Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, -Matthew 28:19
At times, I find myself spending some moments thinking of our quieter Church, of those places where Orthodox Christian life is only beginning to find its feet. Not the established churches with decades of history and many families of two and three generations, but the small mission churches in villages and cities where Orthodoxy is largely unknown to the greater community. I am drawn to these mission churches; they have something of a quiet, humble, brave beauty about them, if only we make it a point to notice it.
Mission churches are a reminder to all of us that the Church is a living, dynamic entity, not simply something that exists where we already know it, but rather something that continues to be born either with great urgency, or with great slowness-in new locations. A mission parish typically comes into being because a need is noticed: a desire of a small group of people that their children might grow up in the faith, or a need of a particular priest or bishop who sees that a spiritual home must be established where it does not yet exist. There is an inherent beauty to this; it is the Gospel at work, in its most quiet and unassuming way.
Of particular beauty to me about mission parishes is that they teach us how to build a community from scratch. At the mission parish there is no assumption that “someone else will do it.” Each and every person in a mission parish becomes, both, a steward, and a builder: they will stay late to clear away the few chairs and tables used at the liturgy, bring food to share at the fellowship meal, offer their gifts and talents to the church, donate icons from their own homes, they will prayerfully offer their needs to God and sacrificially offer their own to Him. This is holy work.
It is from that simplicity that beauty rises, a beauty in which the people know themselves to be known and to be needed, and to belong. It is in mission parishes in these Orthodox deserts that people have the opportunity to grow in their faith on an authentic level, without being expected to have acquired a lifetime’s worth of experience. It is in a mission parish, too, that those unfamiliar with our faith can ask candid questions; it is in a mission parish that a growing family can find a stable spiritual home; it is in a mission parish that the Orthodox witness can take root in a place in great need of it.
Mission parishes also stretch us spiritually. They ask us to trust God in ways we might not have to in a fully established community. There are moments of uncertainty, about buildings, finances, attendance, or the future, but those moments often become the very places where God shows His faithfulness most clearly. I’ve seen it again and again: doors open that no one expected, people arrive who were quietly searching, and resources appear just when they are needed.
In our world of constant, rapid movement, the mission parishes cause us to slow down and to remember that the Church comes into being by means of relationships, prayer, and committed effort and that our deeply treasured. Our firmly established churches and cathedrals began as mission churches. Someone had to take the first step. Someone had to believe that Orthodoxy could flourish in a new place.
And so, supporting mission parishes is not just about helping a small community survive. It’s about strengthening the future of Orthodoxy in America. It’s about planting seeds that will become spiritual homes for generations we will never meet. It’s about honoring the courage of those who say, “Let us begin.”
I’m grateful for every mission parish I’ve encountered: their resilience, their hope, their willingness to build something beautiful in the Lord. They remind me that the Church grows not only through grand gestures, but through the quiet faithfulness of people who love Christ and His Church.
May we continue to pray for them and celebrate the sacred work they are doing. Because in those small, humble beginnings, the life of the Church is renewed again and again. Amen.
