The Power of Presence

In the early centuries, Christianity experienced unprecedented growth, spreading rapidly and becoming the way of life for millions. How?

Well, we might assume they had great evangelistic strategies or teachings on mission, right? But that's the thing—they didn’t. In these years of expansion, we don’t have record of any major writings on evangelism or being taught to the masses.

So what was happening? Historian Alan Kreider points to something else:

“[The church] proliferated because the faith that these fishers and hunters embodied was attractive to people who were dissatisfied with their old cultural and religious habits… and who then encountered Christians who embodied a new manner of life…. What the outsiders saw was not their worship. It was their [way of life]…. The outsiders looked at the Christians and saw them energetically feeding poor people and burying them, caring for boys and girls who lacked property and parents, and being attentive to aged slaves and prisoners…. And they said ‘Vide, look! How they love one another.’ They did not say ‘Aude, listen to the Christians’ message; they did not say ‘Lege, read what they write.’… We must not miss the reality: the pagans said look! Christianity’s truth was visible; it was embodied and enacted by its members.”

What drew people to Jesus was seeing Him in and through His people.

This means the church grew not by attracting crowds, but through the faithful presence of its members, living the Spirit-empowered way of Jesus wherever they found themselves.

The Jesus Way

Which makes sense, because that's what Jesus did.

John 1:1, 14 says of Jesus, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us...”

This is what we refer to as the "incarnation." It's God, in Jesus, taking on flesh and dwelling among His creation—in all our messiness and chaos. He becomes like us, knowing our pains and hurts, our joys and struggles.

But then He gets down on His knees to serve us. What?! The King of Kings and the God of all creation came to serve me and you?

Philippians 2:6-8 says that Jesus, "being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!"

Jesus not only preached good news about the Kingdom, but He embodied it and put it on display.

His Way Becomes Our Way

Jesus became like us, to serve and sacrifice for us, so that we would ultimately find life in Him.

And when He sends out His followers into the world, we're expected to do the same: to live faithfully as people of the Kingdom, finding life in Him, and living as Spirit-empowered witnesses.

Living as a witness means that our lives—the way we live, especially toward others—points to Jesus, not just the words we say.

A number of years ago, I saw one of my favourite stories unfold in a community group.

A young woman, new to the country, started attending a CG. But she wasn’t a Christian. In fact, back home she made fun of Christians.

But just before she left, a colleague (also not a Christian, but who was recently in America) said, “Oh, when you get there, find a church. They’ll help you get settled in the city.”

When she arrived, she happened to find our church and immediately started attending a community, never missing a week. So week after week, she sat with a group of Christians as they practiced the way of Jesus together.

She watched stories of Jesus bringing hope and comfort. She heard stories and teachings about being free from the stress of money and trying to achieve success. She saw people who should have been claiming high status seeking humility and lowliness. And she saw Jesus at the centre of it.

It compelled her.

So one day, out of the blue, she finally turned to another member and said, “I’d like to meet this Jesus.”

Why? Because she saw His goodness and power operating in the lives of Christians who loved Him. She saw things happening that made her stop and go, “Who is Jesus that He can do this?!”

Soon after, she surrendered her life to Jesus, and we got to celebrate her baptism with her.

All because she experienced Jesus through the lives of very ordinary disciples who were committed to following Him. She looked at their lives and saw something compelling—a life that only Jesus can give.

This is just one example of what it means to show up with presence—showing people what Jesus is like.

So when it comes to planting a church, it first means showing up like this: being present to the lives, the pains, and the joys of our neighbours, and embodying the good news of Jesus in a way that makes people say, “I want to know this Jesus.”

What might that look like for wherever you find yourself today?