Members of Lifespring Church gather for a group photo at Liholiho Elementary School in June 2024. Lifespring Church has around 35-40 members making it a small congregation that meets up weekly at various in-person and online places, Sean Nakamoto said. Photo courtesy of Sean Nakamoto
Lifespring Church is a small congregation that gathers every Sunday, ranging from Zoom calls to in-person gatherings. Their emphasis on discipleship and spiritual growth allows church members to reflect and better understand what it means to be the body of Christ. Many other churches and pastors, like Spirit Warrior Ministry, support the argument between prioritizing personal faith growth in small congregations or pursuing expansion for their local communities.
Emphasizing discipleship and spiritual growth in small numbers stems from Scripture like Matthew 13:47-50, which points out that those who truly desire and have faith in Jesus will be saved, while those who do not have the desire or faith are cast away.
Pastor Sean Nakamoto of Lifespring Church shared through personal experience his view on pursuing attendees' passion over the number.
“Earlier models that I have been in were always about advancing the local church, while today, I focus on advancing the Kingdom,” Pastor Nakamoto said. “The difference between the two is that advancing the kingdom means focusing on helping people grow in what God created them to do while advancing the local church leans toward pushing agendas and expectations to gain personal success.”
Sean Nakamoto (middle) stands with his wife Hitomi (left) and daughter Brandi (right) in February 2024. Sean Nakamoto is the pastor of Lifespring Church in Honolulu, Hawai’i, where he connects with various other churches and local communities. Photo courtesy of Sean Nakamoto
While we as Christians should attend our local churches, there is an important duty, beyond attendance, to serve the Church and engage within the body of Christ, by using our God-given gifts to reach out to others wherever we are, Nakamoto said.
“There are bigger things to do than just showing up at one’s local church and singing Kumbaya,” Nakamoto said. “I’ve been prophesying the last couple of years that I’m a bridge builder, so there’s something I have — a God-given gift that helps me bring people together for various reasons for the kingdom of God.”
Some examples of using this gift include a recent mission trip to The Lili House Farm, where Lifespring Church members helped clean up the area by cutting down weeds, cleaning out storage and praying blessings over the family who has owned the farm for several generations.
“This was our first mission trip for Lifespring Church, and we got to bless the Iranon family, which was awesome,” Nakamoto said.
Lifespring Church member Bartt Tsuruda (behind the other) and Lili House Farm family member Triton Iranon (holding the metal bottle) milk a cow July 5. Lili House Farm, located in Volcano, Hawaii, farms various plants, like taro and blueberries, while housing farm animals for products and as a petting zoo. Photo courtesy of Sean Nakamoto.
In comparison, many big congregations focus more often on the number of attendees, since it can be good, according to Karl Vaters. He points out that numbers are important, so long as it is meant to inform and not to define Christians as their most important goal.
The number of attendees shows what is trending in communities, tracking the growth or decline of any local group and allowing denominations to see if they need to tackle issues relating to the number of attendees, why their church is declining, or how their members feel about the direction of the church, Vaters wrote. Having more members means a better understanding of the church’s current condition.
But for smaller congregations like Lifespring Church, having smaller numbers allows for more familial connections and a stronger focus on shepherding the community, according to Grow a Healthy Church.
Sean Nakamoto joins Lifespring Church member Jan Ashlock and his wife Hitomi as a prayer group in April 2024 outside Kawaiahao Church. They honored the oldest Christian church in the capital city, Honolulu, Hawaii, Nakamoto said. Photo courtesy of Sean Nakamoto
“The way we do discipleship here at Lifespring Church is by having our members get real-world experiences,” Nakamoto said. “Our mission trip to Lili House Farm helped us be a blessing to others and is just one of many ways to move the kingdom of God.”
He also added that for good discipleship, one needs spiritual growth, specifically healing in the heart. When disciples are formed from those who still have broken hearts, it leads to broken disciples.
“When we do discipleship but with broken hearts, it means that those becoming disciples are still hurt, and so they either drop out or they go backward because they're unhealed,” Nakamoto explained. “But when the heart is healed before doing discipleship, you start with a restored understanding and an unoffendable, not offensive, spirit, and the progression and trajectory of discipleship soars.”
Sean Nakamoto’s message of discipleship and growth in church members’ faith shares a similar initiative with One Heart DC and senior pastor Vance Pitman of Hope Church in Las Vegas. This goal helps them prioritize the Kingdom of God over worldly success and view attendees as individuals who need the Gospel and discipleship, rather than numbers.
Kairos was born and raised in Hawaii as the son of a pastor. In 2023, he graduated from Azusa Pacific University with a degree in Journalism: News & Storytelling. He aims to write insightful, unbiased, and truthful stories on the Body of Christ.
