On watering the soil.
“Hey Oliver, I feel like God gave me a word for you and I was wondering if I could share it with you?”
These words, coming from a complete stranger on my second last Sunday pastoring at The House could’ve gone many different directions. But regardless of what would come next, I’m convinced God always honours risky faith, a step outside our comfort zone so my answer was “of course.”
He began, “I had this picture of two bushes in a garden. And one of them was growing and bearing fruit, while the other wasn’t. As I looked closer, I saw that the one bearing fruit was where the hose had been left on. It had been watered.”
He continued, “I think the point of the image was that prayer is like the water that makes the plant grow. And as you plant your church, remember that prayer will be the source of the growth, like the water.”
I thanked him, noting how relevant and helpful this word was. After a little small talk, he started walking away, only to turn around and ask, “Just curious, do you have a name for your church yet?”
"We’re calling it ‘Garden Church,’” I said.
“Cool", he replied, as he turned to walk away before stopping abruptly. “Did you say ‘Garden Church’?”
“That’s right,” I reply. “Garden Church.”
“Oh wow, of course it is. That’s amazing. I had no idea when that picture came to mind. I was so nervous to share, but obviously God knew what he was doing.”
Prayer is both simple and profound. It’s simple in that anyone, anywhere can do it at any time. It’s as simple as “thank you”, or “help.” Yet it’s profound because as we offer our simplest prayers to the living God, he does something with them. He listens, he moves, he acts, and he meets us. He responds to our prayers.
Prayer is like water. It nourishes, sustains, and causes new growth. It’s not only essential for growth but without it, life slowly withers. In the months leading up to a more formal “launch” of Garden Church, we’re committing to a weekly rhythm of prayer, to pour water in the soil of our city and in the soil of our hearts, asking God to respond. And those are two distinct invitations:
For the city - We want to contend for the city. We're committing to pray for the lost, those far from God, and those generally apathetic towards faith. Pray for God to move in our city, that it might flourish.
For our hearts - Pray for those who will make up the core of Garden Church, that people will be stirred to be part of our community and their hearts will begin to burn for a deeper life with God. Pray that God would move in our hearts, deepening our love for the city, the church, and our neighbour.
Would you set aside some intentional time each Wednesday to intentionally pray (and fast, if able) with us as we plant a new church in Kelowna? Don’t overthink it—it may be as simple as setting a calendar alert at your lunch hour, or on your daily commute, or skipping breakfast to carve out a little extra time to contend with us.
