On our recent vacation, my wife and I gathered with four other people to worship the Lord together on Sunday morning on a balcony of a cruise ship. I must admit that I was a bit surprised at how satisfying this worship experience was.

I understand that worship is not for our benefit; it is for God. However, there are often some times of worship that move us emotionally. I wasn’t expecting that to happen in such a small setting. Sometimes we think that it takes a bigger crowd to really experience the energy and emotion that often accompanies worship.

It turns out that this is not the case at all. I found myself getting choked up by the words of the songs we sang and the Scriptures we read and the prayers that we offered. A communion service consisting of only six people can be a powerful experience.

So, don’t count on the size of the crowd to make a worship service meaningful. It is the presence of Jesus that makes the difference.

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”—Matthew 18:20