By Shannon Caughey

Last June I was taking a prayer walk and pouring out my heart to God about the “plan for growth.” I was confessing my feelings of inadequacy as a leader and asking whether the idea of a second TCBC site was possible for us as a church. As I was doing this, Exodus 3 suddenly came to mind. This is the passage in which God speaks to Moses out of the burning bush and calls him to lead his people out of oppression in Egypt. 

Do you remember Moses’ response when God lays out his plan for using him to deliver his people? Moses says, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” I realized I was asking God the same type of questions: “Who am I and who are we as TCBC to be considering such a huge step? Can we really do this? Surely you know, God, all the reasons why this is going to be very challenging.”

God’s response to Moses: “But I will be with you.” When Moses continues with his questions, God says, “I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.” God redirects Moses’ focus. He says, “It’s not about who you are or what you have or don’t have. It’s about who I am and my presence with you. It’s about what I can do.” God directs Moses to stop living a story defined by his human limitations. God invites Moses to live a far bigger story—God’s story.

The message of Exodus 3 hit home with me: God is inviting us as a church to live his bigger story. In fact, as I was praying I wondered if God may be saying to us, “The problem is not that you’re asking me for too much but that you’re believing me for too little. My story for my church is way bigger!”

Whether or not God directs us to pursue a Scott Park site, my prayer is that this “plan for growth” process will stir in us an unquenchable desire to see God’s story unfold through TCBC. Let’s not settle for lesser stories. Whatever the ministry details, God’s story for us will be huge and stretching—and completely possible because he is with us.