In our western culture of excess, choosing to start small seems strange. We like to launch our work with a big splash, overwhelming everyone with our instant success. Even in our churches, we’ve adopted strategies that mean bigger and bigger buildings, more people on staff, and a congregation so large people have to be divided up into “small groups” to get to know each other. It’s a consumer approach to God’s kingdom.

Churches are judged by how quickly they grab a big piece of the market share. New attenders want to know … Are their messages conversational and relevant? Do they have a killer worship band? Will my kids find the youth group exciting? With another church just down the street, they’re looking for the best bang for their buck (and time investment).

Borrowing from secular marketers, we know what draws a crowd and builds loyalty. It’s relatively easy for us to put together an appealing package that will draw large numbers. But how many of the people who gather to sing a few songs and listen to a sermon are serious about following Jesus? Is the North American church a mile wide and an inch deep?

Christians from other parts of the world who visit are sometimes shocked by our indulgent attitudes and our unwillingness to stand for biblical truth. We crave human praise (John 12:43) and cringe at the thought of suffering for our faith. In many ways, we’re like the church at Laodicea (Revelation 3:16) that Jesus said He would spit out of His mouth.

It’s natural for us to judge by appearance. We assess something by its size, power, attractiveness, and influence. But here’s a sobering thought: By any of those parameters, we would not have judged Jesus as a world changer. When the Romans arrested him and nailed Him to a cross, everyone (including His disciples and loyal followers) figured His rise to glory was all over. What a lesson in not drawing our conclusions too early!

The first-century church didn’t have a million-dollar building fund for erecting an impressive sanctuary. Their only means of winning the lost was proclaiming the truth, sharing and praying with each other, remembering the Lord together, teaching what Jesus had taught them, and using their homes as centers of hospitality. (See Acts 2:42-47.)

With everything against their success, they had no choice but to start small, stand fast, and trust that God knew what He was doing. In spite of everything – the persecution, cultural hostility, and rampant idolatry around them – within a few years the early church turned the world upside down! (See Acts 17:6.) They were unstoppable for this reason only: They believed God and were sold out to representing Him at any cost.

Jesus set the example for them. He was unflinching in His obedience to His Father, no matter what the results might be. In one day He lost nearly all His followers, the large crowds that had been so eager to identify with Him up to that point (see John 6:53-66). When they left Jesus calmly turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” Peter answers for everyone who’s come to know Him intimately: “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Even though those early disciples had nothing in themselves to recommend their message, they trusted that God would work through them. It’s the attitude we need if we want to turn the world upside down in our generation. God chooses vessels that are weak, unimpressive, and seemingly ineffective to accomplish His purposes. Here’s why:

God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise … the weak things of the world to shame the strong … the lowly things, the despised things … so that no one may boast before him. (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)

How would God’s kingdom become visible and impact the surrounding culture? In one of his parables in Matthew 13, Jesus explained it like this: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches” (vv. 31-32).

What a picture the early church was of the tiny mustard seed! Most of them came from the lowest rung on Judean society – the poor, the uneducated, those without power or influence. But once He filled them with His Spirit, God sent them out, like lambs among wolves, to be a blessing. They took on the powerful Roman Empire, the Jewish religious establishment, and the predominant idol worship of their day and prevailed. “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). That made the difference.

Today Christians often feel like two small fish and five barley loaves. How could we ever meet the spiritual needs of the world? Through us, Jesus can still feed the multitudes, but we have to be willing to start small and depend on Him. We will be successful in one way only – one soul at a time. Are we willing to invest ourselves in personal relationships? Will we open our homes to bless others? Will we mentor younger believers so they can become mature and effective disciples? We may only touch a handful of people, but if we reach them with the love of Jesus, we will in time transform our communities as each member of His body does his or her part.

What about megachurches? Are they useful in reaching our culture? They certainly can be. They enable large numbers of people to encounter the claims of Jesus and hopefully, some will receive Him. For believers, it’s great to enjoy the benefits that come with a larger church – great sermons, inspiring worship music, a comfortable environment, children’s ministries, special classes, and a variety of other training venues – as long as we see the amenities as tools, not ends in themselves. Along with all those opportunities for personal growth, we must find ways to put into practice what we’re learning so others can benefit from our spiritual abundance.

Smaller spiritual settings, like tiny houses, don’t offer all the benefits of a larger space. Growth doesn’t happen as quickly as we’d like it to, and some people we invest in won’t pan out. But the promise of the mustard seed is that in God’s time, under the influence of His Spirit, the people of God can and will become a tree of blessing for the entire world.

Are we sheltering others under the canopy of His grace? We have the potential to become the largest plant in the garden, but we must be willing to start small and trust in the power of God’s Spirit to bring change. It only happens one heart at a time. Who will you let rest in your branches today?