The first meeting I ever led, two people came. One was my co-leader. The other left early. I drove home and ugly cried in a Chick-fil-A parking lot asking God why He'd called me to something that was clearly failing. I almost quit. What kept me going was a conversation with my mentor who asked me a question I wasn't ready for: "Are you leading for numbers or for obedience?" That reframed everything. I stopped measuring success by attendance and started measuring it by faithfulness. By the end of the semester we had 23 consistent members. But more importantly, I had learned that God doesn't call us to outcomes — He calls us to show up. The parking lot crying still happens sometimes. But now it's usually gratitude.
