Category: Rachel Matthews

In spring 2012, Rachel responded to God's call and decided to combine her love for cooking with a personal concern for the local community. She had the idea of inviting local children and families to come together at a venue, learn about healthy eating – and learn about God in the process. They would hear a Bible story, bake something as a group and then sit down to eat it.

Her aim was to help people 'develop a healthy heart for God' through an initiative called Maker and Bakers.

It's a wonderful opportunity to get to know the families… to share a little bit of God's love for them through the storytelling but also through the relationships that we're building.

So far, Rachel adds, everybody has really enjoyed it.

There's been a great desire to do more and more of them so we keep following God's guidance and keep going with it.

I wish I had my 6-year-old son's faith. It is strong, solid, assured and he is unafraid to tell anybody about it.

Only the other day we were travelling in the car when he turned to his friend from school and said, "I'm a Christian."

His friend reflected on that and decided that he probably wasn't one, but maybe his mum was. This only encouraged James to share more details, "I wear a cross too. Not everybody who is a Christian has to wear a cross, but I like to. I want to wear one."

As the conversation continued, I began to consider my own faith. My journey with God has been an interesting one. We have climbed many mountains together and witnessed such beautiful sights as marriage and babies as well as the darkest of places in bereavement and illness. When I ask myself about the strength of my faith, it will depend largely where I am currently positioned on the mountain.

I'm currently praying about a fresh expression of church I hope to begin in the West Midlands and when I think about this, I'm overwhelmed with fear that I'm not good enough.

How can I be called upon to lead others, when a 6-year-old knows and trusts God far more than I do?

As I considered this once again today, a voice popped into my head and reassured me, "Your faith is as big as a mustard seed."

A tiny, tiny, mustard seed. Blink and you might miss it. But for God it is enough. In fact, it is more than enough.

As Jesus said, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." (Luke 17.5-6, NIV).

So I realise I'm blessed. God will take whatever I can offer and use it.

Faith honours God. God honours faith.

In the meantime I will continue to learn so much from my son, whose love for God is huge and unquestioning though I take heart that there are still a few things I can teach him… such as when he turned to me in the car and said, "I love Jesus Price… I really do."