There are fellow laborers in the Faith, and then there are fathers. John Amstutz is one of just a few fathers to our church. He has always been encouraging, always showed that he cared, and even though we can not say that we know him intimately, it would seem that we were long time friends to a casual observer. That's just how John is. It is a unique quality, which everyone who knows him, will readily mention.

A number of years ago, we held a "small church" seminar with John as our speaker. Seven, or eight churches were in attendance with their pastors, and other members in various leadership positions. Our own leadership was there, and there were a few other people besides.

After the seminar ended, and John had preached on Sunday morning, he remarked at the positive influence which we were having among the community of the saints in our region. As he spoke, he said these words which have continued to echo through my mind, "Your influence is greater than your size."

It is my hope, that this should always be true. Like a pungent perfume which fragrance arrives before its wearer, and lingers long afterward; I would hope that the influence of myself, my family, and my church would far outreach our direct presence.

Having an influence greater than your size is an attribute of vital Christianity. We are called the salt of the earth, and the light of the world. If we are living in the dynamics of these truths, then like salt we will give flavor to all that we touch, and like light we will emanate our influence well beyond ourselves - just as the light of the light bulb reaches miles beyond the bulb itself.

It is not automatically true that every church has an influence greater than its size, but it can become true of any church of any size. Numbers are not the operative element in dictating the emanating influence of the church. The Person of the Spirit of God is the real power which goes before us, and stays behind long after we have departed.

This is an encouragement for every small church. When we realize that our influence can be larger than our size, this truth keeps us from falling into that snare of discouragement which captivates our minds with smallness: The smallness that tells us we are insignificant, the smallness that says that our limitations are too great to be of any real help to anyone, or the smallness that causes us to give up trying to accomplish great things.

One Man changed the world, and He put His greatest efforts into twelve men. It only takes a few to turn the world upside-down. Yes, we, the members of the small churches of the world, can have an influence much greater than our size.