The Church of the Brethren Sunday School curriculum for children is called Shine. It has as one of its motto’s “Start small; let faith grow.” While this is appropriate for a children’s curriculum, it is also a good model for the church at large. Jesus started small with a small circle of followers. Twelve key leaders developed along the way and the circle continued to grow. A small dedicated group can often accomplish more than a large group if they are indifferent. In American society we seem to fear smallness. Success and bigness seems to many to be the same thing, yet we are also compelled by stories of ordinary people who do things which on the surface seem unlikely if not impossible: a teenager who managed to raise funds for a disabled friend’s electric wheel chair, the single voice which reveals an injustice by a large corporation, the child who mobilizes efforts to help other less advantaged children, the coach who finds housing for a Nigerian family fleeing religious persecution by Boko Haram. Small seemingly powerless people who accomplish great things. It certainly was the story of the spread of early Christianity. Certainly, there were some great leaders, but much of the real growth of the Christian movement went forth on the efforts of the first Christians. A small trickle of believers became a mighty flood of the faithful. They were ordinary faithful followers of Jesus.