As we recently passed the six-year mark of worshiping as a new mission congregation in Lehi, Utah, I find myself talking to our gracious God about different things than I would have expected at this point in our ministry.

When we moved across the country to start a new church, we had hopes, dreams, and plans. We wouldn’t say they were overly lofty plans—they reflected what we thought made good sense with the information we had. We had a rapidly-growing community and a family happy to help. I talked to God about the visible blessings he gave us: riches poured out in a beautiful setting, a fast-growing school system for our young kids, and what was sure to be scores of people longing to hear the Good News.

Fast-forward to 2025, and now I talk to God about all the change our small mission church is going through. I ask for patience as we get plenty of visitors but not exactly scores of folks longing to join. I ask for humility as we reach out to those who aren’t able to reach back. I seek God’s wisdom and assurance while as a congregation we look for different opportunities to share our space and rent with community partners on evenings and weekends.

I thank God for his invisible kingdom found in visitors who maybe come one time but leave with a message they had never heard before. I humbly give thanks for the dozens of people who return for special services but aren’t really looking for a new church.

I thank God for his visible kingdom: for the respite our church provides for those of us living in a hidden and unexplored culture in Utah County; for our established members and the new who come with questions and seek clarity; for the random texts, phone calls, or e-mails from long-time connections who have questions about something they heard at one of our services years ago. I thank God for his patience in my life as he continually helps us grow even in the face of what seems like frequent failures.

I thank God for unexpected days like Nov. 3, 2024, All Saints Sunday. For some reason, our worship space was full. It wasn’t all familiar faces. There were new families too who were joining us for the first time. Extra service folders were hastily printed. The service focused on Psalm 23 and the harsh reality of the valley of the shadow of death and the only answer found in our Good Shepherd. The sermon was plain talk about sin and grace, law and gospel. There were tears, more than in any other service.

Later conversations with one of the families would reveal why the message had seemed so personal but exactly what they needed from God’s Word. On what seemed like an unlikely Sunday for outreach, the Holy Spirit worked through the Word as God has promised he would. Two new families who visited for the first time on All Saints Sunday have continued to come back. They have started taking Bible Basics classes and are well on their way to becoming members.

I talk to God about a lot of change, some expected, but most of it unexpected and completely undeserved. Just like his grace. Which thankfully never changes.

Written by Rev. Dan Heiderich, home missionary at Good News Lutheran Church in Lehi, Utah

I sent a picture of a kitchen table to Jan last fall. After a few decades in Colorado, Jan relocated last summer and reached out to me when she heard about the donations we were receiving to serve our community, especially furniture and household goods for migrants settling into apartments with their clothing, a few blankets, and not much else.

Jose and Paola had both their sons baptized

The table in the picture was part of the haul that we transported across the span of metro Denver to deliver to a new home. I remember Jan mentioning her own family moments and special memories that happened around that table while raising her kids, but as she was downsizing and moving across the country, it just couldn’t make the trip with her. She was glad to hear that the table would be a blessing to a family. I also remember it was a pain to take apart and, even in pieces, quite heavy, requiring two grown men to maneuver it up from the basement. Yes, it was in the basement, and the thought crossed my mind to decline the donation simply out of my own laziness.

However, that day I sat at that same table with Jose and Paola and not only enjoyed a delicious plate of food but also shared God’s Word with them and prayed with them. The conversation even turned to setting up a time to baptize their two small sons. During our conversation, Luis, a young man staying with them, stopped scrolling on his phone while on the couch nearby and took a seat at the table to join us with his own questions. Since then, more conversations and more Bible studies have taken place and several new faces have joined us around that table. The boys were baptized in our Spanish service in February. Jose and Paola want to keep studying to grow in their faith and knowledge and become members of the congregation.

God is blessing donations we have received in ways we couldn’t ever imagine. Jan was so happy to hear that another family is being fed with God’s Word around the same table where her own family held devotions and shared so many memories. As we continue to serve our neighbors by connecting them with clothing, food, diapers, English classes, and even used furniture, we remain excited to see how God will use that generosity to connect them to their Savior.

To God be the glory!

Written by Rev. Paul Biedenbender, home missionary at Christ Lutheran Church in Denver, Colo.