Once upon a time there was a little red train that rumbled over the tracks. She was a happy little train for she had a jolly load to carry. Her cars were full of good things for boys and girls. There wee toy animals—giraffes with long necks and Teddy Bears with almost no necks at all, and even a baby elephant. There were dolls with blue eyes and yellow curls, there were dolls with bobbed heads, ribbons, and furls. It was filled with tops, kites, and model airplanes—it had clowns, books, and model trains. It carried apples and oranges and spinach to eat, it carried peppermint drops and lollypops for after dinner treats.

All was well—chug, chug, chug. Puff, puff, puff. Ding-dong, ding-dong—until she slowed to a stop. She tried and tried but she could go another inch. What were all those good little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain going to do without the wonderful toys to play with and good food to eat?

Well, it wasn’t long before some other trains came along—surely they would help! First a shiny new golden passenger train came by, second a big strong black freight train, and then a rusty old train. Although they were all able to pull the toy filled cars over the mountain, they all made excuses why they could not. For one reason or another, they all said, “I cannot. I cannot. I cannot.”

Finally, a Little Blue Train came chugging down the tracks. The toys all asked if she could help. Although she was not large or strong and had fewer resources than the other trains, she was willing to give it a try. They connected the cars and slowly started up the hill. All of the toys and dolls began to smile as the Little Blue Engine repeated the words, “I think I can—I think I can—I think I can—I think I can…” Over the top of the mountain and down into the valley they went. When they pulled into the city, everyone erupted with shouts and cheers. With some huffs and puffs, the Little Blue Engine said, “I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could.”

Most of you have heard this story before. Children everywhere have been enjoying The Little Engine that Could since at least 1930 when Platt & Munk Publishers produced the version by Watty Piper. It is a wonderful story of courage and determination. I enjoyed this story when I was a child and this past week I was able to share it with my children.

As much as I love the story of The Little Engine that Could, there is another story that is dearer to my heart. It is also a story of courage, determination, and faithfulness.

Once upon a time, in 1817 to be exact, a small church of fourteen charter members formed in a certain little village. Of those fourteen members, six of them were from the Webster family. For the church’s first 80 years, the church never had a membership of more than fifty people. When the church celebrated its 100th birthday it had 77 members.

It was 10 years after the church’s inception that it was able to erect a building for the purpose of worshipping God. The structure was built in a beautiful Puritan meetinghouse style and for many years it was shared by an unlikely combination of Baptists, Universalists, Methodists and Congregationalists.

Throughout the years this little church experienced many ebbs and flows; it climbed over mountains and trudged through valleys, but it remained faithful to the Lord and the Lord remained faithful to it. For many of those early years the church did not have a regular pastor, but visiting ministers, student supplies, and lay people stood in the gap.

In 1921 the little church was losing steam and it decided to federate with the Methodist church next door. They began rotating back and forth between buildings every six months and they rotated pastors every three years. They operated this way for the next 65 years until 1986, when both the Congregationalists and Methodists voted unanimously to form the Franklin United Church.

Present
The Lord has continued to bless and expand this church over the last 23 years. In the short six years I have been here, I have been astounded by what God has accomplished. There has been a steady flow of conversions, consistent spiritual growth, increased fellowship, and deepening relationships. Our youth ministry has exploded and is making a difference in the lives of young people all over our county. Christian leaders are being formed and many are getting involved in ministry. All the while this has been going on, God has enabled us to double our missions budget, finish renovations downstairs in this building, add the handicap accessible entryway and paint the big church, and do extensive remodeling in the parsonage. It is simply amazing to consider what God has done in us, through us, and among us. Since our inception in 1817, God has brought us so far!

I am so excited about our present. Just look around here this morning. God has woven together a wonderful church family and is using us as a lighthouse of hope to this community and throughout Franklin County. I believe this is the Little Church that Could.

As we remember our past and celebrate our present, I would like for us to consider our future. Every once in awhile God’s divine providence leads a church to a crossroads, and that is where I believe we are today. Let me explain!

Future
None of this has happened by accident or coincidence. God has brought you here for a reason. He wants us to continue to learn, grow, and serve together. I believe that God has brought us all together to fulfill his purposes. I feel so privileged and thankful that God has called me to pastor this church. I don’t know about you, but I am amazed at this church’s past, I am awestruck by its present, and I am thrilled about its future. I truly believe that our church on the brink of something great. I believe he wants to solidify our community and move us to the next phase of ministry.

 

Solidify Our Membership
Let me explain what I mean by that. First of all, I believe it is time for us to solidify our membership. I never ask anyone to become a member of our church until I know they are really committed. Well, we have a lot of people who are really committed to this church community who aren’t members yet. I understand that there are a number of reasons for this, but I believe it is time to officially commit. It is difficult for a church to move into the future when you aren’t sure who is on board. So, those of you who aren’t members yet, I want to encourage you to think about how and why God brought you here, and I ask you to pray about formalizing your commitment.

 

Expand Our Ministry
Secondly, I believe that God wants our ministry to expand. There are still some here who are not serving in any ministry yet. There are always opportunities to serve by teaching Sunday school, staffing the nursery, being a part of the United Church women, and helping with seasonal events, but I think there are some other ideas and opportunities out there. For instance, I would like to see some people work together to start a separate men’s and women’s breakfast ministry. It would be great to meet one Saturday morning a month for breakfast and a devotional. This could be a great source of fellowship for our church and an outreach into the community. Remember, every member is a minister! How does God want you to serve?

Complete Our Building Project
Thirdly, I believe God wants us to complete our building project. The new bathrooms will be operational in a few weeks and I think we will be able to move next door for Christmas. The project has come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. We are still looking at $15,000-$20,000 to install the new heating system and at least that much to construct the new kitchen and finish the project. I would ask that you would pray for God to provide these necessary funds and consider how he wants you to contribute. When this project is completed, it will be used for the Lord’s work for many years to and be a great blessing for generations to come. What will your part be in this?

Step Out in Faith
And finally, I believe that God has just recently and providentially dropped an incredible opportunity into our church’s lap. You all have had a chance to meet our friend Vawn Edele, the missionary with Youth with a Mission, just across the border in Dunham, QC. A few months ago, they found out that their home church in Connecticut, who provided the majority of their support, was dropping them as missionaries. The church completely pulled the carpet our from under them and left them feeling shocked, hurt, and abandoned. It would be like your employer telling you, “You can keep your job, but we just aren’t going to pay you anymore.”

Well, this has caused them to reevaluate their calling and has forced Vawn to find other work to keep their family afloat. When I found out about this, I started to think about ways in which we might be able to help. Then I believe the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see a providential opportunity for us to be a blessing to them and for them to be a blessing to us. It dawned on me that it was within the realm of possibility for our church and Franklin United Church to join together and hire him as a part-time associate pastor.

His family would attend both churches. He would help me lead the worship service every week, preach occasionally, lead a Bible Study, do some visitation, and provide some leadership to other ministries. I have talked to him about this possibility, and he is very interested. He would be able to carry on his missionary work with YWAM and serve our churches at the same time.

One we have all the details worked out, we will present it to all of you in full and eventually we will take a vote. I think we have found some ways to tweak our budget to make this happen without a major increase. Today I would ask that you would take the next few weeks and commit to praying about this opportunity.

Jesus told Peter “upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Over the past 2,000 years Christ’s church has overcome many obstacles and has climbed many mountains, and God has proved faithful. Likewise, over the past 150 years our little church has come through so much, but look at us today! Indeed, God has been faithful to us!

So, as we remember the past, celebrate the present, and consider God’s plan for our future, I believe that God is moving us to solidify our membership, expand our ministry, complete our building project, and step out in faith. I believe that we are The Little Church that Could. As we go to prayer and ponder these things this morning, repeat these words with me: “I think we can, I think we can…I know we can!” Let us pray.