The church I attend desires to grow. We've changed behaviors and organization and are beginning to reach for a new level of involvement and personal commitment. Church growth doesn't seem to be an easy thing, because the church is full of people. I pray we don't get in the way of ourselves. I trust that God will respond to us trying, even if we don't have a perfect formula in place. So far, though, things look very promising.

It's like the story of the man who owned an orchard. His money was dwindling and his trees were failing to produce the quality fruit customers used to rave about and ask for. So he prayed to God to help him. No matter what he needed to do, he felt prepared to try. That night, he had a dream. In the dream, the man saw himself digging under a tree not far from the center of his grove. Buried under a particular tree, he found an immense treasure that appeared to have been long forgotten by those who had hidden it. The man awoke the next morning, full of vigor and excitement, determined to go to the tree he remembered so clearly from his vision the night before. He grabbed a shovel and a pair of gloves and headed out to the orchard. He found what he believed to be the very tree from his dream, and he dug all around it. He dug for hours, all around the roots of the tree, but found nothing. He dug deeper still around the tree, yet still found nothing. He replaced the dirt, and then dug around the nearby trees, thinking he had perhaps been looking at the wrong tree. Still, he found nothing. He requested all his workers to come to the orchard and dig with him. They dug into the night, they dug for days, spiraling out into the orchard until every tree had been dug under. The man was exasperated, as no treasure was found in all their efforts. The man continued to pace his orchard each day, trying to remember where the treasure had lay, wondering if they had missed a tree or dug too shallow. Each day he walked, he noticed the trees looking healthy and lush. Each week that passed, he saw the life spring back into his trees, and the next season yielded a masterful crop that surpassed any previous crop he had ever seen his many years. His money troubles were now gone, his workers strong, his excitement returned. God had answered his prayer.

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I just want to know where to dig. I know I can't do the whole field myself. Just point me at a corner.