about my brother’s craft beer brewery. It’s an unlikely comparison, but his brewery encourages me as I think about our impossible dream of a church plant in a Muslim city.

My brother is starting his beer brewery out small. He bought the equipment, and is now looking for a warehouse to rent. He will start making and selling what he can by himself. “It’s what I can afford to do on my own,” he says. It’s a small beginning.

We are starting our new church plant small, too. We are reconnecting with old friends, praying for and reaching out to new people, seeking to share God’s love. Right now our church planting team consists of two families. We meet together on Sundays in our homes.

Our first church meeting was definitely a small beginning. We prayed for weeks and invited friends, but on the first Sunday morning no one came! There we were: two couples and 4 children, an unlikely church! I was so discouraged. “Lord,” I said. “This is not the great start I had in mind. Aren’t you supporting this? Aren’t you behind us?” Then I heard a voice whisper in my ear, reminding me of Zechariah 4:10. “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”(NLT) I knew God was speaking to me.

Small beginnings can lead to great things. The Wright Brothers first plane flight lasted only 12 seconds, but they didn’t give up. The first automobiles travelled at 2 to 4 miles per hour and broke down frequently, but developers didn’t give up.

We’re not giving up on our church plant either. We’re taking small steps, doing what we can and trusting that God will breathe His life and power into our small efforts. Last Monday night I shared the gospel with a girl I gave a ride home to from dance class. Yesterday I visited a friend and talked openly with her about my relationship with God. I prayed for her before I left. This afternoon my husband went to visit a man he gave a New Testament to last week. We’re sowing seeds and trusting that God will water them and bring growth.

Sometimes our dreams and goals are so overwhelming that they seem out of our league. We’re paralyzed because we think we have to do something big. When my husband started to talk about planting a church in Turkey, I thought, “Who, us? Are you kidding? Who are we to think we can plant a church?”

But here we are, taking small steps, doing what we can now to walk towards the dream God gave us and trusting that His power in us will accomplish more than we could ask for or imagine.

Mark Twain said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. “What about you? Do you have any dreams or aspirations? Is there some small beginning step you can take this week towards your goal?