Part 1: Introduction

The Bible says that the Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven which a woman hides in a large lump of dough (Mt. 13:33). Eventually, that leaven will work its way through the whole lump. Jesus was saying that in the world as a whole, the Kingdom of Heaven was a very small part of humanity, but through the preaching and living out of the Gospel the Kingdom would eventually spread, ultimately filling the whole earth. Admittedly, the Kingdom is in its early phases; nonetheless, it has been a wonderful blessing to watch God fulfilling this metaphor in our community. Our small town has a very large Christian presence because the Gospel is growing and flourishing in our lives, families, and the various Christian congregations.

Years ago, the elders of Christ Church realized that as the Kingdom of Heaven grows and spreads in Moscow, so would the shepherding responsibilities. As a result, the elders decided that instead of expecting the pastor to minister to all the people by himself, they would share the “joy” by dividing the town into smaller areas called parishes. The people in the parishes would then be ministered to first by the elder(s) living in the parishes and then, for the more difficult cases, by the pastor.