Tens and Hundreds (20)

An effective church has started in A Street, but something else that is important has happened. Five Tens have formed. The members of each Ten know each other and trust each other. They will also have established good relationships with the people in the white houses that live around them. Each Ten has at least one person with some leadership skills that are available for service in the wider community.

Together these Tens make up a Fifty. This Fifty has strong leadership. Everyone in the neighbour would look to them and respect if a tough situation. If the growth process described above was repeated, the Fifty would grow into a Hundred.

Something else important happens in this neighbourhood.

• Welfare — The three Ds are people who have become deacons. They will provide social assistance to anyone in the neighbourhood who faces poverty. One couple in the Orange group chose to follow Jesus after they received help during a period of unemployment. If the neighbourhood was wealthy, the deacons might channel resources to other neighbourhoods where people are poor.

• Justice — J is a person with real wisdom. People in the neighbourhood call on him to settle disputes. He gradually becomes a judge, skilled in applying God’s law. His wisdom is well known, so people in white houses also take disputes to him.

• Defence — If society were to collapse into chaos, W would have an important role. He could monitor people coming into A street and call for help to deal with undesirables. If the situation got really bad, some of the people might move in with friends in A Street for a while to obtain shelter and protection.