Tom Cannon

That is my philosophy on people, ministries, and churches. People often think they have to be super-talented, a well-known ministry, or mega church to accomplish something significant for God. But is that true? Do you have to be someone ‘specially gifted, ultra-talented, famous, or wealthy’ to accomplish something significant for God?

We all love talking about new life, the birth of a baby, and fresh starts, don’t we? Yet, we often forget that new days, babies, and fresh starts typically begin with SMALLNESS. People who doubt the effectiveness of small churches haven’t studied history, because God has used many small churches, and seemingly ‘insignificant’ pastors in amazing ways.

Need proof? How about small church pastor, Smith Wigglesworth? Though his flock was never large, his impact (and theirs) was tremendous, wasn’t it?

Have you heard of a small woman, named Gladys Aylward? A parlor maid with a heart for God, who was rejected by China Inland Missions (Missionary Society), but by the Holy Spirit’s help, she influenced thousands for Christ in the nation of China, for years?

One of my favorites is a boy named Dwight L. Moody. Dwight was born in insignificance, but God used him to impact generations for the Lord, here in the United States and abroad. And all because the boy loved the Lord, and the man dared to believe God at his Word!

What about a little-known evangelist, from South Carolina, whose only real claim to fame was one young convert, named Billy Graham? When you consider all that Billy Graham has accomplished for the Lord, and that it took Rev. Mordecai Hamm’s faithful commitment to declare the Gospel, to make it happen, the man becomes an important figure in modern church history.

Need more proof that God delights in multiplying small seeds miraculously? Then consider the nation-changing revivals throughout history. I don’t know of a single revival that began in a large, or influential church. Nearly every revival began in a small church, or through one person who believed God for something miraculous.

The Revival in Scotland, Welsh Revival, Great Awakening, NY City Revival of Prayer, Azusa Street Revival, the New York State Revivals of Charles Finney, the Reformation, the Latter Rain Revival, the Charismatic Movement – had austere beginnings, but transformed nations, and impacted the world.

I want to encourage every person who labors in a place of smallness, or anonymity. Don’t be discouraged if the results of your ministry appear to be few in comparison to others. The Lord doesn’t look at the results the same way some people do. God considers one soul – whether it’s a Billy Graham or not – to be worth more than the world.

All the Lord is concerned with, is whether we faithfully labor for Him, love those He loves, and do everything we can, to fulfill His calling in our lives. Jesus revealed this principle to His disciples (Mark 9:41), “For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

Giving a cup of water to someone is a fairly insignificant act, isn’t it? But according to Jesus, such an act of kindness is enough to gain favor from God. What about Jesus’ own ministry team: Have you ever considered how insignificant they were, prior to their call to the ministry? Only 12 in number, and mostly from the working class, it would eventually be said of them, “Those who have turned the world upside-down have come among us.” (Acts 17:6)

NEVER ALLOW THE SIZE of your church, your financial standing, your giftedness, or anything else to dictate – what you can or can’t accomplish for Christ. The Lord reveals this truth in Zechariah 4:9-14, “Despise not the day of small things.”

Even the NT church had a meager start, didn’t it? Only 120 people gathered together in an upper room, the day the Holy Spirit fell – but in a few hours time, the church was transformed, and a new era had began.

Can revival STILL start like that TODAY? Think about it: When people gather together in an upper room environment (get alone with God) & ask Him to let His fire fall (Holy Spirit), isn’t that what revival is about?

Is there scriptural proof to support that claim? Yes. Read 2 Chron. 7:14, “If My people” …

Big Things Start Small: The Lord loves taking “the foolish (insignificant/ impossibly small) things of this world, and confounding the wisdom of men” with them.  (1 Cor. 1:27).

Look at Moses: For forty years, Moses thought he was somebody. But Moses spent the next forty years becoming nobody. The last forty years, Moses discovered what God could do with somebody who thought he was nobody.

God thrives on transforming “nobody’s” into “somebody’s,” by His power alone! No matter how insignificant you feel – or have been told you are – don’t buy it. In God’s eyes – YOU are mighty, YOU are able & YOU will succeed – if you trust in Him & BELIEVE.

If you discover the power of God for yourself – YOU can become world-changers, too. All it takes is a little something – called FAITH! God can do miraculous things with less than significant people.

Before you can conquer giants, climb mountains, or change the world, however – you must learn to DREAM BIG – and believe God for the miraculous. BIG dreams aren’t daunted by SMALL starts. Big dreams dare to look beyond the present moment & by faith, chooses to believe God’s Word.

How about you? Will you dare to believe God for great things, with your little faith? I hope so – because this generation needs YOU – to show them how to serve God victoriously. The lost will remain lost, forever – & darkness will continue flooding our land, until the people of God lay hold of His promises & believe Him for the supernatural fulfillment of His Word.

I once read an illustration about a man who interviewed to become the ”President of Princeton University. When asked what he needed to do the job, he told the board that he must have, “time to put his feet up on the desk, gaze out the window, and dream.’”

We must dare to dream! And we must dream to succeed. The Bible tells us, “Without vision (a long-term form of dreaming) the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18). We must allow God to take our finite minds – and fill them with His divine possibilities. That is what dreaming is all about.

Will you dare to combine your BIG DREAMS with your SMALL FAITH … and release God to do some miraculous things in your life? I hope so, because there’s nothing more confining, or suffocating than dreaming small, and daring to believe God for NOTHING! No matter how big your small faith is, it can works exploits, if you dare to believe God for something BIG in your life, or in the lives of others.

Now is the time to use the faith you’ve got, to it’s maximum potential, because our world is in need of a few miracles right now – and you (whether you know it or not), have the resource needed (your faith) to make them happen! For the sake of future generations, I hope you will dust off your faith, and start believing God for something miraculous – we will thank you when you do!

Excerpt FAITH Emerging by Tom Cannon  2011