⁹The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the LORD of hosts. -Haggai 1:9

Through the prophet Haggai, God sends great encouragement to the people. Yes, things look different. Yes, it doesn’t look like the way it always was. No, we can’t promise that the number of people in your pews will ever be the same. Haggai calls it like it is in verse 3: “How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing?”

One of the words I’ve started to cancel from my vocabulary is the word “only.” We say “only” too much when we talk about our churches. We only had this many people show up. We only have these programs. We only have this kind of worship. We only have this kind of choir. Why do we say only so much? I very much like this philosophy from writer and pastor Rick Chromey: don’t count the people, make the people count.

Haggai comes back to the people with a promise from God: that even if, in the moment, you don’t know who you are becoming, God has amazing things in store. In verse 9, the Lord says through Haggai, “The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, and in this place I will give prosperity.” We don’t know what kind of church God is creating. Yet we can trust that by the grace of God, it will be amazing. May we stop using the word “only” to talk about our communities of faith. May we trust in God’s creating power, which never ceases, and in God’s love which knows no bounds.